Labour whip urges ERA to appeal high-rise decisions

Labour whip Godfrey Farrugia has urged the Environment and Resources Authority to appeal against the Planning Authority’s approval of high-rise towers in Sliema and Mriehel.

 “The time has come for ERA to show its teeth, which after all is why I had voted in favour of the MEPA demerger [into the ERA and the PA],” he wrote on Facebook. “I hope that ERA takes a decision that will lend itself credibility and show that it respects the environment. Our small country cannot handle every type of development.”  

MaltaToday reported on Sunday that ERA’s board members are split on whether or not to appeal, and that a decision is expected later on today. The main argument being put forward against an appeal is the fact that ERA had hardly protests against the environmental impact assessments that had been carried out on the two projects.

“It’s a legalistic argument…ERA hadn’t opened its mouth at the EIA stage, so why would it appeal now?” informed sources told this paper.

The Environment and Resources Authority was not present at the Planning Authority’s meeting last month in which the towers were approved, as its chairperson Victor Axiak was indisposed due to medical reasons.

Two weeks ago, a group of 20 activists blocked the entrance to ERA’s offices in Marsa to urge them to appeal the high-rise projects.
“There isn’t a single institution in this country that safeguards the environment,” Moviment Graffiti activist Andre Callus told the protest. “The MEPA demerger was sold to us as an attempt to give the environment a stronger voice… Yet, in this case, ERA even failed to use what little weight it has.”

Four environmental NGOs are currently raising funds to mount an appeal against the PA’s high-rise decisions. The Sliema local council will launch a separate appeal focused on the Townsquare project.