Applicants abusing planning process
Direct action by Mepa rises to 95
Consultants appointed by developers to draw up assessment reports are helping applicants "ride roughshod" over the planning process, according to the planning authority's auditor.
In the 2009 annual report of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, published yesterday, audit officer Joe Falzon accused the authority of turning a "Nelson's eye" to this practice.
He insisted reports written by consultants appointed and paid by the applicant were "camouflaging the provisions of policies" and were of "little use" to the authority.
Mr Falzon substantiated his criticism with two cases investigated last year.
One case involved change of use from a shop to a bar in Paceville. The local plan for the area contains clear provisions against the entertainment footprint being allowed to spill over into the residential part, where the proposed development was to happen.
Mr Falzon noted that a noise report requested by Mepa and drawn up by an engineer appointed by the applicant had indicated a situation where noise annoyance was unlikely.
But the engineer only assessed the noise generated by equipment in the bar, "presumably the refrigerator and coffee-making machine," the auditor said.
The permit was issued, which effectively extended the entertainment sprall of Paceville to the "serious detriment of the residents".
A similar case happened in Marsascala, Mr Falzon added, insisting the problem would persist as long as consultants were appointed and paid by developers.
He urged a change to the situation, with Mepa appointing experts at the developer's expense.
The Audit Office received 150 complaints from the public, which resulted in 85 formal investigations of which 75 were concluded.
Around 20 complaints were received from the Office of the Ombudsman and another two requests were referred by the Mepa Board.
The Audit Office's report was included in Mepa's annual report for 2009 published yesterday.
The report gives a comprehensive overview of the authority's work. Direct action over illegal buildings was taken in 95 cases, a substantial increase on previous years. At the same time 880 enforcement notices were issued and 503 were closed.
The report gave a breakdown of Mepa's workforce, which totalled 443 people.