Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1475004
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 JULY 2022 12 COMMERCIAL The summer break time from demolition and excavation works DURING Summertime, hence between 15th June and the 30th of September 2022, dem- olition, and excavation works in designated areas known as touristic areas cannot be held. The list of areas in which such works cannot take place is published by the Malta Tour- ism Authorit y since it is the managing authorit y for tour- ism in Malta. This initiative is coordinated yearly between the Malta Tourism Authorit y (MTA), the Building and Con- struction Authorit y (BCA), and the Planning Authorit y (PA) which considers the nui- sance and inconvenience that construction sites have on the surrounding neighborhood. The Summer break period is enforced by the means of a le- gal notice which mitigates the nuisance that construction sites have on both the tourism industry and the number of Maltese families who move to their summer residences. The demolition and excava- tion phases at a construction site are by far the greatest in- convenience for the surround- ing neighborhood. When defining demolition and exca- vation, one must understand that this does not mean all construction works. Demoli- tion is the action and process of taking down an existing building, while excavation is the cutting and digging of rock and soil, using heavy machin- ery. This is done to ensure that the tourists visiting our coun- try during the summer period, will have an enhancing experi- ence of our country. Although the Malta Tourism Authority identifies such sites where such works cannot take place, the Building and Con- struction Authority assists in the implementation of such measures and may demand the immediate cessation of such works whenever related infringements are noted. The full list of all identified local- ities and streets can be found on the MTA website www. m t a . c o m . m t / e n / s u m m e r - breaktime2022. Persons wish- ing to add more streets to the list for 2023 are invited to send requests to the MTA through their respective Local Coun- cil on tourism.development. mta@visitmalta.com by 31st August 2022. Meanwhile reports on cur- rent works may be lodged at the Building and Construc- tion Authority Enforcement team on freephone 80049000, during office hours, and on 99637508 (Malta) and 99098855 (Gozo) after office hours or email complaints@ bca.org.mt. The tasks delegated to the BCAs enforcement team are far from only complaints re- garding works in touristic areas. The BCA has an en- forcement team working daily beyond normal office hours, during the weekend and pub- lic holidays. The team pro- vides pertinent assistance in- terested third parties in the vicinity of a construction site may require. Through its main channels, mainly the customer care team, BCA receives sev- eral daily complaints regard- ing construction works, from the general public. Customer Care handles such complaints which are then passed to the enforcement team via an elec- tronic system, to have all data handled wisely and referenced accordingly. With the help of Building Inspectors, the en- forcement team will visit such sites to verify the information/ complaint reported and act accordingly. If such works are of danger to the third parties, works are stopped until the developer makes the necessary arrange- ments to mitigate the danger. During a site visit, a Build- ing Inspector will look for any possible infringements and try to resolve those which may be rectified immediately on the spot. Building Inspectors can digitally access any relevant information during their site visit. Thus, they may confirm or otherwise, whether the con- struction works are following any applicable laws, regula- tions, policies, or guidelines. However, apart from being passive, that is, acting only on reports and complaints, the enforcement team is be- ing proactive. Currently, the inspectors are doing random inspections on other sites where no reports have been submitted on them. These in- spections are carried out to ensure, as is reasonably prac- ticable, that all sites are com- pliant with the laws regulating the construction industry. In the coming weeks, the BCA is consolidating its enforcement team by recruiting a consid- erable number of prospective building inspectors, to ensure that more random checks around the islands are done and decrease the time of reac- tion to all complaints.