The percentage of development applications from SMEs refused by Mepa has gone down from almost 50 per cent to just 10 per cent, following a number of changes to improve the system.
Robert Vella, head of the recently set up Business Development Unit, admitted that over the years the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) had become too rigid. Recent reforms had since highlighted the bottlenecks and the need to negotiate solutions which were still acceptable in terms of planning policies.
“Unfortunately even though we are making a real effort to guide the investors towards other alternatives, not all of them accept. But at least now we know that nine out of 10 applications will be approved, which is an acceptable level,” he said.
“And it also means that there will be more applications as they will not be discouraged before they even try!”
This has also been helped by offering meetings with SMEs even before the application is submitted.
“The advice we give them can really help them to avoid pointless expense and time, as we can immediately advise them if a project has no hope of getting off the ground. Why waste two years when they could be investing their money in something else?”
Mepa has been making numerous changes to make processes more business-friendly, with a section on the website – Business Sense – giving details of all the initiatives.
The changes have been welcomed by SMEs, which account for around 1,200 applications out of the total of 4,000 in 2014.
One of the changes was that applications from SMEs for commercial areas up to 1,000 sq.m. used to go to area teams but this did not always make sense as there were investors interested in multiple locations, for example.
The recently set up Business Development Unit, which has a team of just eight people, now handles them all.
Mepa’s planning and environments arms are currently being, which involves some 50 pieces of legislation. The process is being taken at a much slower pace than the merger that brought them together in an effort to ensure all the details are taken care of.
“But there was no reason to wait until the process was completed and the Business Development Unit was set up,” Mr Vella said.
Mr Vella has seen a considerable number of changes in the 27 years he has worked with Mepa, where he started in the enforcement section. He was one of the first two employees to get a degree in planning, which led to the sector being given far more prominence and attention.
The setting up of the unit itself is the latest in a number of other changes which started in 2013. The application tariffs were substantially reduced, in an effort to reduce the amount of SMEs who gave up before even starting the process.
At least now we know that nine out of 10 applications will be approved
Tariffs for restoration and rehabilitation of historic buildings were also removed in 2013, which also had a significant impact on efforts to save village cores, for example.
“There was one house in Żebbuġ which was being changed into a boutique hotel, where the bill would have been €9,000!” he said.
Mepa also extended the permits for those SMEs which had not yet started their projects and whose five-year deadlines were looming.
However, he is still not entirely happy with the situation as there remain too many subjective factors when it comes to applications.
“Objective aspects are easy as you just have to follow the rules. But subjective judgements could lead to anomalies and inconsistencies. Having area teams did not help as they might have had slightly different approaches. Having one unit that works together – and therefore more coherently – will help this,” he said.
The unit also signed a memorandum of understanding with the commission representing the disabled, KNPD, which has also removed numerous sticking points.
“Sometimes you just need to take a step back and use logic. For example, if you have a restaurant which can only be accessed by a pavement with stairs, then does the restaurant itself need to have a ramp? We are all absolutely committed to accessibility – and not only because it is a legal requirement – but sometimes the applicant got tied up in endless consultation and ended up at square one. Now it is much easier to get through an accessibility audit,” he said.
Mepa itself also looked at its own policies. Mr Vella gave the example of an application to change a garage into an outlet which would previously have been refused merely because parking would have been lost, irrespective of the traffic that the outlet would generate.
It also made it easier to change operational categories, for example from a retail outlet to an office, which now only requires a notification, the first change since 1994. And low impact users who want to set up a home operation, the so-called casa bottegas such as nail technicians or artists, have also been spared the ordeal of applying.
“It is all about supporting start-ups. We should not discourage those who have an idea and want to give it a try... Our approach is to say that ‘we are in favour of...’, rather than taking a regulator stance and only telling them what cannot be done.”