Seven organisations filed a judicial protest against the Planning Authority (PA) for holding a vitiated and irregular consultation procedure with regards to the Development Brief for the site of the former Jerma Palace Hotel in Marsascala.
Last year, the PA held a consultation exercise for the drawing up of a Development Brief for the site of the former Jerma Palace Hotel. The Local Plan defines the area which should be subject to the Development Brief, and the area is also defined in three maps. However - for reasons of its own - the PA chose to include further areas in the Development Brief exercise. The PA included a green area which should be accessible to the public and where no increase in height or volume is permitted. The PA also included a heritage site within the boundaries of the Development Brief area when there is already a policy applicable to the site. Moreover, the PA arbitrarily laid down an area of 100,000 square metres which should be developed within the site.
In practice, this irregular Development Brief would lead to a massive development project that would impact negatively the infrastructure of Marsascala and the lives of residents, with no long-term benefit to the locality.
The organisations stated that this was not in line with applicable laws and policies and called upon the authority to withdraw the flawed Development Brief exercise.
The organisations that filed the judicial protest are:
- Din l-Art Ħelwa
- Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar
- Green House
- Moviment Graffitti
- Nature Trust Malta
- Ramblers Association of Malta
- The Archaeological Society of Malta