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James Debono
Environment and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino announced a courageous government decision according to which the Malta Environment and Planning Authority would no longer be able to sanction illegal developments outside development schemes.
But developments built illegally outside development zones will not be excluded from the forthcoming revision of the 1988 Temporary Provision Scheme.
The so-called rationalisation of the 1988 scheme, announced during a press conference held on Thursday, will allow a substantial increase of 2.4 per cent on the land area covered by boundaries set 18 years ago.
“The legal status of a building is not one of the criteria established by the government to guide MEPA on whether to include a particular area or not in the revised boundaries,” Pullicino told MaltaToday.
But the environment minister also announced that “we will soon be taking a decision through which illegal developments outside the revised development zones will not be considered for sanctioning.”
The decision would end the anomaly of MEPA sanctioning illegal buildings outside development zones.
But Pullicino’s admission that illegal developments could be considered in the forthcoming revision of boundaries raises concern that some illegal development outside the 1988 schemes could be effectively sanctioned in the coming weeks.
Visibly under pressure, Pullicino hinted at the massive lobbying exerted on the government to include more land in the new borders. “Had we considered all the demands for changes in development schemes in Gozo, we would have ended up building 15 towns the size of Marsalforn.”
Pullicino insisted that whether illegal or not, the government’s rationalisation exercise will only include infill gaps – small areas in between developments – and pockets of closed land already included in the 1988 provisions which do not exceed 17,000 square metres in Malta and 10,000 square meters in Gozo.
The only exceptions to this rule will be areas allotted for multi-ownership plots which were not included in the 1988 boundaries.
He also reassured that no land of ecological value, or containing irrigated agricultural land will be included in the new schemes.
Once the consultation period for the criteria is over, the site plans will be published and consultations will take place during a six-week period. MEPA will then make its recommendations.
The next step will be the approval of the development zones by parliament, possibly before the summer recess.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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