The impact of the planning authority reform is imminent, with the publication of a legal notice in the coming days bringing into immediate effect the approved Environment and Development Planning Act.
The Malta Environment and Planning Authority said it was on the “doorstep” of the next phase of the anticipated reform and the comprehensive legal notice, which covers all the new procedures.
Its publication will bring about changes in the application process and deadlines for their determination, putting an end to the “chess clock” system that meant time constantly stopped and started.
One of the most crucial changes, according to Mepa, is the introduction of the screening process, costing a flat rate of €50, before an application is submitted. It would mean applicants would know exactly what they needed, including documents and consultations, and their applications would be complete from the start.
The screening process would address one of the main complaints: after applications were submitted, new requirements were constantly requested and time passed by.
As regards timeframes, what would be considered a simple application, for example, should be determined in 12 weeks, after the four-week period for screening.
Until now, amendments to applications could be submitted at any stage but they would now be limited to four weeks from the date of the validation letter, following the screening.
Shortly, it would no longer be possible to apply to sanction illegal developments that date back to May 2008 (when the last set of aerial photography was taken) in the case of protected areas and those outside development zones, and increased daily fines for illegalities would be introduced from the publication of the legal notice.
Mepa chairman Austin Walker believes the message will serve as a deterrent, encouraging developers to apply before building, but admitting that “we will still find the cowboys”.
The matter of enforcement has already been attacked over the last couple of months and was already sending the message that “if you carry out an irregularity, the Mepa man is going to get you”, he said.
Past illegalities would remain illegal, affecting their resale value, he said, adding that many developments in tourist zones violated sanitary laws, but these and others were not easy to address in practice and a pragmatic approach had to be adopted even though it appeared unjust.
Mr Walker said that, eventually, the idea would be to log any enforcement notices in the lands registry system, affecting their resale value and raising caution on their purchase.
Mepa also wanted cases related to planning and the environment to be channelled through one court to increase efficiency and expertise.
Once the legal notice is published, all architects would have to submit applications electronically. They have had training sessions and Mepa is offering to assist the older architects, who are anyway a “dying breed”.
The Environment and Development Planning Act was approved before Parliament’s summer recess.