Six environmental NGOs have called on the Planning Authority to explain why their representative on the board was advised to recuse herself for the hearing on t
Five Planning Authority board members on Thursday recused themselves from a hearing that is due to decide on a controversial mega hotel and residential complex in Pembroke, citing perceived conflict of interest.
The €250 million db project will see the construction of a 12-storey hotel and two 17- and 18-storey residential towers on the former ITS site.
PA chairman Vince Cassar, Environmental Resources Authority chairman Victor Axiak, Joseph Brincat and NGO representative Annick Bonello sent a note to the board saying that although they believed they could decide on the matter, they had decided to withdraw from the hearing anyway. Lawyer Chris Cilia recused himself over a potential professional conflict.
The Planning Authority on Thursday approved by a whisker the controversial db Group project in Pembroke despite unprecedented opposition from local councils, re
Updated 11am with Axiak s reply
Nine NGOs have written to Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia, asking him to sack Victor Axiak from his role as chair of the Environmental Resources Authority.
Axiak, a biology professor who was appointed chair of the environmental regulator in 2016, has come under fire from environmental groups for what they described as a “spate of abysmal decisions.”
In an open letter to the minister (see below), the NGOs listed a series of ERA decisions that they said ran counter to its mandate of protecting Malta’s environment, and accused Axiak of aligning himself with the interests of developers and roadbuilders.