Government once again promises Appeals Reform it had already opened for consultation in 2023

The PN welcomes today’s announcement, but this is only part of the solution: Malta needs serious and holistic reform of the entire planning system

The Opposition has insisted for years that an appeal against a planning permit must have a real effect and that irreversible works should not be allowed to be completed while the legality of the permit is still being challenged.

Today, the Government once again promised this reform and, after announcing its plan, opened it for public consultation. The Opposition recalls that the Labour Government had already done precisely the same thing in 2023, only to then leave the defective system in place for almost another three years.

This is in addition to the fact that, in the middle of last summer, the Government rushed two planning Bills through Parliament without any consultation whatsoever. Following strong opposition from the Partit Nazzjonalista, the public and NGOs, the Government left them on the parliamentary agenda without taking them forward. When Parliament was dissolved for the election, those Bills fell.

The Labour Government is now doing the same thing again. It is opening a public consultation at the height of summer and, after years of dragging its feet, now intends to push the law through Parliament as soon as it reconvenes after the summer recess.

While the Opposition welcomes today’s announcement, it recalls that it has insisted for years that Malta urgently needs holistic reform of the planning system. What was announced today addresses an important part of the problem, but it cannot in any way be presented as the comprehensive reform that our country needs and which the Partit Nazzjonalista, together with the Maltese and Gozitan people, has long been calling for.

When, and if, the Bill implementing this reform is published and presented before Parliament, the Partit Nazzjonalista will be in a position to examine it in detail and carry out the necessary consultation.

The Opposition will insist on clarity for both applicants and those who have submitted objections. For far too long, the current system has left everyone in a state of uncertainty. It has allowed works, and at times entire developments, to be completed before an appeal is decided, only for the development to have already been built under a permit that is subsequently revoked, when it is already too late.

The Partit Nazzjonalista wants clear guarantees on what the Prime Minister meant in the Government statement by the words “relevant appeal”. We want clarity on whether every appeal will result in an automatic suspension and, if not, which appeals will be covered. We also want clear guarantees on who may appeal, how pending cases will be treated, and what resources will be provided to the Tribunal and the Court so that the proposed deadlines can genuinely be observed.

We also welcome the fact that, according to the announcement, the Court will retain the power to revoke a permit and that the proposal to impose a fine for an appeal deemed frivolous will be withdrawn.

Our support will be for a law that provides citizens with an effective remedy, without loopholes, broad exceptions or hidden restrictions on the right of appeal. We reiterate, however, that Malta needs holistic, serious and consultation-based reform addressing the planning system in its entirety.

The way planning is regulated in our country has profound consequences for society as a whole. Its impact goes far beyond planning and development themselves, because it directly affects the quality of life of the Maltese and Gozitan people.

Rebekah Borg
Shadow Minister for Planning

21.07.2026