Following the recent lowering of Mepa tariffs, things are looking up at the authority with “substantial” projects being submitted, many for investment, Parliamentary Secretary Michael Farrugia said in Parliament.

Answering a number of questions by Opposition and Government MPs, Dr Farrugia said that after the raising of Mepa tariffs in late 2010, the 3,100 applications of that year had dwindled by 35 per cent to 2,000.

But in the wake of the  new lower tariffs, introduced a few months ago, there had been a surge in applications and resultant revenue.

Dr Farrugia said the Government was working on new concepts to encourage restoration of village cores, but certain areas were “already committed”.

Dr Farrugia said the Government was also working on new policies to do away with the standard reply to applicants that there was “no policy in force” for applications outside development zones.

Touching on the proposed splitting of Mepa, he said the current thinking was to merge Planning with heritage and the Environment with the Malta Resources Authority.

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