A permit issued by the planning authority to developer Joseph Portelli which allowed him to turn ODZ land into a pool, has been revoked after a court ruled that it went against rules for building in ODZ.

On their Facebook page, Movement Graffitti said that the developer had started works on the pool before this irregular permit (PA/8143/21) was even issued.

"This is a confirmation of what we have been saying from the very beginning: we have politicians and authorities that are going above everything and everyone in order to please developers like Joseph Portelli," the NGO said.

In the same post, they also announced that other permits for the same developer for a building in Sannat was also tweaked to not allow him to build over a certain height. However the NGO alleged  that despite this tweaking, Portelli has already gone above the now tweaked height because the Environment and planning review tribunal "did not stop the development until the case was heard".

The NGO is appealing for better laws, so that development can be stopped until a case is decided.

The case was led by lawyer Claire Bonello on behalf of Moviment Graffitti, the Qala Local council and Mayor Paul Buttigieg.