The chairman of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, Andrew Calleja, who yesterday announced he has tendered his resignation, effective from June 13, suggested that the right of redress be widened and that the regulator should focus exclusively on its core functions.

Mr Calleja, who has been at the helm for the past six years and whose extended term of office was due to expire in October, suggested that Mepa's role should be strictly related to land-use planning and the environment.

He was presenting the Mepa board's suggestions for reform to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi on his invitation when he took the authority under his wings.

In the document, Mepa Reform: Change For Sustainable Growth, which outlines 12 "crucial" changes, and which Mr Calleja said was his last commitment, the strengthening of the synergy between directorates was recommended.

The document proposes the setting up of an Environmental and Planning Screening Unit, which prospective applicants would have to meet to assess the feasibility of their proposals and identify constraints, reducing the probability of an application running aground late in the process.

It suggests the setting up of an Inter-Departmental Expert Committee, under the responsibility of the Prime Minister, while reports of undue pressure would be communicated to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for the Environment.

An improved system of notification of an application is also being recommended to avoid the widespread complaint that interested parties lose their right of appeal for not having filed an objection in time.

It is being suggested that objections could be made throughout the whole application process up to the time of a decision, while unregistered objectors could submit an appeal within five working days from the publication of a decision.

The "general feeling" among board members, the document states, is that the chairman and deputy chairman should be appointed on a full-time basis in view of their responsibilities.

It also proposes the reactivation of the dormant Planning Consultative Committee, while the location, finance and administration of the Planning Appeals Board should be independent of Mepa to avoid the "impression" that it is an integral part of it.

Mepa also suggests a review of the number, composition and operation of these boards, saying "planning and environmental issues are taking a secondary role and recourse to justice is taking more time to reach a conclusion".

A National Enforcement Agency should be set up on behalf of every government entity, including the transport, occupational health and safety and tourism authorities, and these should be properly resourced, the document proposes.

The agency would free Mepa's inspectors to focus on illegalities in outside development zones while a Building Regulations and Standards Unit would relieve it of aspects of development that are not related to land-use and environmental planning and regulation.

The document points out overlaps of responsibilities with other regulatory agencies.

On finance, the report says that dedicated resources are needed to fulfil EU reporting requirements, the lack of timely reporting to the EU Commission being the most common source of infringement levelled against Malta.

The Mepa board yesterday also presented a document called A Guide To Good Conduct, consisting of the Code of Ethics launched by Dr Gonzi during his first visit to the authority in this legislature.

Dr Gonzi welcomed the proposals saying they would be open to public debate as part of a wide consultation process on the reform, which civil society was invited and encouraged to participate in.

The government is launching a website - riformamepa@gov.mt - open to opinions and ideas. In the past weeks, Dr Gonzi has already started receiving suggestions from civil society.

In his letter of resignation, Mr Calleja maintained that the content of the documents was crucial for Mepa to function, saying circumstances had not allowed its reform to be carried out sooner.

He described his term of office as active: The protection of the environment became Mepa's duty soon after he became its chairman, and Malta was preparing to join the EU, which meant greater challenges and more effort from the same people at the authority.

During Mr Calleja's term of office, Mepa finalised the Local Plans and closed the development boundaries, scheduled about 500 important properties, provided international protection for 15 per cent of the Maltese islands and curbed urban sprawl.

Mepa had set solid foundations so the country could go down the road of sustainable development, Mr Calleja said.