PA appeals over Siġġiewi buffer zone decision

The Planning Authority has filed a court appeal to reinstate its decision to strip part of the Għar il-Kbir buffer zone in Siġġiewi of scheduled status, insisting it has no obligation of consultation on de-scheduling decisions. On March 30, the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal annulled a 2015 PA decision to remove the scheduling of an area of land in the limits of Siġġiewi, on the basis that the local council had not been consulted. The area, targeted by developers for the extension of a nearby quarry, formed part of a scheduled area of archaeological importance, ix-Xagħra ta’ Għar il-Kbir, a Class A archaeological site. Caves there were occupied by a community of troglodytes until the early British period. The appeal was brought by the Siġġiewi local council and Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar. However, the PA has now filed its own appeal against the tribunal’s decision in front of the Court of Appeal. In the appeal, the PA argues that the law requires only the publication of final decisions in cases of de-scheduling, and therefore “excludes any form of external consultation during the decision-making process”. The PA claims that the tribunal’s decision introduced a new...