DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT DIRECTORATE

Director - Perit Silvio Farrugia

This was the year that saw the split between the forward planning and development control

functions, resulting in the creation of a new directorate focusing on development management.

The year 2020 was mainly characterised by the extraordinary measures which had to be taken to combat the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the entire Authority’s staff confined to working from home, the Development Management Directorate’s ability to retain the necessary level of communication remotely, and to effectively manage and coordinate its workload without disruption, was tested to its limits.

The Directorate had made great efforts over the previous two years to implement a hot-desking/ teleworking scheme for all its staff, and this exercise paid off when obligatory teleworking was implemented due to the pandemic. The transition was practically seamless, and this was reflected in the results obtained throughout. Although aided by a general slowdown in the receipt of applications, the overall performance was a marked improvement over the year 2019.

The Directorate also continued with its efforts to recruit and train new staff in-line with the

Authority’s succession planning strategy.

Major Projects Unit (MPU)

The processing of Major Projects development applications is not only limited to the assessment of the development proposal but, in many cases, involves extensive discussions with all stakeholders involved. This process starts well ahead of the actual submission of a development application and continues throughout the planning process.

During the year, the Unit assessed different types of proposals which proved very challenging in achieving high quality sustainable development within the established Planning Policy and legal framework. The unit processed a variety of proposals which consisted of large-scale retail establishments and industrial development for community facilities, quarries and high-rise/ landmark buildings for commercial use and tourism accommodation.

As regards Schedule 1 applications, the MPU processed a total of 106 screening requests and received 107 validated applications. A total of 117 applications were referred for a decision within the year.

EU and Special Projects Unit (EUSPU)

In 2020, the EUSPU processed a total of 35 screening requests and received 208 applications related to EU and other similar funded projects. A total of 176 applications were referred for a decision during the year.

General Development Unit (GDU)

The GDU, which is the Unit within the Directorate that is assigned the greatest portion of submitted development applications, concluded the assessment of 4,500 development applications in 2020. This led to a marked reduction in the pending caseload.

Urban Conservation Area (UCA) and Outside Development Zone (ODZ) Unit

During the year, the Outside Development Zone Team received 1,254 applications; an increase of 28% over the previous year. Throughout the same year, 987 applications were concluded by the team, which represents almost a 9% decrease over output of the previous year. 2020 ended with a caseload of 462 pending applications.

The decrease in output can be attributed in part to the substantial increase in submitted applications following the publication of the draft Rural and Design Policy Guidance in July. The perception that the revised policy will be more stringent with regards to potential ODZ development prompted a substantial increase in applications related to development for agricultural purposes. The current flow is likely to subside once the approved policy is published, halting the increased demand for development within Malta’s rural areas.

The usual standards of rigorous assessment was applied throughout to ensure that only development which is necessarily constructed outside the development zone is recommended. The Urban Conservation Area team received 1,871 development applications. This amounts to an increase in the number of full applications processed and a decrease in the summary applications over the figures of 2019. This change is likely a result of the reduction in applications for restoration attributed to the Irrestawra Darek scheme. In 2019, the scheme was issued in a

smaller capacity than in the preceding two years. During the year, the UCA team concluded the assessment of 1,851 applications - a reduction of almost 11% over 2019. The Team closed the year with a caseload of 537 cases, a slight reduction over the previous year.

The members of the UCA Team continued to strive to enable applicants to carry out improvements to their property within the Urban Conservations Areas, with the least permanent impact and within the bounds of the policy. This ensures that the rehabilitation of buildings having historical and architecturally important fabric is safeguarded for future generations, without compromising the needs of the current users.

Business Development Unit (BDU)

The Business Development Unit (BDU) is tasked with assessing applications of a commercial nature. In 2020, the number of new applications decreased from a monthly average of 168 in 2019 to 131 in 2020, for an annual total of 1,568. 1,423 applications, amounting to 91% of the total applications received within BDU, were full development applications.

The vast majority of applications were concluded on time. The number of applications concluded was equivalent to the number of incoming applications, and therefore the pending caseload, which was already minimal, was not increased.

Integrated Assessment & Permitting Unit

During the year, the Regularisation Team received a total of 2,550 new applications, which is evidently a drop in in the number of submission when compared to 2019.

The Minor Amendments Team’s workload increased significantly this year. The team saw a 50% increase in submission when compared to the previous years.

The Development Notification Team also registered a drop in the number of submitted requests when compared to last year’s figures. This year the Authority received 1,374 requests while in 2019 it received 1,595.

The Sanita’ Team processed thousands of Full Development Applications for the entire Directorate. This year assessments reached 24,000 and these include revised drawings. The Billing Team issued 10,189 bills during the year.