Objectors need to be formally registered

Full development permission "to demolish dwelling house, retaining the facade, front room and carry out modifications and additions" in Xewkija, Gozo, was issued on 17 July 2012. Eventually, the decision was published in the press, on 25 August 2012, in accordance with the law. An appeal was filed by a neighbour living in the adjacent tenement, who objected to the proposed development before the Environment and Planning Tribunal, citing a number of grounds. According to the law, the said Tribunal has the power to hear and determine an appeal lodged by an interested third party from a decision of the Authority on any matter of development control, while any person may declare an interest in a development and make representations on the development on the basis of issues relevant to environment and planning. In other words, an objector need not prove that he has a vested interest.

In his submissions, the neighbour contended that the approved drawings were misleading, since the dividing line between his property and that of the applicant was erroneously indicated. According to the appellant, the applicant's facade was "indicated to be 6.31 metres wide, when in fact it is 5.9 metres wide". On this basis, the appellant contended that part of the facade (0.41 metres) shown in the approved drawings should have been indicated as third-party property.

The appellant further stated that the permit in question was issued to the applicant "without imposing the usual 10-foot backyard as required by local sanitary laws and regulations" and was thus in violation of sanitary legislation.

For the above reasons, the appellant requested the Environment and Planning Tribunal to revoke the said permit or modify the planning permission to comply with the relevant planning and civil code regulations.

For its part, the Authority maintained that appellant is not a registered objector according to law, since any declaration of interest and representations (which shall be in writing) must be received by the Authority within 20 days from the date when the notice of application was issued in the press. In this case, the appellant failed to register his intentions within this period, for which reason the Authority requested the Tribunal to dismiss the appeal.

But even so, the applicant added that the allegations raised by the objector were of a civil nature and should have therefore been directed before a court of law.

In its conclusion, the Tribunal referred to Article 7(2) of Legal Notice 514 of 2010, where it is expressly provided that an objector is eligible to appeal against the issue of a permit, provided he registers his interest with the Authority within 20 days from the date of publication of the notice of an application in a local newspaper. As a point of fact, such an interest must be registered by means of a written communication in the Maltese or English language, and it must include a postal address or an electronic address, at which all communication by the Authority or the Tribunal shall be made.

Since the objector in this case registered his interest only after the permit was issued and not within the 20-day period from the date when the notice of application had been issued in the press, the appeal was dismissed.