MEPA caseload grows

The number of new development applications filed to MEPA last month was twice the number of applications decided by the authority during the same period, figures issued today show.

MEPA decided 277 applications and received 558 new ones. The net pending caseload at the end of the month was 4,620.

The authority said that last month it processed 55 notifications of development, which, according to the Development Notification Order 2007, did not require a formal application.

It issued 16 contravention notices to developers on sites that were breaching Construction Site Management Regulations. These fines amounted to a total of €20,032.47. Inspectors also issued a total of 25 other contraventions, amounting to €1455.75, to individuals that were found breaching the Litter Act.

During the same month, 65 Stop and Enforcement notices were issued, 55 in Malta and 10 in Gozo. The enforcement section within MEPA closed 36 cases, 30 in Malta and 6 in Gozo. 15 other enforcement cases were sanctioned by a planning permit while another 21 cases were resolved by the owners’ decision to remove their illegal development and comply with the enforcement notice.