Updated 3.24pm - PA rejects criticism
Compliance certificates and Development Notification Orders (DNOs) can now be filled in online from the Planning Authority's new website, which has elicited complaints about lack of transparency.
Addressing a press conference, PA executive chairman Johann Buttigieg said that the two popular applications, accessed by dozens of people daily, would be available from the comfort of one's home or mobile phone.
Water and electricity services are only installed when an applicant is in possession of a valid compliance certificate, while DNOs cover any proposed development that does not have an impact on the site or neighbouring residences.
The authority's new-look website comes on the back of a recent upgrade of its map server which acts like Google Maps for planning issues.
A spokeswoman for the authority said research had been conducted among professionals who used the old website, mainly architects, and members of the public to identify key features that needed attention.
She explained that the new website, considerably faster than the original, included a useful tools section for both the public and professionals, which included the most requested services.
Planning Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius said easier access was the way forward and the authority was committed to improving users' experience.
The new PA website.New site is insult to people's intelligence - NGO
But shortly after, the NGO Front Ħarsien ODZ said the new website is “a step backwards in transparency”.
In a statement, the lobby group called on the authority to immediately reinstate the facility to search for all pending ODZ applications and pending planning enforcements by locality.
Earlier versions of the website, the front said, always included the facility to search pending applications and enforcements by locality and by designations like Urban Conservation Areas and developments proposed Outside Development Zones.
“In this way, local councils, NGOs and the general public are being deprived of a valuable tool to scrutinise all pending applications including those presented in the past and those which have still not been published in the government gazette but which have been given a PA number,” the lobby group said.
The front said the old website also gave viewers the opportunity to search applications by street or location as an alternative to the geo-server where the viewer would have to have clear knowledge of the exact geographic location of a development to find details on it.
“One of the few positive things of the PA has been its transparency in providing information on pending applications. The new website is a big step backward and an insult to people’s intelligence and betrays the expectations of a modern democratic society,” the front said.
PA rejects criticism
Stung by the criticism, the PA issued a statement in the afternoon saying it "categorically denied" claims that its new website made it harder for the public to access development planning information.
The website, the PA said, provided the public with "the highest level of transparency."
In its statement, the PA said its new website allowed people to view weekly lists of applications by locality, filter searches by ODZ or UCA criteria, view a calendar showing the daily agenda of applications to be decided on and access a list of all the enforcement notices issued the previous week.
The website's search feature applied for all forms of applications and all information was accessible through the PA's Geoserver and e-application system, the PA added, saying that users could expect further upgrades to the site over the coming weeks.
Its statement did not make reference to Front Ħarsien ODZ's concerns about users no longer being able to search for applications by street name.