Reform to be unveiled on Thursday

Standard planning applications will be processed and determined within 12 weeks once the Malta Environment and Planning Authority is reformed, The Sunday Times has learnt.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is expected to unveil the long-awaited reform of the authority on Thursday.

One of the highlights is that Mepa will take a decision on any application within a temporary provisions scheme or development boundary within 12 weeks. If during the screening process an application is classified as complex it will be determined within 26 weeks.

The reform is proposing the elimination of Mepa's so-called 'chess clock', which dictates that an application has to be suspended and a 30-day period of response initiated whenever a public entity needs to be consulted.

The authority itself adapts this system of delay whenever it needs to communicate with an applicant.

The reform also envisages the introduction of a new system which would immediately indicate whether an application may be processed within 12 or 26 weeks.

To cut down on waiting time, there will be a more rigorous process to validate the application in the initial stages.

It is understood that applications for major projects will be treated in a different manner.

The reform is also expected to make a series of recommendations to beef up Mepa's environmental wing as the government is evidently trying to balance the demands of environmentalists with those of the construction industry.

It is expected to make it clear that Mepa will adopt a zero tolerance policy towards applications for projects outside development zones - which have been often breached, amid claims of abuse. The reform should also be making a series of proposals to better define Mepa's often confusing role as policymaker and regulator.

The proposals will be discussed during a national conference later this month. The Prime Minister had underlined four principles to guide Mepa's reform - consistency, efficiency, accountability and enforcement - with the ultimate goal of sustainable development.

Last week, Dr Gonzi said the reform should include a review of policies to plug loopholes which some people had exploited to the extent that developments breached the spirit of the policies themselves.

Dr Gonzi said the Mepa reform had proved to be one of the most difficult and sensitive reforms undertaken by the government so far during this legislature.

The Prime Minister had made it clear he intended to take Mepa reform under his wing during the 2008 general election campaign - a pledge which has haunted him for 15 months, amid mounting criticism of unnecessary delays. The consultation process was completed last February.

In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, Dr Gonzi said: "I hope no one will now tell the government that we are steamrolling a reform."