PA suspends all Planning Board and Commission meetings held in public

The Planning Authority said yesterday it has decided to suspend all Planning Board and Planning Commission meetings as of tomorrow.

This directive will remain in force until further notice.

The issuing of permits related to Summary Procedure applications, the Development Notification Order (DNOs) and minor amendments, unless requiring a board/commission decision, will remain unaffected.

The Authority has also introduced a number of procedural changes with immediate effect. These relate to the issuing of Certificates associated to the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act and applications related to the Development (Removal of Danger) Order.

In the case of the issuing of Certificates related to the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act (CAP. 364, L.N. 281 of 2019), all requests will now require the notary’s email address as part of the submission, together with the previous requirements. All certificates will now be sent electronically to the notary. No certificates can be collected from the Planning Authority until further notice.

With respect to applications related to the Development (Removal of Danger) Order, all authorisations for emergency remedial works to mitigate or remove existing danger, will now be sent only by electronic means to the architect. Until further notice, no hard copies of these authorisations will be sent by post.

The Planning Authority is also reducing the number of employees who provide front desk services to architect and the public on a daily basis. As from Monday, the front desk services provided by the Planning Authority from its offices in Floriana and Victoria, Gozo, will be limited.

Until further notice, payments for Planning Authority bills are to be made online, at Maltapost plc branches or by cheques mailed to the Authority. No payments will be accepted at the front desk except those related to services provided by the front desk.

Customers are encouraged to contact the Authority via other channels of communication. One may call on 2290 0000, or send an email to customercare@pa.org.mt. To report or follow-up an enforcement issue, one may send an email to enforcement.complaints@pa.org.mt.

Meetings between Planning Authority officials and architects or the general public will only be held by appointment.

These measures may be updated if the situation changes and new directives are issued.

The authority said that, while striving to ensure continuity of service, it appreciates the customers’ support in following these measures and their use of the alternative channels.