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MEPA is to be given more power to control illegal development, with four new measures which will be presented to Parliament to amend the current act.
Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment George Pullicino said that although the Malta Environment and Planning Authority has a number of tools at hand, they often encounter logistical and legal problems when acting against illegal development, delaying enforcement action or making it ineffective.
One of the new measures is a proposal which will allow MEPA to take direct action against any illegal development made after May 2007 without awaiting appeal decisions or pending applications. This follows the gathering of a complete set of aerial photographs of the islands in May.
Another measure states that any application to regularise illegally built structures after May 2007 will not be considered after the illegal structure itself has been demolished.
Illegal buildings constructed prior to May 2007 will also be subject to direct action, however MEPA will first have to await the conclusion of all currently existing legal proceedings.
A third measure will see the formation of a Board of Appeals to facilitate these new processes. This Board will start deciding upon new cases within six weeks.
The final measure will impose much larger fines on illegal development, with fines going up ten-fold from the current Lm1,000 to Lm10,000.
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