ADPD - The Green Party called for a moratorium on large-scale developments and multi-storey buildings, warning that overdevelopment and poor planning practices are increasingly threatening quality of life across Malta.
In a statement, the party said that in a country where land-use planning has become "an exercise in lip service" with little or no impact assessment, it is becoming increasingly evident that massive land development and multi-storey buildings should be subjected to a moratorium.
The party's deputy chairperson Melissa Bagley, who is also contesting the fifth district, spoke about the urgent concerns over current planning practices affecting towns and villages in the south of Malta, the statement said.
Bagley referred to an area in In-Nigret, Żurrieq, where around 11,000 square metres of agricultural land are scheduled for development.
She said the area involves at least four separate developments and described them as a "classic salami-slicing exercise" intended to avoid the studies normally required for larger projects by splitting developments into smaller applications.
Bagley said the situation stems from the 2006 rationalisation exercise introduced under a PN-led government, which earmarked around two million square metres of land for development "overnight" without proper consideration of future impacts.
She said that while the Labour Party had voted against the move while in opposition, the issue was "conveniently forgotten" once Labour entered government.
Among its proposals, ADPD called for the immediate cancellation of the rationalisation exercise, with undeveloped land originally included in the scheme to be reclassified as outside development zone land.
The party also proposed a moratorium on large-scale developments and multi-storey buildings until cumulative impacts are properly studied and addressed.
ADPD further called for stronger protection of existing open spaces, including agricultural land and private gardens in urban areas, while insisting that farmland should remain protected for agricultural use.
The party also said the Planning Authority should be safeguarded from government interference, with board members scrutinised for potential conflicts of interest through clear regulations.
"Land use planning is of utmost importance for our country as land is a very limited resource, and therefore should be dealt with in a manner that benefits the whole community," Bagley said.
She added that the Planning Authority should serve the common good rather than "the good of the few who dominate the sector in the pursuit of personal gain."
"A vote for the usual suspects is a vote for perpetual savage overdevelopment," Bagley said.