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22 maltatoday, THURSDAY, 1 JUNE 2017 News PORTOMASOLIVE.COM REGISTER NOW 1 2 3 Register your personal account JOIN DEPOSIT EARN CASHBACK Place your deposit, play & participate in our promotions You're always a winner at Portomaso Live You're always a winner Average of 245 permits issued every week since election CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 Look- ing through the number of permits issued on a week-by- week level illustrates this even further. For a more complete picture, data from 1 January till the end of May (27th) in the last two election years (2008 and 2013) were also analysed. While a similar trend was observed in the run-up to the March 8 2008 election, with the number of permits granted increasing stead- ily up until election week, the same cannot be said for the weeks before the 2013 elec- tion, when permits continued to be issued at a normal rate in the weeks leading up to the March 9 election. This indicates that the pow- er of incumbency through the issuance of last minute per- mits was not visibly exercised since no increase can be seen in the run-up to the 2013 elec- tion. "The pre-2013 [election] fig- ures could be due to a back- lash from the development zone revision exercise con- ducted in 2006, with the envi- ronment having attracted the ire of the public in the run-up to the 2013 election and hence there was a sense of caution in issuing ODZ permits at the time," said Deidun. He added that the Labour Party had reacted to the backlash by putting up elec- tion billboards promising a MEPA which is closer to the public. In 2008, the general election was held on 8 March, and like the current year, the granted permits started to increase roughly a month before, reaching their highest point two weeks before the election. Outside Development Zone permits show a similar pat- tern. Deidun pointed out that the "permissive ODZ policies of 2014" did not help the situ- ation. He added that while both political parties have taken a stand against ODZ develop- ment, neither has taken up recommendations by eNGOs to repeal and re-draft these policies. Instead, both parties have committed not to devel- oping ODZ land for public projects. "There is very little hope for change given that it is only large-scale ODZ pro- jects which fall under parlia- mentary and Planning Board scrutiny," said Deidun. "The combined footprint of all these small-scale ODZ devel- opments likely surpasses that of the much-maligned Zonqor permit." Probable local plan revi- sion The 2017 data also shows a large spike in the num- ber of applications that were withdrawn by the applicant leading up to and following the election announcement, reaching a maximum of 190 in one week. Asked what might explain such an increase, Deidun said that while a considerable number of these applications would have been submitted by "bona fide applicants" who would have done so to modify their applications, it could al- so indicate promises of a local plan revision shortly after the election. "Applicants might have been advised to withdraw their ap- plication for the time being, so as to avail themselves of a more congenial framework in a few months' time," he said. Jan Feb Mar Apr May Total Permits Jan - May 2017 Fish farms relocate offshore within deadline FISH farms have moved their operations to designated offshore zones to the north- east and south-east of Malta, meeting a government-im- posed deadline to do so by the end of May. The agreement was reached last year in the wake of a public outcry after fish farm slime contaminated the sea. Addressing a press confer- ence off the coast of Qawra yesterday – one of the sites that was most contaminated by fish farm slime last sum- mer – environment minister Jose Herrera said the deal will mean that the slime problem will not repeat itself this year. "The problem of fish farm pollution had escalated last year and the government took immediate action, re- voking the permits of fish farms and reaching a deal with them to relocate off- shore," he said. "Many people were sceptical that we could see this through, but, as en- vironment minister, I am proud that this issue has now been resolved." He said that the government has published new regula- tions, with stricter fines for fish farm operators and more synchronisation between the Department of Fisheries, the Planning Authority and the Environment and Resources Authority. Planning parliamentary secretary Deborah Schembri said that the fish farm deal proved that the Labour gov- ernment adhered to its word. "Some people had warned us not to take drastic action against the fish farms be- cause it might have harmed their operations, but we be- lieved we needed to be harsh and look at the bigger pic- ture," she said. "The fish farm operators are satisfied with this solution and the public will now be able to enjoy a sea uncontaminated by fish farm slime this summer." Environment minister Jose Herrera addresses a press conference in Qawra

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