Manoel Island project: NGO seeks recusal of PA board members, Gżira council
The Planning Authority board has put off a hearing of an application for the development of Manoel Island after objectors requested the recusal of board members who had decided on a previous application in March 2019. Michael Sciortino, on behalf of eNGO Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, made the request at the start of a meeting on Thursday. He also requested that the Gżira local council recuses itself due to a possible conflict of interest: it had taken part in the 2019 decision and sits on the Manoel Island Foundation, the guardian of rights and obligations agreed to between the developers MIDI and the council. Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manchè said this request did not make sense as local government needed to make its voice heard on a project affecting the locality. MIDI plc’s lawyer Mario Camilleri had earlier pre-empted the objectors, who had already used this argument during pending appeals. Pending appeal not about planning process He said the pending appeal was not about the planning process but over the endorsement, by the Environmental and Resources Authority, of the environment impact assessment. Planning Authority board chairman Vince Cassar put off the case to September...