Watch out – they’ll be checking on you from above.
Government will tomorrow launch its latest enforcement strategy from the skies in a bid to ensure no development takes place outside development zones – aerial pictures of every inch of the Maltese islands will be used to compare pictures with different date-lines to keep tabs on all developments.
Once confirmed, the full force of the enforcement procedures will be unleashed and any new illegality acted upon expeditiously.
Last Monday, the Cabinet gave the green light to the new scheme, captained by Environment Minister George Pullicino, which aims to galvanise the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s enforcement arm.
The new scheme is bad news for those who think they can get away with illegal constructions from now on: whether it’s cementing over a garden, the illegal construction of a swimming pool, or building a small room in a field, the new aerial photos will catch any irregular or outside development zone (ODZ) construction, and compared with previous photographs.
The proposal had already been brokered by Pullicino last year, but did not find enough backing. Matters changed last Monday, with more receptiveness and understanding from sceptics in the Cabinet.
Only weeks ago, detailed aerial photographs were taken of every square metre of the Maltese islands, which will now be followed-up and updated by regular aerial scans and new pictures.
Discovery of infringements will be dealt with swiftly by MEPA enforcement officers. Bypassing the traditional red tape enforcement officers have to face, the new scheme is intended to deter offenders from attempting illegal constructions in the first place.
The proposal was not expected to receive Cabinet approval until the aerial enforcement scheme was supported directly by the Prime Minister.
The new project is expected to be announced tomorrow and will no doubt be embraced by Green groups who have long been arguing in favour of a reprieve for Malta and Gozo’s beleaguered countryside.