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FAA overturns chief judge's ruling in Sannat development case Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar accused the Planning Authority of “sinking to new lows” and “conspiring to encourage illegality by approving Joseph Portelli’s decision to build an abusive penthouse in his Sannat development, which Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti even declared illegal.”

“The Planning Authority, in defiance of the Supreme Court of India’s ruling, approved the two penthouses on the basis of application No. PA 3869/24 filed by Talochan Singh, an Indian national, who claimed that he was not the owner of the two penthouses,” the FAA said in a statement on Wednesday.

It stressed that “the PA’s decision comes five months after Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti declared the permits ‘illegal’ and ‘ridiculous’ because parts of the development (involving a large ODZ swimming pool and additional floors) were completely illegal and in breach of the Gozo Local Plan and the PA’s own policies and laws.”

“The court severely criticised the Planning Authority and the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT, co-chaired by chair David Mifsud Parker, Dr Abigail Bugeja and Alexander Zammit) for approving the construction of the penthouse and swimming pool against the advice of the Planning Authority’s own case officers,” the FAA said.

The latter had recommended to the PA to reject the application, the NGO stressed, stressing that by failing to ensure proper setbacks for the penthouse and the swimming pool to be built on ODZ land, the construction and swimming pool “violate the PA’s own policies and guidelines”.

However, the FAA said that “PA EPC board members Mr. Martin Camilleri (Chairman), Mr. Anthony Borg and Mr. Frank Ivan Caruana Catania approved the license, which includes the penthouse with the highest selling price, and explained the need for the developer to legalize it.”

“As the government failed to honour its promise to suspend the works during the appeal, the developer completed the development work before the final judgment was rendered,” the court noted.

However, the FAA said the court ruled that the Planning Authority and the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) had again “bent” the rules and “issued the necessary permits to Portelli and his associates. The court’s decision is not appealable and is final, requiring the demolition of the penthouse as well as the communal swimming pool.”

The FAA said: “Instead, the application for approval was submitted using a fast-track, simplified procedure which does not apply to sites outside development zones like this one and reduces the time for the public to lodge objections to two weeks instead of the full four weeks. The penthouse was approved with a fine of €150.00, while the fate of the swimming pool is unclear.”

The FAA argued that “the Planning Department, EPRT and the Cultural Heritage Supervisory Authority are miring the country in illegality.”

“This violation of a court decision issued by the Chief Justice confirms the perception that we live in a country where Joseph Portelli and his fellow developers have ultimate power over the law and the courts, like a mafia state,” the FAA said.

The FAA concluded: “The Planning Authority’s supremacy over the courts means that there is no longer rule of law in Malta. This has extremely serious implications for ordinary citizens, who are deprived of the most basic justice, as it makes citizens’ efforts, funds and fundamental rights to seek legal redress impossible, shaking the foundations of our democracy.”