We once again find ourselves writing about yet another planning farce.

This time it is about a development in Bidnija: a massive building built in the middle of a pristine ODZ valley to – supposedly – serve as a sheep farm.

The huge farm, covering an area of almost 3,200 square metres in the middle of Wied Tal-Ħżejjen, one of few remaining untouched valleys in Malta, was given the green light in February 2019 by the Planning Authority’s subcommittee which deals with ODZ developments, chaired by Elizabeth Ellul.

The approval came despite concerns from environmental authorities, NGOs, and residents.  It was plain for many to see that the development was far too big to be what it claimed to be, and that the project felt more like a commercial development rather than an agricultural one.

That has proven to be true:  just three years after the permit was approved, a new planning application has been filed seeking the building to be turned into a retail outlet with guest rooms – ergo, a hotel.

The sheep farmer on whom the granting of the original permit was dependent is nowhere to be seen in the new application, and the latest application was filed by a previously unknown company - Bidnija Farming Enterprise Ltd. – connected to a certain Peter Bernard Carbonaro, a person whose name appears as director for three other companies registered in Malta which are all linked to trustee shareholding companies registered in Cyprus.

To describe this scenario as a farce is an understatement.  It was clear to all – except the members of the Planning Commission – that this development was not what it seemed.  And yet, it was approved regardless.

It is yet another failure of a planning system which is not fit for purpose and which seemingly finds it impossible to protect the little bit of nature which Malta has left from the scourge of rampant development.

The damage however – so far – is not irreparable. The Planning Authority can still save face, and can still do the right thing.

The first thing it has to do is to outright refuse the application which has been filed to turn this structure into what is effectively a hotel.  That is a non-negotiable: a pristine valley in the middle of Bidnija is not a place for any development, let alone a touristic development.

Then, having done that, the PA should carry out enforcement action against the current development – as requested by Moviment Graffitti on Friday morning – and, when it realises that it is not being used for its intended purpose, order its demolition and have the site reverted back to its original state, all at the developer’s expense.

It’s about time that the Planning Authority starts to be pro-active in protecting the country’s environment and the country as a whole from over-development and over-commercialisation.

We don’t need more hotels – that was already apparent in recent weeks when a study showed that Malta needs 4.7 million tourists every year – double the amount of tourists who came in 2019 – for all of the current and planned hotels to be able to run sustainably. 

We need to protect the little bit we have left, and the Planning Authority should be at the forefront of that.

Where in other places the damage has been done, here there is still time to save face.