The President of the Gozo Regional Council Samuel Azzopardi has urged the Planning Authority to move faster on implementing the council’s proposals to protect the island from excessive development.

In October 2020, during a meeting of the Gozo Regional Council, the Mayors of each Gozitan Local Council had aired their frustration at the way development and planning was being handled on Malta’s sister island.

Their frustration was over "the shocking reports published in the local media, which unfortunately not only confirm their justified preoccupation, but also highlight the unprecedented problems that all localities in Gozo are confronting with the incessant number of development applications in urban areas being lodged by irresponsible land speculators," the council said at the time

They all insisted that the Planning Authority ought to be more cautious when considering and evaluating any development application, especially those in urban centres, among other things. Then, earlier this year, a document consisting of concrete proposals was drawn up by the Gozo Regional Council and presented to the Planning Authority as well as in Parliament's Gozo committee, Azzopardi said.

Among the proposals, the Regional Council proposes that all of Gozo and Comino be classified as Design Priority Areas. It also called for greater involvement of local councils when it comes to the local plans, master plans, urban planning and other specific policies.  It calls for more schemes to be launched encouraging the renovation and rehabilitation of old buildings in urban centres. The Council also calls on the PA to be more vigilant and careful when a number of applications are filed separately when in reality they are part of the same mega development. It also called, among other things, for the preservation of the Green Belts in Gozo, the creation of more green walls, and that permits issued for rural or agricultural purposes like sheep or poultry farms should be definite and be withdrawn when such activities cease, not be turned into other uses than were originally granted.

Azzopardi said that the PA's CEO Martin Saliba was very receptive of the proposals when they had been presented to him and had commented about the proposals in the Parliamentary Committee just before summer.

Asked what he expects the next steps to be, Azzopardi said: "I expect that there will be a follow-up on our proposals by the Planning Authority, telling us officially which ones they agree with and join us in making those proposals for policy change, and which ones they don't."

“I would like to see more action on the proposals,” he said, urging the PA to move more quickly on taking such action.