Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1519405
16 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 APRIL 2024 JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Gozo construction: 1,241 new dwellings approved in 2023 THE number of new dwellings approved by the Planning Author- ity in Gozo has surpassed the an- nual 1,000 mark for the sixth year running. Official statistics provided to MaltaToday by the Planning Au- thority show that in 2023 the au- thority approved 1,241 new dwell- ings in Gozo – down from the record 1,885 approved in 2022 in the immediate post-COVID year. The number of dwellings ap- proved in Gozo is the lowest since 2019, but remains higher than that approved in any single year between 2012 and 2018. In total in the five years between 2019 and 2023 the PA issued permits for 7,627 new dwellings in Gozo. These account for 69% of the 11,060 new dwellings ap- proved in Gozo since 2012. Despite the decrease in the overall number of new dwell- ings approved in Gozo in 2023, when compared to the previous year, Nadur, Xewkija and Ghasri have defied this trend: in Nadur the number of new dwellings in- creased from 147 in 2022 to 217 in 2023; in Xewkija new dwellings shot up from 145 to 216 in 2023; and in tiny Għasri, which had 432 dwellings in the last Census, saw 17 news ones in 2023, up from 11 the previous year. But in an indication that some localities have reached a satura- tion point, the number of new dwellings approved in Rabat de- creased drastically from 387 in 2022, to 152 in 2023. Sannat also saw a considerable reduction in the number of new dwellings ap- proved, from 274 in 2022 to 98 in 2023. The number of new dwellings in Gozo rose from just 227 in 2013 to 712 in 2017, then to 1,061 in 2018 and 1,754 in 2019. They dropped to 1,353 and 1,394 during the pan- demic years of 2020 and 2021, but permits shot up to 1,885 right af- ter in 2022. The post-2017 upsurge reflected both the economic turnaround and new policies facilitating the approval of five-storey blocks in- stead of existing townhouses, or on land added to building bound- aries in 2006. Over the past years Gozo has become more attractive to buyers looking for a holiday home due to lower prices. A KPMG study in 2022 showed properties in Gozo were 20% cheaper than in south- ern Malta, which is already 30% cheaper than the north harbour area. Fewer dwellings approved in Gozo than in previous five years but more housing approved in Nadur and in Xewkija than in previous year