To commemorate the first year of the new Planning Authority, the management and its employees collected funds for Puttinu Care by organising a number of fundraising initiatives at its premises.

The Planning Authority donated €15,000 to the Puttinu Care Foundation during Xarabank on Good Friday.

Johann Buttigieg, chairman of the executive council of the authority, said: “We believe that supporting local charities is a symbolic way of commemorating our first year since the demerger took place. Throughout the year, as an organisation, we organise many fundraising activities and initiatives to help local charities and, therefore, we thought it was appropriate to close off our first year with an initiative of solidarity.”

During the past year, the authority managed to achieve a number of milestones, one of which is that for the first time in 20 years it finished off the year with a profit. Another important fact has been that the pending caseload has been brought down, in spite of the fact that the authority handled some 8,000 planning applications last year.

This achievement is partly the result of a greater focus placed on internal processes, the reorganisation of the development control unit and the upgrading of IT systems.

During the past year, the authority also started tackling long-standing enforcement issues through a two-year regularisation scheme for illegalities within the development zone. Through this initiative and the fees it receives, the authority has managed to increase funding opportunities for local councils and launched the successful Restawr Darek grant scheme.

While the regularisation scheme is only one part of an attempt to really get to grips with the enforcement system, the authority also embarked on a concerted effort to persuade owners that it was in their interest to remove illegalities – rather than have them removed by the authority at their expense through so-called direct actions.

Over the past year infringements removed by owners have almost doubled.