The PN said that it "condemns the Government's plan to erode citizens' rights" to appeal decisions taken by the Planning Authority by shortening the timeframe within which planning appeals can be lodged.

"This is nothing short of an attempt to deprive citizens and environmental NGOs of their right to challenge such decisions," a PN statement, signed by MPs Rebekah Borg and Stanley Zammit read.

"This move clearly shows how the Labour Government remains without a proper plan for the planning sector. While it now rushes to amend the law to limit the time allowed for appeals related to development applications, the PN reminds that the Labour Government has been promising a full reform in this sector for over two years. Instead, we are seeing rushed and half-baked measures. Ironically, just yesterday the Prime Minister spoke of what he described as a 'blazing pace' the way in which the Government is supposedly operating, claiming that this reform is now about to be announced."

Also yesterday, in response to parliamentary questions from the Opposition, Planning Minister Clint Camilleri did not deny what Robert Abela had said - that the time allowed to file an appeal, both before the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) and the Courts, will be reduced to 20 days, the PN said. "Camilleri failed to offer any proposals to increase the productivity or efficiency of the appeal process either at the EPRT or in the Courts to ensure that appeals are concluded in the shortest time possible."

"No excuse from the Prime Minister - not even the claim that this is being done to shorten the overall process, or that the reduced appeal period will also apply to developers - can justify this attempt to silence those who wish to object to planning applications. What Robert Abela failed to explain is that individuals and NGOs require far more time and effort to prepare an appeal than developers do. While the PN agrees that the appeal process should be more efficient, quicker and less bureaucratic, this should never come at the expense of those who wish to object to development applications or lodge an appeal."

"In Parliament, Clint Camilleri himself confirmed what the PN has long argued - and what developers, environmental NGOs, and the public experience on a daily basis - that over the past 12 years, the Labour Government has allowed the planning system to stagnate and created policies that have led to greater ambiguity and much less certainty. For years, the Government has stood idle in the face of numerous cases where development begins - and sometimes is even completed - while a permit is still under appeal or, in some cases, even after the Courts have revoked the permit, rendering the development illegal. This is exactly what happened in the Ta' Xbiex project, where a government authority's offices and a restaurant continued to be built during the appeal process, and the authority is now even attempting to regularise the development, despite the fact that the original permit should never have been issued."

The PN said it will continue to insist that this "absurd situation" be brought to an immediate end through a simplified process, the elimination of excessive bureaucracy, a reduction in costs and in the duration of procedures, while ensuring adequate time is provided to lodge an appeal and guaranteeing a fair process.