More than €5 million in fines issued by the Planning Authority over the past decade remain unpaid, figures released on Tuesday show.
The PA has issued some €18.2 million worth of fines between 2010 and this year but has so far only collected €12.8 million. That leaves €5,470,000 uncollected over the years. The figures were tabled in parliament by Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia, also responsible for planning, in reply to a question by MP Joseph Ellis, the Nationalist Party’s spokesman on planning.
The parliamentary reply did not explain why the multi-million sum was outstanding.
Meanwhile, a separate PQ, this time on approved planning permits, shows that, last year, the PA green lit 7,692 different works and projects.
Some 995 of the permits were for works on land designated as being outside development zones (ODZ).
The list shows there were 745 ODZ permits issued for projects and works in Malta in 2020 while a further 250 were issued for Gozo.
More than a third of ODZ permits on both islands, 385, were related to farming and fishing.
The figures show that the PA approved 14 ODZ permits for industrial purposes and six for the hotel industry.
Some 115 permits were issued for private residential developments in ODZ areas last year and a further 219 were for alterations to existing dwellings.
Earlier this year, a similar parliamentary question, also by Ellis, had shown how development permits in Gozo have increased by more than 240 per cent since 2013, with ODZ projects on the rise.
On his part, Farrugia has played down the figures, saying most of the permits were for developments related to agriculture or fisheries or simply alterations to existing dwellings. “Safeguarding rural areas is one of our priorities,” he had told Times of Malta in June when asked about ODZ developments in Gozo.
Meanwhile, a look at the permits issued for works within the development boundaries shows that the most popular permit issued was for alterations to existing dwellings, with just over 3,000 issued last year.
The PA also approved some 1,500 permit applications for new dwellings to be developed.