Friday, 9th January 2009
Attard Brothers get discount on Mepa bill
The planning authority yesterday reduced a fee by over €45,000 for major developers Attard Brothers after they complained that they could not afford the hefty bill.
The company had owed €114,450 for the sanctioning of a precast plant which was built illegally in the Ta' Qali industrial estate. The authority approved the development in October but tied the permit to a fee, known as planning gain.
Attard Brothers director Michael Attard pleaded with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority board to reduce the fee saying the company could not afford it as it was already feeling the pinch of the financial crisis.
"I have 300 employees who depend on me and I can't pay €114,450 especially in these difficult times," he said before suggesting that the fee be reduced from €25 per square metre, as it was, to a mere €5 per square metre.
"I need to start building. I have equipment worth millions that is not being used and had you issued the permit three years ago, I would have already got one-quarter of the amount back," he said.
Board chairman Austin Walker pointed out that the company was not being singled out, and reminded Mr Attard that he had filed an application to sanction an illegally built property.
However, he proposed that the fee be reduced from €25 to €15 and the rest of the board approved the proposal unanimously, which means Mr Attard now has to pay a total of €68,670, down by €45,780 from the original amount.
The board also decided that the payment should be made in three stages: when the permit is issued and the remaining amount over the next two years.
Three years ago, Mr Attard had filed an application for a full development permit to construct a new precast plant on his site in Ta' Qali industrial estate.
However, seeing that the authority had not yet approved his request to build the plant, Mr Attard started building the new plant anyway and filed for sanctioning.
In October, Mepa sanctioned the building and informed Mr Attard that he would have to pay a planning gain of €25 per square metre over a total of 4,578 square metres amounting to €114,450. The authority had requested the full amount before the permit was issued.
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Comments
i forgot these are property developers were talking about...
MEPA hahaha
will I get a discount on my water and electricty bill ????????????????!!!!!!!
How ironical that this happened on the same day the Magic Kiosk was demolished!
act like a cowboy and build an illegal monstrosity in the countryside below Mdina (why bother about a permit when you’re a building contractor!) Not only does Mepa sanction your monstrosity but you also get a discount on the bill!
Just this week we heard that rubble walls that are too high were being demolished. Yes rubble walls that are too high ruin the environment but this monstrosity does not!
The least Mepa could do is to insist that the developer decorate the structure and plant some tress around it to mitigate a bit the negative effects of this horrible grey structure on the aesthetics of the area.
Well done MEPA . . . this sort of thing does wonders for your credibility and the public's faith in the institution!!