‘Illegal’: PN wants Planning Authority action over gravelling of Ta’ Qali picnic area

The Nationalist Party wants the Planning Authority to take action over what its claims was the illegal decision to cover the Ta’ Qali picnic area with gravel.

Spokespersons Rebekah Borg and Stanley Zammit said there is a planning application (PA/08356/24) that is still at the screening stage.

“No permit has been approved, meaning the public has not been consulted on whether the Ta’ Qali picnic area should be surfaced with gravel. Despite this, the Labour Government chose to proceed with the works on site, in blatant breach of the law,” it said.

Planning Application

They said the application, which is not a permit, only refers to a few gravel paths, yet the entire picnic area has been covered with gravel. They also said concrete structures, intended to serve as toilets, have already been built without any permit and have been in place since at least February 2025.

“The law is clear: the placing of material on land requires a permit. For the Labour Government to carry out works requiring a permit before the application has even been approved is not only arrogant but outright illegal,” the PN said. “Ordinary citizens who do the same are fined or stopped immediately; but when the Labour Government does it, the law is simply ignored.”

The concrete structures which according to PN spokespersons were illegally built

The spokespersons went on to say government acted irresponsibly in one of the few remaining green picnic areas where families gather.

“Instead of protecting what belongs to the public, Labour puts propaganda above all else – before the environment, before the law, and before families. This is a government that first breaks the rules already in place, and then rewrites them as it pleases,” they said.

They also called out Jason Micallef’s threat to podcaster Trudy Kerr that he will take her to court over a video criticising the decision to cover the area with gravel.

“Maltese families deserve far more than arrogance and chaos. While Labour breaks the rules and manipulates the system for its own interests, the PN believes in a planning system that works for the people, protects the environment, and respects communities,” they said.

On Wednesday Jason Micallef, who heads the Ta’ Qali National Park management, has branded concerns over the gravel installed at the Ta’ Qali picnic area as “fake news”.

Micallef’s comment comes amid plans for a protest and petition organised by a group of young activists who have taken issue with the gravel installation. 

On Thursday, the Momentum Party condemned what it described as Micallef’s “threatening tactics.”

The party’s secretary general, Mark Camilleri Gambin stated that Kerr had accurately documented the situation.

“The situation depicted in the video is a verifiable fact, not fake news. Ms Kerr was rightfully pointing out the tragic loss of a beloved green space, and Jason Micallef is making a completely illogical accusation that aims to intimidate genuine citizens from speaking up,” he said, accusing Micallef of spreading his “signature brand of intimidation.”

Momentum also announced that it had filed a Freedom of Information request with the Public Works Ministry in relation to the gravel works.