Massive shooting range approved without full development application

A change in the law a few weeks after the general election allowed the government to obtain permission for a massive shooting range at Ta’ Kandja, an electoral pledge, without a full development application.
The shooting range was validated by the Planning Authority on November 22 through a simple Development Notification Order (DNO), usually reserved for minor developments.
It was submitted as part of a “reorganisation plan” of the adjacent Police Academy in the outskirts of Siġġiewi. The whole project has an area of more than 100,000 square metres, the size of 14 football pitches.
The DNO procedure typically exempts a range of minor developments from full permit application procedures. Under the procedure, the public is not part of the planning process and has no right for an appeal.
However, in a legal notice published on August 1, the government added a clause allowing all developments carried out on land “under the operational control of the Malta Police Force” to benefit from the DNO.
Such developments would require only the clearance of cultural and environmental authorities and a letter of recommendation from the minister responsible.

Days after the law was introduced,...