Momentum backs 'Ġustizzja għal Artna' planning reform proposals

Momentum has formally endorsed the proposals put forward by the Ġustizzja għal Artna campaign and announced plans to incorporate them into its 2026 election manifesto.

The party's General Secretary, Mark Camilleri Gambin, said the planning system had long favoured developers at the expense of ordinary residents.

"For too long, the Maltese people have watched their quality of life diminish under a planning process that is tough with the small, law-abiding citizen but remarkably lax with the law-breaking large developer," he said. "It is fundamentally unjust that concerned residents must bear the financial and organisational burden of challenging flawed decisions in court while a developer is allowed to keep building and create a fait accompli."

Malta's planning framework has repeatedly come under fire for what critics describe as a "build now, sanction later" culture.

The Ġustizzja għal Artna campaign has called for a series of structural reforms to address this, and Momentum has now aligned itself fully with those demands.

The party has also raised concerns about Bills 143 and 144, along with accompanying legal notices, warning that these threaten to undo existing safeguards and normalise illegal construction on a national scale.

Momentum's reforms include halting development during appeals, mandatory removal of illegal structures at offenders' expense, creating a single enforcement body, banning sanctions on illegal structures outside development areas after 2008, and restoring 2006-extracted undeveloped land to protected status.

Beyond the Ġustizzja għal Artna demands, Momentum has pledged to reconstitute the Planning Authority with professionals it describes as having proven integrity and a commitment to environmental standards, including independent experts and environmental activists.

The party has also promised a two-year freeze on permits for buildings over ten floors and a constitutional amendment to ban the sale of public land for commercial use, with any short-term leases requiring a 75% parliamentary majority.