Gozo apartment owners risk losses as court declares property illegal following PA blunder

A newly constructed block of apartments in Xewkija, Gozo, has been declared illegal by the court, risking the investment of all those who purchased units before the decision was taken.

The court found that the Authority issued a building permit for the 21 apartments and six penthouses against several objections, a recommendation by its directorate, and its own rules.

While legal challenges were immediately filed against the permit, issued in 2021, Gozitan developer Franceso Grima, known as il-Gigu, continued selling his planned apartments and developing his project, risking both investor funds and his own.

According to planning laws, developers are not required to halt their projects until a final decision is taken on the objections raised.

In a final decision last week, as the complex nears completion, the Court of Appeal, Presided by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti, declared that the Planning Authority broke all planning rules when issuing this permit and struck it down.

This has put the whole development and the investments of those who already purchased property within it into question.

How it happened

In 2020, Gozitan developer Francesco Grima applied for the development of residential apartments on a large plot of agricultural land in Xewkija.

Grima’s plan immediately raised objections, with NGO Din l-Art Helwa and several neighbours fiercely opposing it as it breached a number of planning policies in the area.

While the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) remained silent, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage declared Grima’s application was a nonstarter as it would destroy arable land and was out of proportion with its surroundings.

Also, his architect, Alex Bigeni, a relative of Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri, applied to build five floors when the local plan for the area only permits three.

The Planning Authority’s directorate agreed with the objections and recommended an outright refusal.

Despite this, the Planning Commission, presided over by architect Claude Mallia, who was later given a government job as the CEO of Malta Air Traffic Services (MATS), decided to approve the permit.

In March 2023, as the project was nearing completion, the Environmental and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT), presided over by Joe Borg (a Planning Authority employee), confirmed the Authority’s first decision to issue a permit.

It took more than two years to come to this conclusion, giving Grima ample time to conclude his project and sell the apartments.

Following objections, the Court of Appeal struck down the PA and the EPRT decisions last week and cancelled the 2021 permit.

In his judgment, Chief Justice Chetcuti said the Planning Authority had acted abusively and illegally as the policy and the local plan for the area made it very clear that no more than three floors were permitted.

The court said it could not understand how the Planning Authority and the EPRT decided that Grima should build five storeys, going against the local plan.

The court’s decision is final and cannot be appealed, meaning the entire building will remain illegal and should, at least in theory, be demolished.

The Planning Authority was also embroiled in a recent similar case where it allowed Minister Ian Borg to build a pool next to his home in the rural hamlet of Santa Katerina in Rabat.

While the Planning Authority issued a permit to the minister (who at the time was also responsible for the same Authority), the court struck it down years later, ruling the permit was issued illegally.

However, the minister decided to continue building the pool illegally on ODZ land, taking full advantage of the time taken between the issue of his illegal permit by the Planning Authority and the time the court took to strike it down.

To date, the Planning Authority has not issued an enforcement notice to the minister to demolish the illegal construction.