The minister was speaking at the recent opening of the appeals board’s new offices. The fall in appeals was a result of a reform that the authority is undergoing. In 1998, 912 appeals were registered, falling to 388 in 2003.

“The appeals board is independent from the Development Control Commission (DCC) and from Mepa,” the minister said. “The fact that it will be operating from different premises will further reinforce this independence.”

He said that amendments to the law put in place three years ago had helped this reform. The amendments permitted the applicant to resubmit a proposal if this was not initially accepted by the DCC.

Furthermore the applicant now has the right to present his or her own case. Even those who decide to object in writing against an application have the right to be heard, he added.

“These amendments were important because they avoided the need to go through an appeals process.” Around 75 per cent of requests for reconsideration with DCC are accepted, after the necessary modifications or clarifications are made. The DCC can even go against the advice given by the technical staff, although it would have to submit a justification for overriding such advice.

The minister explained that among other measures taken to reform the authority, earlier this year an audit officer was appointed, with responsibility for monitoring Mepa’s operations.

This appointment was agreed with the Opposition and is expected to help improve the function of the authority. The officer makes recommendations that the authority has to implement or else give reasons for not doing so.

The government wants to eradicate excessive bureaucracy, Mr Pullicino stressed. This is why there were three audits being carried out at the moment, aimed at making the service more customer-friendly.

The areas under scrutiny are: the processing of development applications including consultation with departments and government agencies; a development permission application report, including recommendations as to whether the applications should be accepted and, finally, submissions by architects when they present a development permit on behalf of their client.