Planning Authority’s agricultural panel purged of its original members

The Agriculture Advisory Committee, one of the planning authority’s most pro-active consultative bodies, has seen the replacement of all its original members, who included Sammy Vella, an agricultural expert and former independent mayor of Mellieha and present chairman of the Majjistral nature and history Natura 2000 Park.

Created in 2014, the AAC is tasked with advising on planning applications related to agricultural development and assessing the “genuine need” for such development. According to its terms of reference it should serve “as an independent body made up of persons of integrity and experts”.

During its brief existence – it had been operating for about a year – the committee objected to a number of permits, citing the lack of a “genuine need”. MaltaToday is informed that the former board members were not even informed that their services were no longer required on the committee.

Contacted by MaltaToday one of the members of the AAC, agricultural expert Sammy Vella expressed disappointment at the way the members of the committee were replaced. “I have written to the Prime Minister to tell him that courtesy demands that members of an official committee should be informed when their services are no longer required,” he said.

Three months ago Vella had written to the Prime Minister expressing concern about a number of permits which were awarded despite the contrary advice of the AAC and about a number of cases where the advice of the AAC was not even sought.

One notable case where the AAC’s advice was not sought was the permit for the construction of the villa, instead of a garage, issued to Roderick Farrugia, son-in-law of former Labour MP Bertu Pace, which is now in the process of being revoked by MEPA. Subsequently a meeting was held on 27 January with MEPA chairman Vince Cassar and CEO Johann Buttigieg. “I was promised that a meeting would be held during which the permits which I had brought to their notice would be discussed.  But no follow up meeting was ever held.”

The board was composed of MEPA officials Sylvio Farrugia and Charmaine Muscat, Philip Aquilina from the Agriculture Directorate, Charles Spiteri from the Veterinary Regulation Department, James Gauci from the Agriculture Paying Agency and independent members Joe Gerada and Sammy Vella.

The present board is chaired by Sharlo Camilleri, with members Dr Duncan Chetcuti Ganado, Joseph Zammit, James Gauci, Frankie Ivan Caruana, Sandro Sammut and Emanuel Sapiano.

AAC systematically ignored

A probe by MaltaToday in January revealed a number of cases related to the conversion of agricultural structures where the Environment and Planning Commission overturned the AAC’s recommendations, even in cases where the committee had made it clear that there was no genuine agricultural need for the proposed development.  

One such case involved the approval of an agricultural store beneath Fort Bingemma, which was controversially approved last September.  

MEPA also overruled the advice of the AAC not to approve the regularisation of an illegally built 90-square metre store below the fortified city of Mdina, which is highly visible from Il-Pjazza tas-Sur. MEPA also defied the AAC by issuing a permit to regularise illegal stores at Hofret ir-Rizz in Rabat.