Student organisations oppose proposed planning bills, endorse national protest

A number of student organisations have declared their opposition to government’s proposed planning bills and three related legal notices, warning that the proposed reforms would hand excessive power to the Planning Authority.

The controversial changes are the subject of a organised by a coalition of NGOs scheduled for Saturday 4 October.

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On Friday, 17 student organisations stated that the proposed reforms will weaken parliamentary oversight and the role of the courts, while reducing the weight given to environmental considerations in development decisions.

In their statement, the organisations said that if approved, the reforms would allow the Planning Board to disregard existing planning plans and policies, while also making it harder to update those same policies in future to respond to the country’s environmental needs. 

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They argued that the changes would significantly limit the ability of citizens and activists to challenge overdevelopment and defend the environment.

The organisations called on the government to withdraw the bills and legal notices immediately, insisting that consultation on the bills is meaningless.

They also urged the introduction of urgent measures to suspend developments that are subject to pending appeals, and demanded the publication of a white paper to open a broader public consultation on Malta’s long-term vision for development.

The student bodies also endorsed the national protest and encouraged students and young people to take to the streets to make their voices heard.

The signatories are the Kunsill Studenti Universitarji (KSU), Għaqda Studenti tal-Liġi (GħSL), the Malta Medical Students’ Association (MMSA), the Society for Architecture and Civil Engineering Students (SACES), the Gozo University Group (GUG), and many other student associations representing disciplines ranging from law and medicine to architecture, engineering, the sciences, and the humanities.