Around 40,000 square metres of land at Ta' Durumblat in Mosta are set to be developed after the Planning Authority approved a permit for the site last Tuesday. ADPD-The Green Party noted that nine years ago the same area had been saved from development following a successful campaign, with the Planning Authority at the time rejecting the proposal. However, a new application has now been approved, clearing the way for the permanent loss of the open space.

Brian Decelis, Public Relations Officer, and Mario Mallia, Deputy General Secretary, speaking on behalf of ADPD-The Green Party, said the Planning Authority chose to hide behind the 2006 rationalisation exercise, which turned around two million square metres of land across the Maltese Islands into areas eligible for development. While this policy influences decisions taken by the Authority, they argued that it still had the discretion to refuse the application, as it had done nine years ago. Instead, they said, the Authority opted to sacrifice yet another large tract of open land.

The ADPD representatives questioned how many more such areas the country can afford to lose and criticised the government for delaying comprehensive land-use reform aimed at achieving socially just and sustainable development. They noted that the Labour government had promised to annul the 2006 rationalisation exercise but failed to do so. Instead, they said, it introduced Bills 143 and 144, which they claim weakened environmental protection and attempted to limit the right of appeal.

They also criticised the current practice that allows construction to continue while an appeal is pending, referring to a recent case involving a hotel in Swieqi where building resumed during the appeals process.

ADPD further argued that the government's claim to promote social justice is contradicted by its willingness to spend €700 million in public funds to create new open spaces while allowing naturally occurring ones to be lost to development. They described this as effectively imposing a burden on taxpayers to compensate for overdevelopment.

The party concluded by stressing the need for politics that genuinely safeguards the interests of the public and future generations.