Environment Minister George Pullicino’s decision to clamp down on illegal development located outside development schemes (ODZ) received a cautious welcome from MLP spokesperson Roderick Galdes and from Alternattiva Demokratika.
On Monday, Pullicino announced that MEPA will no longer accept applications to sanction illegal developments built outside development zones after May 2007.
He also announced that MEPA will be taking direct action against any illegal development outside existing development zones. The government has also increased the maximum fine against illegal development tenfold from a minimum of Lm1,000 to Lm10,000.
“There is no doubt we agree with any initiative aimed at clamping down on illegal buildings but we also note that the government had never seriously addressed the problem of enforcement in the country,” MLP spokesperson Roderick Galdes told MaltaToday.
Galdes describes MEPA’s record on enforcement as mediocre and accused the government of showing very little will to enforce planning regulations during the past years. He also criticised the government for failing to reform the planning process in a holistic way. “Decisions like these are being taken in a haphazard way when other issues concerning the reform of the planning system are being ignored by the government.”
Alternattiva Demokratika gave a more positive assessment of the reforms proposed by Minister Pullicino. “The government has finally implemented what AD has been proposing for the past years,” AD’s secretary-general Victor Galea said.
“What counts now is the enforcement of the new regulations. The citizen expects effective enforcement to protect the environment and open spaces.”
Galea expressed his concern that the new regulations have not been accompanied by a strengthening of MEPA’s enforcement structures.