Cap. 149 Art. 3Declaration by Minister that area is a Special Development Area.

(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. 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.