NGOs, residents, and the local councils of Pembroke, St. Julian’s and Swieqi, have come together to file two new lawsuits against the now infamous db Group project at the former ITS site in St Julian’s.

Earlier this month, the Planning Review Tribunal turned down an appeal against the City Centre Project mega-development, however, inserted a number of provisos that must be followed.

DB Group has since told The Malta Independent hat they did not expect “major changes to the original overall approach to the development.”

The legal action is looking to appeal the aforementioned decision arguing that while the tribunal did agree with a number of important points, issues surrounding the health and infrastructure of the surrounding community were left unresolved.

The lawsuits were able to be realised thanks to the €26,000 raised through a crowdfunding initiative last October.

The groups have also filed for a judicial review, arguing that the permit for the project was in breach of Maltese law.

“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 groups have been quoted as saying.

The NGOs involved with the legal action are Moviment Graffitti, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA), Din l-Art Ħelwa and Friends of the Earth Malta.

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Julian Bonnici

Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.