Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/544403
WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION WEDNESDAY • 22 JULY 2015 • ISSUE 425 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY €1.00 EDITORIAL PAGE 10 30 & 31 JULY, 01 & 02 AUGUST Free Park & Ride from the ex-Belleview area Newspaper post CONTINUES ON PAGE 3 New law paves way for planning amnesty JAMES DEBONO THE proposed new Development Planning Act, whose second read- ing was approved on Monday, will effectively pave the way for a wide- spread planning amnesty because it gives the minister responsible for planning – in this case the Prime Minister or his parliamentary sec- retary – the ultimate power to is- sue new rules to regularise illegal developments. The law still has to be discussed at committee stage, and the gov- ernment has committed itself to consider amendments presented by environmental NGOs. But the controversial clause in the new law states that "any person who is served with an enforcement notice" in respect of development which may be regularised "by vir- tue of regulations made by the Minister", shall have the right to request the new Malta Planning Authority (MPA) to regularise the development. Currently, a partial amnesty only applies to minor developments men- tioned in Schedule 8 of the present law. Such persons are not granted a full permit, which enables them to sell their illegal properties, but are merely exempted from pending en- forcement procedures. But while those illegalities that can be exempted from enforcement are laid down in the law, the new law will give the minister respon- sible for the MPA blanket powers to define both the illegalities which can be sanctioned, and the fines which would be applicable. This will be done through a legal notice issued by the Minister. Moreover the proposed law also states that whenever an applica- tion for regularising past abuse is turned down, enforcement provi- sions will only apply from the date such from when such a request is turned down. This means that fines on irregu- larities some of which took place years ago, will only apply as from the date when the application to sanction is turned down. Planning minister will have the right to request the new Malta Planning Authority to regularise illegal developments CONTINUES ON PAGE 2 JURGEN BALZAN NATIONALIST Party deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami (right) yesterday challenged Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to clarif y whether allegations levelled at economy minister Chris Cardona on his rented Portomaso apartment, were true or false. Speaking in Parliament on Monday evening, Fenech Adami questioned whether Cardona was living free of charge in a luxurious apartment building at Portomaso and whether he frequented what Malta Inde- pendent columnist and gossip blogger Daphne Caruana Gal- izia described as a "shady" bar in Valletta. Addressing the press yesterday afternoon, Fenech Adami said: "All I did was ask whether the Prime Minister has anything to say about these serious accusa- tions because he has a duty to verif y and take action if neces- sary." On Monday at 10pm, Cardona published a scanned copy of a contract showing that a one- bedroom apartment he has at Portomaso was being rented at €1,400 per month from Silvan Fenech. The contract was signed on 1 December 2014 and the dura- tion of the lease is for a period of 10 months. The agreement was entered into between Cardona as the lessee and Silvan Fenech as the lessor. PN sheds doubt on credibility of Cardona's apartment contract The new law will give the minister responisble for planning blanket powers to defi ne what constitutes an illegality and where fi nes should be applied