More than 1,500 of the illegal developments identified by the Planning Authority last year were the result of an investigation that originated from public complaints.
Details on the enforcement action taken last year by the PA were recently provided in its annual report.
The compliance and enforcement directorate received 3,134 reports in all, of which 51 per cent were cases involving illegal development.
Compared to 2018, public complaints rose by 22 per cent.
Last year, they included reports received from the directorate of the Building Regulation Office in relation to the laws governing the avoidance of damage to third party properties.
These laws were introduced following the collapse of a number of properties adjacent to construction sites last summer.
229 stop and enforcement notices last year
Of the illegal developments flagged by the public in 2019, there were 737 cases in which the contravener applied for sanctioning in order to be covered by a permit.
In another 824 cases, the developer removed the illegalities prior to further enforcement action. The rest led to 141 enforcement notices being issued by the PA. Overall, the watchdog last year issued 229 stop and enforcement notices, a five per cent drop on 2018. In 70 per cent of the cases daily fines were also imposed.
According to the authority, the marginal decline in stop and enforcement notices was in line with the strategy to use this option only for ‘uncooperative’ contraveners.
By law, the PA is also empowered to take direct action, such as by demolishing structures, in cases when the contravener ignores the enforcement notice.
Last year, this course of action was taken on 27 occasions including at a dilapidated site of around 50,000 square metres in Ta’ Qali which was converted into a public open space.
Decline in development applications
Development applications submitted last year declined by more 12 per cent when compared to 2018, which, at over 12,000, was an all-time high.
In 2019, the Planning Authority received 10,716 development applications.
Though it is still early days, indications are that in 2020 the figure will be going down for the second year running in the wake of the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Around 10 per cent of the 2019 applications were for projects outside development zones.
These totalled 978 applications and represented a 14 per cent decline on 2018.
A marginal drop was also registered in applications for village cores, known as urban conservation areas. A total of 2,123 applications were submitted, including for minor works, which is 3.5 per cent less than in 2018.
The downward trend was also registered in applications for commercial projects which totalled 2,022.