News | Sunday, 01 February 2009

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Court resurrects appeal against M’skala fish farms

James Debono
The Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s appeals board will have to reconsider an appeal from the Marsaskala council against fish farms relocated offshore, after a ruling by the law courts.
The issue concerns a pending permit for the relocation of fish farms in Malta to a site located 6km away from Marsaskala’s coast. The local council there is dead set against the relocation.
The law courts have now revoked a decision by the MEPA appeals board to reject the appeal lodged by the council against a permit authorising the relocation of the farms.
The appeal was presented by Labour MP Owen Bonnici on behalf of the Marsaskala council.
Significantly, the law courts reprimanded MEPA for referring to the wrong locality in a newspaper advert that had stated the relocation was taking place in Marsaxlokk, rather than in Marsaskala, in “a site at southeast of Malta away from the shore off Xrobb l-Ghagin, Marsaxlokk.”
The courts ruled that the advert published in 2004 was mistaken, and therefore null and without any legal effect. “Without any doubt, it is of maximum importance that the notice published in the press should be precise and indicate exactly the site, the nature of the development and the locality where it is set to take place,” the Court said.
Local councils and other third parties can only object to a development in the 15-day period following the publication of this notice. The Court concluded that this shortcoming on MEPA’s part affected the rights of the objectors. “It gave the impression that the development was to take place in this locality even if all relevant documents show that the development was to affect Marsaskala.”
The Court also noted the original application, for fish farms catering for 5,000 tonnes of tuna, had been increased to 9,000 tonnes in later stages. It said this was a substantial change in the nature of the project from when it was proposed to what was finally approved.
The Court of Appeal sent the relevant files of the case back to MEPA’s board of appeal to reconsider the case.

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