Mepa's obligations in planning process

Published on the Times of Malta on Wednesday 30th June, 2010 by Peter Gingell, communications office, MEPA.

Victor Borg and Jane Carr (June 16, 21) question why the Malta Environment and Planning Authority is suddenly reconsidering the Ħondoq ir-Rummien planning application without simply "throwing it out".

Without going into the merits of this particular application, both Mr Borg and Ms Carr might not be aware that the authority has no legal right not to accept or to refuse to process a validated planning application submitted by a developer. It is only once an application has been "processed" that the deciding body within Mepa can take a reasoned decision whether to refuse or grant a development permit. For each major project processed, there is an entire motion with established and legal procedures which needs to be rigorously followed. These procedures ensure that every aspect of the planning application system is transparent, participative and carefully studied. In the case of an application for a major project, the applicant is required to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as part of the planning process.

While it is in the competence of the authority to provide the applicant with the EIA's objectives, it is the applicant's responsibility to carry out the required studies and data gathering. The authority in turn evaluates and comments upon the EIA report, as it remains that of the applicant and not Mepa. In fact, for the Ħondoq ir-Rummien project, Mepa's Environment Assessment Unit made some 235 observations on the conclusions of the applicant's report. The public hearing held in Qala on May 27 was one of the many stages throughout the planning application process whereby the public is given the facility to influence the final decision by the Mepa board.

The authority is assessing all the comments it received during the EIA public consultation, for the EIA consultant to update the final report. The Planning Directorate will then formulate a Development Planning Application Report (DPAR), which will include its recommendation on whether or not to issue a permit. Both the EIA report and the DPAR will be presented to the Mepa Board.

In his letter, Mr Borg also claims that by the Mepa Board's decision last year to grant permission for the re-development of the former Mġarr Hotel into residential units, the authority set a precedent of having hotels in outside development zones (ODZ) being reconstituted into luxury apartments.

This is far from correct. The authority has never granted a planning permit for the redevelopment of a hotel within ODZ into residential apartments.

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