Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/987872
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 30 MAY 2018 14 FEATURE TIA RELJIC IN all, 994 new applications were re- ceived by the Planning Authority in 2017, the PA's annual report revealed. The applications were "received and thoroughly accessed by the ODZ team to ensure a balance between the provi- sion of legitimate genuine uses and the safeguarding of biodiversity and the natural landscape," the report read. Throughout the year, 123 enforce- ment notices were issued on ODZ sites while a total of 192 such notices were issued on sites located in devel- opment zones. 279 contraveners com- plied with the enforcement notices by doing away with the illegality them- selves, while another 749 enforcement notices were closed off due to sanc- tioning of works. The PA carried out 49 direct actions during 2017 – 27 of which were on ODZ sites. "These direct actions cost the Authority over €110,000 and such expenses are eventually recovered from the contraveners themselves," the report read. "In prioritising on di- rect action cases, the Authority seeks to address illegal developments which cause environmental harm on sites lo- cated outside the Development Zone and constitute an injury to amenity on sites located inside the Development Zone." The Directorate received over 3,000 registered enforcement complaints – 2,900 of which were investigated. From this, 500 grievances were ad- dressed by contraveners, the report read, and all registered complainants were informed. In 2017, the General Developments Unit (GDU) – which deals with de- velopment applications for sites within the devel- opment zone but outside urban conservation areas – experienced a "consider- able increase in caseload." The number of new appli- cations within this category increased to reach an aver- age of 465 each month. The EUSPU – the unit responsible for EU funded and special projects within the Planning Directorate – received 227 applications, 163 of which were pro- cessed. According to the re- port, from the 90 which re- ceived EU funding, 29 were private applicants, 42 were government ministries and agencies, and 19 came from NGOs and the Church. From the applications received by EUSPU, 20 were infrastructural pro- jects – all of which were approved – and included the development of a fuel depot, waste facilities, and up- grading of the flood relief project. An- other 20 applications received were related to agriculture, while a further 11 were related to coastal activities, including the construction of sea de- fences at the Marsaxlokk harbour, the repair of slip ways, and the installation of fish weighing machines, according to the report. Another 12 planning applications related to social housing were pro- cessed, excluding an additional 18 applications for the construction of lift shafts within existing Housing Au- thority buildings. "These form part of an extensive project extending into 2018, which will facilitate accessibility within more than 120 social housing blocks," the report said. The Foreign Policy Research, EU Af- fairs and Funding Division continued to coordinate the implementation of ten projects worth over €7 million. "The projects include topics that per- tain to spatial information, human re- sources management, citizen science, green infrastructure, the SEA Direc- tive, Integrated Coastal Zone Man- agement and smart cities." The report also explained that at the beginning of the year, the two PA funding schemes – the Urban Improvement Fund (UIF) and the Commuted Parking Payment Scheme (CPPS) – were made into a single fund: the Development Planning Fund. The Authority committed to financ- ing 16 new projects worth more than €1,950,000. As reported by this news- paper earlier this month, the balance within the fund was nearly €28 million yet to be claimed by local councils – with Sliema, St Julian's, St Paul's Bay, Valletta, and Gzira having the biggest share. A total of 883 requests were sub- mitted for the €8 million 'Irrestawra Darek' heritage and conservation funding scheme – causing it to be closed a month earlier than intended due to oversubscription. While a total of 9,100 planning ap- plications were received in 2016, this number shot up to 11,300 – an in- crease of 24% – presumably due to the new eApplications portal launched in the beginning of the year. The energy-saving efforts of the Au- thority led to an increase in energy efficiency by 12%. From November 2016 to October 2017, the PA con- sumed 739,987kWh over a period of 12 months, compared to the previous consumption of 831,110kWh for the same period. Nearly a thousand ODZ applications received by PA last year