Prime Minister Robert Abela’s promise for a piece of reform in the “stagnant planning system” is still up in the air, the Nationalist Party said in a statement on Thursday.

Nationalist Party MP Stanley Zammit said that despite this promise, “which should have led to construction projects not continuing as long as they are still being heard before the Court of Appeal,” being made fifteen months ago, it is still up in the air even if the Minister were to change.

Zammit continued that since then, illegal buildings and other structures have continued to increase, “even if they continued while the developer continues enjoying the fruits of his abusive actions, like Minister Ian Borg continued enjoying his swimming pool”. The PN MP remarked that this is a clear demonstration “of how weak Robert Abela is” in front of the “various forces whose interest collides with the common good”.

Zammit said that Abela has continued in the footsteps of his predecessors, adding that he ended up being overcome by these various forces and intentionally left the planning system stagnant. He continued that the planning of entire areas, such as in Zurrieq, Birzebbuga, and Mellieha, is being done by the private sector instead of the Planning Authority, “which has become a permit authority”. He commented that it is the private sector which is determining the use of lands and the height of buildings, not the responsible authority.

Speaking about Attard, Zammit said that it is being proposed for a land of 5,666 square metres to be developed into a private school despite the Local Plan of 2006 saying that it “should be used as a facility for community sports and recreation”. He added that instead of “fairly compensating the original owners” and carrying out a project for sports and other ancillary facilities for the locality’s benefit, the government has given the land back to the owners to be developed in a different way than what is allowed in the Local Plan.

The Attard Local Council, which is led by a PN majority, objected to this application in part because of the excessive development in the area which would have negative effects on the quality of life of the residents, the MP said.

Zammit concluded by saying that the PN will continue to call for dialogue to make needed changes in the country while also demanding that a complete holistic reform in the planning system be carried out after the necessary studies detailing what kind and extent of development each locality can handle is carried out and published. He added that these findings should then be discussed in a national conference, also in relation to the population.

He added that the PN, through continuous consultation, continues to update its vision for the country and prepare all the necessary tools, “including a robust, fair, transparent, and functional development planning system to achieve this vision”.