WATCH | Abela doesn't see need for Villa Rosa local plan change to be updated despite PA CEO's opposition

Prime Minister Robert Abela doesn’t feel the need to go back to the drawing board regarding the local plan changes to the Villa Rosa site in St George’s Bay.

Abela has long supported changes to the local plan in question which will facilitate a high-rise development proposed by Garnet Investments, a company owned by Anton Camilleri known as Tal-Franċiż and his son Adelbert Camilleri.

But the changes to the local plan have been met with resistance, not just by NGOs and residents, but also by the Planning Authority’s CEO Johann Buttigieg. Last Sunday, MaltaToday reported that Buttigieg’s stance earned him rebuke from the Prime Minister.

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On Monday, Abela was asked whether the PA CEO’s opposition merited a review of the proposed changes which were approved by parliament.

But Abela did not comment on Buttigieg’s stance, adding that the proposed changes are still subject to submissions.

The Prime Minister claimed that “just like any planning application,” the proposed changes will be made within the parameters of planning laws.

The Villa Rosa high-rise project that spurred the local plan change has been the source of government as well as Opposition criticism for the past few days, with a number of NGOs, and even the PL's Jason Micallef expressing their disgust toward the project and the proposed local plan changes that will accommodate it.

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Cabinet had agreed on a partial review of the North Harbour local plan, specifically the Villa Rosa site, in October last year after Abela pushed for the process to kick off.

At the time, Villa Rosa developer Anton Camilleri, who had proposed new plans for the site and was keen to have the local plan amended, had met Abela and Opposition Leader Bernard Grech separately.