Proceedings under the Development Planning Act 1992

Abstract

In the early 1990's control over development planning m the Maltese Islands was completely within the power of the Maltese Government. Over the years the matter of development planning had taken a political perspective sometimes even leading to abuse. Concern obviously arose since such a situation was becoming a serious threat to the Maltese environment. The Maltese legislator realized that something had to be done in an attempt to create a balance between the power to grant development permissions, the right to obtain development permission and the protection of the environment within the Maltese Islands. Consequently in 1992 the Development Planning Act was enacted by which the Malta Environmment Planning Authority was created and to which absolute power of control over development was transferred. This thesis deals primarily with the proceedings that fall under the separate bodies that are set up by the Development Planning Act and the changes that these proceedings have undergone following the 2001 amendments. The introductory chapter deals with the historical evolution of the Maltese Planning System, wherein the historical and legislative backdrop to the Development Planning Act, 1992 is outlined. The Institutional Frameworks that fall under the Development Planning Act, 1992 will be closely studied in chapter 2. Chapter 3 will attempt to analyse the procedure adopted by the Development Control Commission - the competent authority involved in the Development Planning Process and the changes that have affected this procedure following the 2001 amendments. Chapter 4 will focus on the Enforcement of Development Control and the improvements that have been made to the enforcement mechanism following the 200 I amendments. The Scheduling Procedure for property and trees will form the topic of chapter 5. Finally, a brief summary of the complaints regarding the roles and functions of the Malta Environment Planning Authority and suggestions for improvement are to be found in chapter 6.