Bureaucracy ‘causing problems’ at Mepa

Reforms in the way building applications are being processed by the planning authority are causing complicated bureaucratic processes staff are finding difficult to handle, according to Labour MP Roderick Galdes. Since the new application system was introduced on January 1, several people complained about problems brought about by bureaucracy, he said.

Mr Galdes, Labour’s planning spokesman and a member on the Malta Environment and Planning Authority board, pointed out that people were being asked to pay higher tariffs for a more complicated process.

As a result of this situation a commission was appointed through which the Chamber of Architects and Mepa representatives are looking into the difficulties arising from the new reform, he said.

Mr Galdes said the authority still had about 4,600 pending applications and about 800 cases for reconsideration.

Through the reform, a mandatory pre-screening process was introduced and applications are classified as being simple, complex or major. Each of the classifications is accompanied by a set timeframe within which Mepa has to decide.

It is no longer possible for people to have certain illegalities sanctioned, particularly if they are in outside development zones or in protected areas.