Residents, NGOs and three Local Councils have filed two lawsuits regarding the db Group project on the ex-ITS site (City Centre Project). The filing of these lawsuits was made possible thanks to the overwhelming public response to a crowdfunding initiative last October, when over €26,000 were raised to cover legal expenses for actions against this project.
As part of the latest raft of legal actions, the appellants are filing in Court an appeal from the recent decision of the Planning Tribunal. Whilst the Tribunal ruled in the appellants’ favour on a number of important points, it also rejected a number of valid arguments which are crucial to the health and wellbeing of the community and the infrastructure’s capacity to support intensive development of this sort. The residents, NGOs and Local Councils are appealing for a transparent and sustainable resolution regarding a number of legal points which are still unresolved.
In addition to the appeal, residents, NGOs and Local Councils have filed an action for judicial review in Court. They stated that the PA’s decision to issue the permit for the db Group project was in breach of Maltese law since the process did not follow the principle of natural justice and relevant legal procedures.
The communities and NGOs involved state: “We are committed to continue fighting this unsustainable and over-intensive project as long as necessary. Projects of this extreme dimension cannot be allowed to engulf whole communities putting an inordinate strain on the infrastructure, whilst being approved far before any rational and long-term measures are ensured. The attitude of ‘Build first and cope with the fall-out later’ must stop”.
The two actions in Court were undertaken by:
– Three Local Councils: Pembroke, St. Julian’s and Swieqi
– Four NGOs: Moviment Graffitti, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA), Din l-Art Ħelwa and Friends of the Earth Malta
– Nine residents
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Komunitajiet u għaqdiet jiftħu aktar kawżi l-Qorti kontra l-proġett tad-db Group
Residenti, numru ta’ għaqdiet u tliet Kunsilli Lokali fetħu żewġ kawżiet il-Qorti rigward il-proġett tad-db Group fuq is-sit ta’ dak li qabel kien l-ITS (City Centre Project). Il-ftuħ ta’ dawn il-kawżi kien possibbli grazzi għar-rispons enormi tal-pubbliku għall-inizjattiva ta’ ġbir tal-flus mingħand il-poplu f’Ottubru li għadda, meta inġabret is-somma ta’ aktar minn €26,000 biex jiġu koperti l-ispejjeż legali għal azzjonijiet kontra dan il-proġett.
Bħala parti minn sensiela ta’ azzjonijiet legali, l-appellanti qed iressqu appell il-Qorti kontra d-deċiżjoni tat-Tribunal tal-Ippjanar. Filwaqt li t-Tribunal iddeċieda favur l-appellanti fuq numru ta’ punti, huwa ċaħad ukoll numru ta’ argumenti validi li huma kruċjali għas-saħħa u l-benesseri tal-komunità u l-kapaċità tal-infrastruttura biex tiflaħ għal żvilupp intensiv ta’ din ix-xorta. Ir-residenti, l-għaqdiet u l-Kunsilli Lokali qed jappellaw għal riżoluzzjoni trasparenti u sostenibbli dwar numru ta’ punti legali li għadhom mhux solvuti.
Barra minn dan l-appell, ir-residenti, l-għaqdiet u l-Kunsilli Lokali ressqu wkoll azzjoni l-Qorti għal reviżjoni ġudizzjarja. Huma ddikjaraw li d-deċiżjoni tal-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar li toħroġ il-permess lid-db Group qed tikser il-liġi Maltija peress li l-proċess ma kienx isegwi l-prinċipju tal-ġustizzja naturali u l-proċeduri rilevanti.
Il-komunitajiet u l-għaqdiet involuti qalu: “Aħna mpenjati biex inkomplu niġġieldu kontra dan il-proġett eċċessiv u insostenibbli sakemm ikun jeħtieġ. Proġetti ta’ dan id-daqs estrem ma jistgħux jitħallew jidfnu komunitajiet sħaħ u jagħmlu pressjoni fuq l-infrastruttura, filwaqt li jiġu approvati ħafna qabel kull miżura razzjonali u li tħares fit-tul jiġu assigurati. Din l-attitudni ta’ ‘L-ewwel ibni u mbagħad niffaċċjaw il-konsegwenzi wara’ trid tieqaf”.
Iż-żewġ azzjonijiet il-Qorti saru minn:
– Tliet Kunsilli Lokali: Pembroke, San Ġiljan u Swieqi
– Erba’ NGOs: Moviment Graffitti, FAA Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Din l-Art Helwa u Friends of the Earth Malta
– Disa’ residenti
