SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT AREAS ACT

SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT AREAS

CHAPTER 149

SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT AREAS ACT

To make provision for the stabilization of values and the control of land

in areas earmarked for special development by the Government.

(18th May, 1956) *

ACT IX of 1956, as amended by Legal Notice 4 of 1963; Act XIII of

1983; and Legal Notice 409 of 2007.

The short title of this Act is the Special Development

Areas Act.

A. An area situated between Marsa, Paola and Luqa and bounded

On the North by Marsa Cross Road, Jetties Wharf and

Shipwright’s Wharf;

On the East by Paola Hill, Valletta Street (Paola) and

Britannia Street (Paola);

On the South by Palm Street, the Addolorata Cemetery, Lane

ta’ }al Saflieni and a Government rural tenement known as

"Tal-Qtates";

On the West by Valletta Road (Luqa), Marsa Racecourse and a

SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT AREAS

lane leading from Marsa Racecourse to Marsa Cross.

The area is shown edged purple on a plan which may be seen

on demand at the Office of Public Works, Valletta.

B. An area situated in Marsa and bounded

On the North by Pinto Road and Spencer Hill;

On the West by Marsa Cross Road;

On the South and on the East by the Grand Harbour.

The area is shown edged purple on a plan which may be seen

on demand at the Office of Public Works, Valletta.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"building" includes any structure whatsoever;

"Director" means the Director of Public Works;

"Special Development Area" means an area in respect of which a

declaration has been made by the Minister under article 3.

(1) Where the Government has earmarked an area within

Malta for public acquisition with a view to its development for a

public purpose other than that merely of town planning the Minister

responsible for public works may declare such an area to be a

Special Development Area for the purposes of this Act.

(2) No person shall require any proof of the purpose referred to

in subarticle (1) other than the declaration of the Minister.

(3) Whenever any declaration is made as aforesaid, the

Director shall cause a copy of such declaration, together with

particulars sufficient for the purpose of identifying the area, to be

published in the Government Gazette and to be posted up on the

notice-board of the Police Station or each of the Police Stations of

the towns or villages where or within the limits of which the area is

situated.

(4) A copy of the said declaration together with a plan of the area

to which the declaration refers shall also be made available for

inspection by the public at the Office of Public Works, Valletta, and

in the branch offices, if any, of the towns or villages referred to in

subarticle (2).

(5) A declaration made under this article shall continue in force

for a period of five years from the date on which it was made unless

it is previously revoked.

(6) The Minister may, from time to time, amend, suspend or

revoke any declaration previously made by him. Any such

amendments, suspension or revocation shall be notified in the

Government Gazette.

In the case of amendment of such declaration the provisions of

*See Government Notice No. 306 of the 21st of May, 1956.

SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT AREAS

subarticles (3) and (4) shall apply as in the case of a new

declaration.

(1) As from the date of publication in the Government

Gazette of the declaration made by the Minister as provided in the

last preceding article and so long as such declaration continues in

force the following provisions of this article shall apply in regard to

any land or buildings comprised within the Special Development

Area.

(2) No person shall lay out or construct any building or

increase the height of any existing building or do any other work in,

on, over or under the land or building other than ordinary

maintenance works in the case of buildings and ordinary cultivation

works in the case of agricultural land without the permission in

writing of the Director who may refuse to grant any such

permission at his discretion

Provided that in respect of the areas described in

paragraphs A and B of the Schedule to this Act the restrictions

imposed by this subarticle shall be deemed to have had effect as

from the 15th and the 28th of November, 1955, respectively.

(3) The value of any such land or building which the

Government acquires by absolute purchase shall, for the purposes

of the compensation payable under the Land Acquisition (Public

Purposes) Ordinance but notwithstanding anything to the contrary

contained in that Ordinance, be the value of the land or building as

at the date of the publication in the Government Gazette of the

declaration made as provided in article 3 or, in the case of an

amendment of such declaration whereby an area to which such

declaration refers is extended and in respect of the areas so added,

the value at the date of the publication in the Government Gazette

of that amendment

Provided that in respect of the areas described in the

Schedule to this Act such value of any land or building comprised

therein shall be its value as on the 14th of July, 1955.

The Director may at any time by writing under his hand

release any one or more individual lands or buildings from the

operation of this Act either absolutely or subject to such conditions

as he may make and thereupon the provisions of this Act shall

consistently with the terms of such release cease to apply to those

lands, or buildings.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring the

Government to acquire any land or building comprised in a Special

Development Area

SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT AREAS

Provided that, unless such land or building is acquired by

the Government or released from the operation of this Act within

one year from the date of the publication of the Minister ’s

declaration made under the provisions of article 3, the owner shall

thereafter and up to the time the land or building is either acquired

by the Government or released be entitled to compensation for the

loss which he proves to have actually suffered in consequence of

the subjection of the land or building to the restrictions imposed by

this Act but the amount of such compensation shall in no case

exceed an amount equal to five per centum per annum on the value

of the land or building, to be determined as in the case of

acquisition after taking into consideration of article 4(3). The

compensation shall in default of agreement be fixed by the Land

Arbitration Board established under the provisions of the Land

Acquisition (Public Purposes) Ordinance.

Any person who lays out or constructs any building or who

increases the height of any existing building or does any other work

in, on, over or under any land or building comprised in a Special

Development Area otherwise than in accordance with article 4(2)

shall remove the same within ten days after due notice is given to

him for that purpose by the Director; and, in the event of the notice

not being complied with, the Director may order the works to be

removed at the expense of the person by whom the same was done

without any compensation to that person and the expense of such

removal shall be recoverable from that person as a civil debt and

that person shall moreover be guilty of an offence for non-

compliance with the said notice and shall be liable on conviction to

a fine (ammenda) not exceeding forty-six euro and fifty-nine cents

(€46.59).

This Act shall, except to the extent that it is inconsistent

therewith, be in addition to and not in derogation of the provisions

of the Land Acquisition (Public Purposes) Ordinance or any other

law and nothing herein shall in any way affect the right of the

Government to acquire or otherwise deal with any land or property

in accordance with those provisions and in particular the right to

acquire land or property by any method other than absolute

purchase.