65 stop and enforcement notices issued

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority determined 623 applications in April and received 661 new applications bringing the net pending caseload at the end of the month to 4,933.

The authority last month processed 82 notifications of development which, according to the Development Notification Order 2001, do not require a formal application. Sixty-five stop and enforcement notices were issued, 50 in Malta and 15 in Gozo.

In April, 70 enforcement cases were closed, 18 in Malta and 52 in Gozo, while 59 enforcement cases were sanctioned by the issue of a sanctionable permit. Another nine cases were resolved since owners decided to remove illegal development and comply with the enforcement notice. During the same month two cases were withdrawn by Mepa. Twenty-six cases received at the Mepa complaints office were resolved without the need of enforcement action, since owners complied with instructions given by Mepa enforcement officers.

Mepa carried out 24 direct action operations, 13 of which consisted of the removal of billboards from various locations.