Architects are calling on the Planning Authority to reverse the decision to halt the application process during Holy Week, insisting this disregards their commitments.

The Kamra tal-Periti said the Authority notified the public through a notice on its website that it would not be accepting any applications between April 10 and 16. Quoting legal notice LN 162 of 2016, the Authority said that this period was one of “inactivity” and no new applications may be submitted during this period.

The move disregards architects’ possible commitments with clients and other third parties

The legal notice in question however makes no mention of such a period, prompting the Kamra tal-Periti – the chamber made up of architects and civil engineers – to question the validity of such a move.  In a letter sent to Planning Parliamentary Secretary Dr Deborah Schembri, the chamber said that the move came without any prior notice.

“This is completely unacceptable, more so because it does not arise out of any regulation that applications may not be submitted during the Authority’s inactive period.

“Article 16 of LN 162 of 2016 states clearly that the only impact of the Authority’s shut down periods is to suspend ongoing time frames and extend them accordingly,” the architects wrote.

This, the architects continued, completely disregarded any commitments architects might have with clients and other third parties, insisting the move should be reversed immediately.

Questions sent to the Planning Authority remained unanswered by the time of writing.

claire.caruana@timesofmalta.com