Hundreds of previously rejected development applications have been given the go-ahead by the Planning Review Tribunal since April 2013, data tabled in Parliament shows.

According to information provided in response to a question from Opposition MP Ryan Callus, 370 rejections by the Planning Authority have been overturned by the tribunal at appeal since the general election.

St Paul's Bay had the most rejections overturned, 25, followed by Sliema, Mellieħa and St Julian's. The data does not indicate how many rejections were confirmed by the tribunal.

Mr Callus, who is the Opposition representative on the PA board, said his question was motivated by concerns that a large number of applications were being approved through the back door after being turned down by the authority.

The tribunal is generally subject to far lower levels of public scrutiny

Environmentalists who spoke to this newspaper yesterday said the situation had been unchanged for a number of years, with questionable applications regularly green-lit by the tribunal, which is generally subject to far lower levels of scrutiny by the press and public.

Concerns have also been raised recently over the number of applications approved by the three-person Planning Commission, as opposed to the full Planning Board. The Sunday Times of Malta reported this month that only 1.8 per cent of ODZ applications last year were approved by the board, which includes representatives of NGOs and the Environment and Resources Authority and hears just a handful of applications in a single sitting.

The commission, meanwhile, assesses around 50 in the same length of time, suggesting a far lower level of scrutiny for such applications.

“There’s a lot of media scrutiny of the board, but most applications are being approved in summary and perfunctory hearings by the commission,” environmentalist Alan Deidun said. “An average hearing there doesn’t last longer than six minutes.”

Last year, the board and commission approved 745 developments in ODZ areas, the highest number in 11 years, compared to an average of 500 developments a year between 2006 and 2015.

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