Tag: NGOs
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Padel Courts permit in Manoel Island appealed by NGOs
Up to three NGOs have field an appeal with the Planning Authority opposing its decision to regularise the illegally built padel courts on Manoel Island. Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Moviment Graffitti and Żminijietna filed a 33-page appeal through lawyer Darren Carabott, asking the Tribunal to annul the Planning Authority’s decision and refuse the development application…
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Pembroke residents and NGOs protest against massive sports complex on natural land
Pembroke residents and NGOs yesterday protested against the proposed construction of three football grounds and a wider sports complex on natural land close to the Natura 2000 area in Pembroke. The protest forms part of a broader campaign by residents and NGOs against the transfer of public land in Pembroke for large-scale sporting and commercial…
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Government and ENGOs lock horns over planning reform
Environmental NGOs are insisting with the government to withdraw its proposed planning reforms while the government keeps resisting these calls, saying that improvements to the laws will be enough. The Ramblers Association, one of the environmental groups leading the opposition to what its President described as the most corrupt planning reform in history, said that…
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More than a thousand protestors march in Valletta against planning bills: vow to return next week
More than a thousand people marched into Valletta today to protest the government’s plans to introduce new planning bills that would allow the Planning Authority to bypass many of Malta’s environmental and planning regulations enacted over the past decades. Environmental NGOs have described the proposed reforms as the most corrupt overhaul of planning laws in…
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ENGOs warn planning amendments still threaten environment despite Minister’s concessions
Environmental NGOs have dismissed Minister Clint Camilleri’s announcement that some of the most controversial elements of the proposed amendments to the Development Planning Act will be toned down, insisting that the entire reform remains fundamentally flawed. In a joint statement, the ENGOs – including Ramblers’ Association, Din l-Art Ħelwa, BirdLife Malta, Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust…
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The latest crisis for the Prime Minister
The Labour government wrongfully assumed that as the Nationalist Party would be busy with a leadership race, there would be less opposition to its sweeping construction and planning reforms. The problem with this assumption is that the Nationalist Party hasn’t even been leading in the opposition to the government’s policies and actions with regard to…
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The Nationalist MPs that attended yesterday’s protest against the government’s planning reforms
Yesterday’s protest in front of parliament organised by environmental NGOs was very successful considering its short notice. Protesters also heckled the Prime Minister as he walked right outside the Parliament building and said that he will be consulting and meeting with NGOs soon. There was also a handful of PN MPs present, with Adrian Delia…
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NGOs demand transparency after controversial re-appointment of Planning Commission Chair
A coalition of Malta’s leading environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has strongly criticised the government’s recent decision to re-appoint Elizabeth Ellul as Chairperson of a Planning Commission, raising serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and potential conflicts of interest. Ellul will now head a Commission responsible for reviewing and approving development applications across Malta and Gozo’s urban…
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NGOs condemn Prime Minister’s remarks on amending the European Convention on Human Rights
Aditus Foudnation and Repubblika condemned the Prime Minister’s proposal to change the European Convention on Human Rights. In reaction to the Prime Minister’s comments saying that not everyone deserves these rights, Aditus said that the Prime Minister seems to be more focused on pleasing his fascist colleagues, “rather than confirming Malta’s unwavering commitment to fundamental…
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NGOs, academics and citizens demand emergency protection for British Barracks at Fort Chambray
A coalition of environmental and heritage NGOs, supported by hundreds of citizens including leading academics, historians, and artists, has applied formally for an Emergency Conservation Order regarding the British Barracks at Fort Chambray in Gozo. This follows several calls to schedule the 19th-century building with a view to saving it from demolition that fell on…
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Environment NGOs endorse BirdLife Malta’s call to European Commissioner for Environment to uphold rule of law in Malta
Eight Maltese environmental NGOs, led by BirdLife Malta, are urging the European Commission to enforce an EU court ruling that found Malta guilty of breaching the Birds Directive. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling, issued on 19th September, ordered Malta to stop granting “research derogations” that allow finch trapping, but the government reopened the…
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NGOs hold a protest against proposed Villa Rosa Project
Up to 11 NGOs got together to protest against the planned Villa Rosa development in Paceville. Local Plans are being changed by the government with little push-back by the Opposition to accommodate the development of Garnet Investments by Anton Camilleri (Tal-Franciz). Some Opposition MPs attended the protest including Karol Aquilina and Albert Buttigieg, but Opposition…