Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/753405
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2016 8 News 652 applications filed in three months to 'regularise' illegalities JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Authority has al- ready received 652 applications to regularise illegalities since an am- nesty programme was launched on 22 August, a Planning Author- ity spokesperson told MaltaToday. This amounts to an average of seven applications a day. Of the 652 applications, only 295 have contained the complete infor- mation required by the Planning Authority. Nine decisions have been taken with all the develop- ments involved being regularised. 28 applications have been put on the PA's agenda. The developments regularised include an entire dwelling and showroom in Triq l-Imdina, Qor- mi which was not built according to the specifications of a permit is- sued in 2008. Another regularised develop- ment consists of an "entire flat" which had been constructed ille- gally at basement level in Marsal- forn. Most other illegalities con- sisted of irregularly built flats. Decisions are being published in the Government Gazette but no case officer report assessing these cases is accessible on the PA web- site, as happens in the case of nor- mal applications. 282 out of the 295 complete ap- plications received were residen- tial and only two were commercial. 11 were classified by the PA as "other". The residential develop- ments seeking regularisation con- sist of one bungalow, 17 villas or farmhouses, 16 penthouses and re- ceded dwellings, three garages and 245 flats or maisonettes. The regularisation scheme, which came into effect in August, excludes the regularisation of ODZ developments but includes illegali- ties carried out within the devel- opment zone – including urban conservation areas – carried out before 2016. Although anyone regularising an illegality will have to pay a hefty fine, which can rise up to €7,600 for a 175 square metre illegal pent- house, the scheme, unlike previous exemptions from pending enforce- ment orders introduced before 2013, will enable owners to sell such properties. The 'amnesty' is not automatic because a board as- sesses applications for regularisa- tion. The Planning Authority is legally obliged to refund 90% of the fees incurred by applicants whose ap- plications to regularise illegalities are rejected, and is under no legal obligation to ask these owners, through an enforcement notice, to remove these illegalities. Parliamentary secretary for planning Deborah Schembri and PA chief Johann Buttigieg launched the two-year 'amnesty' in August New lido on reclaimed land proposed in Sliema JAMES DEBONO A development application has been submitted to develop a lido on 2,861 square metres of reclaimed land along the Strand, opposite the Black Gold and other popular bars. The new development proposed by Strand D Lido Limited includes two restaurants, a kiosk, and a swimming pool surrounded by 158 sun beds. The restaurants will oc- cupy 389 and 199 square metres respectively. The development will not impact on the existing promenade but pe- destrian access to the coastline will be limited to a narrow public pas- sage along the sea. It emulates a similar development proposed by four hotels in Gzira, which was ap- proved by the Planning Authority in June. The 2,200 square metre hotels lido along the promenade of Triq ix-Xatt in Gzira was approved unanimously by the PA board. The project consists of an outdoor swimming pool, a sundeck area, two restaurants, and a recreational play area for public use. While voting in favour of the development, board member and Environment Resources Author- ity chairman Victor Axiaq had ex- pressed concern that the project could set a precedent for other developments. He also called for a masterplan for the entire area before individual projects are ap- proved, asking whether other hotels in the area, which have not joined this venture, may be tempted to come up with a similar scheme. The application is still at a prelim- inary stage and the Planning Au- thority still has to issue a screening letter evaluating whether the pro- posal conforms to existing policies. The new development includes two restaurants, a kiosk, and a swimming pool along the promenade in Sliema The cartoonist JURGEN BALZAN "IF artists and intellectuals are ir- reverent towards regimes, than it is the ones in power who are in danger, not us," exiled Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat said. The murder of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists and the riots following the publication of cartoons depict- ing the Prophet Mohammed in Den- mark showed the world the power of cartoons and how intolerant and foolishly violent humans can be. In both cases, the victims were Westerners and the crimes were committed by slighted Muslims. However, rarely do we hear of cartoonists on the other side of the fence. Ferzat was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Peace and in 2012 he was named one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time maga- zine. This week he was in Malta at the invitation of the European Parlia- ment office in Malta and in a brief interview with MaltaToday, Ferzat said the terror experienced in France is the same as the terror experienced in Syria. "Terrorism is the product of re- gimes, be they Russian, Syrian or whatever. There is no difference between the terror of Daesh (ISIS) and of dictatorial regimes. Regimes create an enemy so they remain the better alternative. But at the end of the day, both terrorists and regimes kill authors, artists, intellectuals and whoever opposes them. It's two sides of the same coin." Ferzat is one of the Middle East's most important living artists and his work has irked many regimes in the region and beyond. His satirical drawings and cari- catures of political figures have been widely published at home and abroad, won international awards and been banned in several coun- tries whose leaders have found themselves at the sharp end of his pen. Most notably, Ferzat's drawings of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earned him a savage beating by the regime's thugs, who shortly after the Syrian uprising in 2011, was seized in the streets of Damascus and had both his hands shattered. Now living in exile in Kuwait, Fer- zat said "over 10,000 years, Syria wit- nessed many wars and conflicts but the country is bigger than individu- als. Regimes and their leaders come and go but nations remain, and so will Syria." Asked whether his drawings have fostered change, he said that if car- toonists, authors and intellectuals do not go in hiding they will foster change. He was one of the first to criticise Assad and other "untouchables" in 50 years and this helped people beat the fear barrier. Ferzat said that the regime might have broken his bones, "but I broke the barrier of fear". "Assad was untouchable and so were ministers, public officials and police officers. When my cartoons were published, people thought I was either abroad or out of my mind. I had to ask myself whether I wanted to be a genuine artist or a liar and a hypocrite." Ferzat, who began criticising the brutal regime before the civil war broke out in 2011, added that "the Syrian people are intelligent and ca- pable of interpreting cartoons and in fact my cartoons were carried by people in protest against the regime at the start of the civil war." Since the beginning of the unrest, some 500,000 have been killed and at least 7,600,000 were forced to leave their homes. However, Ferzat has not lost hope. "Sometimes, the sea is contami- nated by an oil spill but the sea puri- fies itself. The Baath party has been in power for 50 years and I liken it to moving into a new house which has been uninhabited for 50, where if you open a tap, the water will be rusty at first but after a while clean water will come out." Despite his personal woes, he said "I do what I do for future genera- tions and when I die, I can do so in the knowledge that my son and grandson can live with their heads held high." Asked whether he censors himself, Ferzat said "I do not censor myself but I am very careful to avoid hurt- ing anyone personally. I am very, very critical but at the same time respectful." Over 10,000 years, Syria witnessed many wars and conflicts but the country is bigger than individuals Terrorism is the product of regimes, be they Russian, Syrian, or whatever