Mepa caseload close to 5,000

The net pending caseload at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) at the end of last month stood at 4,942.

The authority said that in September it decided 543 applications and received 447 new ones. It said it processed 97 notifications of development, which, according to the Development Notification Order 2007, did not require a formal application.

63 Stop and Enforcement notices were issued, 54 in Malta and nine in Gozo. The enforcement section closed 15 cases in Malta. Another seven enforcement cases were sanctioned by a planning permit while eight cases were resolved by the owners’ decision to remove their illegal development and comply with the enforcement notice.

The authority received 108 calls on its 24-hour emergency service number 2069 9595, launched in mid-September. Thirty eight dealt with construction site management issues, 36 were on littering, three on pollution, one on nature protection and 30 on illegal development.

In September, the authority also issued 111 waste carrier permits during the month.