Planning reform: Ramblers warn against gate concessions

The Ramblers Association fears that a proposed amnesty would grant the Planning Authority sweeping powers to regularise countryside illegalities by shielding them from enforcement.

These concessions, which apply to development carried out before 2024, form part of a wider planning reform that also includes two controversial bills.

A coalition of environmental NGOs is set to protest against the reforms on Saturday 4 October.

What is a concession?

The draft regulations establish a system through which owners may request what is being termed as a “concession certificate” for existing irregular development carried out before 2024, after paying a fine.

The government insists this is not an amnesty because requests for a concession certificate or regularisation will still have to be scrutinised by the PA and can be rejected.

Two legal notices published alongside the planning reform bills distinguish between regularisation—for sanctioning of illegal development predating 1994—and concession—a withdrawal of enforcement action on illegalities carried out up to 2024. In each case, applicants would have to pay fines.

Fines for a 25sq.m structure range between €3,750 and €10,000, depending on its use.

Applications must be submitted by an architect and include detailed plans, external photographs, and evidence confirming the structure’s existence in 2024.

Exclusions apply only to developments within a Level 1 Area of Ecological or Scientific Importance, a Class A archaeological site, or a Grade 1 scheduled property. In other protected areas — such as Level 2 Scheduled Areas, Class B sites, or Grade 2 scheduled buildings — fines are simply doubled.

This means only a small fraction of the countryside will remain fully safeguarded, with concessions potentially applicable even in Level 2 and Level 3 ecological areas.

If granted, the certificate provides crucial protection—no enforcement action may be taken against the specified development, and the site becomes eligible for water and electricity services. However, the certificate does not grant planning permission or any right to alter or expand the development.

The only major safeguard lies in a requirement for PA boards to assess whether the development achieves a satisfactory “place quality,” defined by visual harmony and good neighbourliness.

Protected illegalities from enforcement

Ramblers Association President Ingram Bondin told MaltaToday he fears the new rules could prevent the removal of illegalities like the notorious gate at Baħrija, which blocks access to Blata tal-Melħ.

The association only recently won a long battle against the gate, when the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal upheld the Planning Authority’s refusal to sanction it, after considering documentation presented by the Ramblers.

But since the gate was erected before 2024 and is on a Grade 2 protected site, Bondin fears the landowners could now apply for a concession. Only illegalities on Grade 1 sites are fully excluded from the scheme.

Although approval is not automatic, if granted, the decision would be final and NGOs would have no right of appeal.

“This is not only of concern because it regularises abusive development, but also because it impacts the collective rights of the community,” Bondin said.

He also expressed alarm over another aspect of the reform, which exempts certain activities from full development permits—including placing of temporary structures not visible from roads or depositing inert material to restore land contours. This could open the way for the erection of structures located deep in the countryside.

Bondin recalled a case involving a large demountable swimming pool in the protected Ta’ Baldu area of Rabat, warning that the same logic could apply to gates placed far from public roads but obstructing ancient footpaths.