The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal has confirmed the revocation of the permit PA/7946/18 for the sham sheep farm - a massive multi-storey building with reception areas and a swimming pool - in the pristine Bidnija Valley, an entirely rural Outside Development Zone (ODZ) featuring ecologically important freshwater habitats, Graffitti said Wednesday.

NGOs Moviment Graffitti and Din l-Art Ħelwa had filed an appeal in relation to a decision by the Planning Authority, which had revoked the permit but ordered the application to be reprocessed. The NGOs argued that once the Planning Authority had revoked the permit, it could not order the application to be reprocessed and revived.

The NGOs also insisted that additional reasons for revocation should be included - particularly the omission of the site's scheduled status from the relevant forms. This omission, they argued, resulted in the public not being adequately informed about the sensitive nature of the site and the special policies applicable to such scheduled sites.

The Tribunal agreed with the appellant NGOs and ruled that the permit should be definitively revoked for the reasons outlined in the appeal, Graffitti said.