Din l-Art Ħelwa and the Coalition for Gozo (Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex, Għawdix and Wirt Għawdex) have decided to legally challenge in court the Planning Authority document named DC15, against the development of more floors than permitted in the Local Plans.

In a statement, the organisation said that one of the policies, P35 along with the infamous Annex 2, permits development to exceed the number of floors set out in the Local Plans.

This was done by setting the maximum heights in metres allowable for a determined number of floors, with the PA deciding that the number of floors permitted in a street was not the number of floors set out in the Local Plans but rather the height in metres they determined for that number of floors divided by the minimum height allowed for a floor in Sanitary legislation. 

This led to a higher number of floors being permitted than allowed for in the Parliament approved Local Plans, it said.

It said that the DC15 policy is flawed as it goes counter to use the number of floors allowed to determine a higher number of floors.

It also said that this creates a conflict between the Local Plans and the DC15 policy document, which contradict each other in the number of floors allowed in a street.

“Planning legislation is quite clear in this regard in that when a conflict of this nature exists, the Local Plans have precedence and what is stated in the Local Plans is the legally correct interpretation,” the statement said.

The groups will contend that the policy allowing for more floors than permitted in the Local Plans is deemed illegal and must be struck down.

“Much damage has already been done to most village cores.  But hopefully we are still in time to save what remains before our villages turn into sprawling clusters of faceless apartment blocks,” it said.