Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/846769
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 JULY 2017 6 News JAMES DEBONO HOME affairs minister Michael Farrugia is to be given widespread discretionary powers on develop- ment carried out by the police force on land under its "operation- al control", including the power to build without a permit – if a legal notice issued for public consulta- tion last week is approved. The legal notice states that devel- opment carried out by the police force can be undertaken without even a planning notification when- ever "in the opinion of the Minis- ter responsible for the Malta Police Force" the development is "urgent- ly required for national security reasons" and the Planning Author- ity "is informed accordingly." Similar discretionary powers al- ready exist for the development required by the army or for de- tention facilities for irregular mi- grants. In September 2013 the no-notifi- cation applied "where in the opin- ion of the Minister responsible for the Armed Forces or the Minister responsible for Immigration, the development is urgently required for national security reasons or for humanitarian, security or other relevant reasons, respectively." In this way a concrete structure constructed by the Armed Forces of Malta at Haywharf was erected without a planning permit. A statement issued by the Plan- ning Authority to announce the public consultation omits this de- tail, while focusing on the inclu- sion of two new category classes to the law regulating the Develop- ment Notification Order (DNO). According to the same legal no- tice, development carried out by the police force on land under its "operational control", will be exempted from full planning pro- cedures and instead carried out through the DNO, which applies to small-scale developments such as washrooms, traffic lights and in- ternal alterations. T Due to company growth, we are looking for Full-Time Printers This position calls for responsible persons to work on Heidelberg 10 and 5 colour machines Must be willing to work on Shift basis. Experience Preference will be given to persons with previous experience on similar machinery but in-house training will also be given. If you think you are the right candidate for this post, please send your CV, together with a covering letter, addressed to the Managing Director. YOU THINK IT WE PRINT IT 38 permits a day during intense five-week campaign when PA went 'open all hours' to accommodate applicants for development permits Police to get power to build without How Labour revved up Planning Authority permits before election JAMES DEBONO AND YANNICK PACE MORE permits were issued in the five weeks' long election campaign of 2017 than in nine weeks of the 2013 electoral campaign, a MaltaToday analysis has concluded. The power of incumbency was well employed by the La- bour administration this year, with an average of 38 permits a day – weekends included – issued during the last general election campaign compared to just five during the 2013 campaign, and 24 in the 2008 general election campaign, when the PN was re-elected by just 1,500 votes. Additionally, an average of nearly five permits outside de- velopment zones (ODZ) were issued every day in this year's campaign, compared to three ODZ permits per day in 2008 and less than one ODZ permit per day in 2013 – possibly the result of Lawrence Gonzi's 'ODZ is ODZ' policy employed after his 2008 election win. A total of 364 permits, 46 of them ODZ, were issued in the last week of the 2017 electoral campaign. Only 60 permits were issued in the final ninth week in 2013 while 228 were issued in 2008. Significantly, the number of permits granted in the 2017 campaign increased from 168 in the first week of the cam- paign, to a record 364 in the final week. No such change was seen in 2013 when the number of permits issued in the first week of the campaign stood at 71, only to drop to 60 in the final ninth week. Additionally, in the two weeks prior to the general election, the planning board that dispenses permits on a day-to-day basis would meet everyday instead of three days a week as per custom. That means there were four extra board meet- ings in those two weeks. Certain applicants were also notified that board meetings to be held after the election, would be brought back to before the election date so that a decision is taken before voters cast their ballots. In total 1,247 permits were issued in the five weeks of the 2017 campaign, compared to 789 in the 2008 campaign, which had a similar duration. Only 321 permits were issued in the nine weeks-long 2013 campaign. Back in 2008 Labour leader Alfred Sant had accused the au- thority of being "in a frantic rush to approve as many permits as possible before the election" and described the increase in the number of permits as "a clear case of the system being rigged to suit the Nationalists". Controversial permits issued before the 2008 election in- cluded that for an ODZ winery in a Rural Conservation Area at il-Hawlija in Rabat and a 220% increase in the floor area for the Exiles waterpolo club which now includes a restau- rant on its upper floor. A number of beach-rooms were also regularized in the Dwejra natural park. No such accusations were levelled against the Planning Authority in 2013 when the number of permits issued those three months were lower than in the five weeks-long 2008 and 2017 campaigns. But the low number of permits issued in 2013 must also be seen in the light of a slump in construc- tion, which was reflected in a drop in planning permits is- sued between 2009 and 2012. The number of permits issued by the Planning Authority for residences fell to just 3,064 units in 2012, a far cry from the peak of 11,343 seen in 2007, according to Central Bank data. The most controversial permits issued in the 2017 cam- paign were an extension to the Gharghur fireworks factory in Wied id-Dis, approved on the eve of the election. The PA also approved four villas lying outside the devel- opment zones in a hamlet in Triq Santu Rokku in Kalkara, despite four prior refusals by the Planning Authority for de- velopment on the same 1,400m2 site. The area is in the vicin- ity of the Wied Rinella valley and forms part of an Area of Ecological Importance, enjoying Level 4 protection – a level Year Daily Average Campaign Total Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 All Decisions 2008 23.9 789 79 86 215 181 228 - - - - 2013 5.3 321 71 53 71 61 65 79 68 65 60 2017 37.8 1247 168 211 271 233 364 - - - - ODZ permits only 2008 3.0 98 3 18 29 15 33 - - - - 2013 0.6 38 8 5 2 8 15 8 9 10 12 2017 4.6 153 30 24 24 29 46 - - - - PLANNING PERMITS DISHED OUT