The Ombudsman made two strong recommendations regarding the planning sector recently.

The first, was that the capping of fines for irregular development be doubled from €50,000 to €100,000.

This makes sense, as bigger developers might be willing to rack up the current fine cap, thus meaning  that it does not make an effective deterrent.

The investigation followed a complaint received by the Commissioner for Environment and Planning, who found that current fines were established in 2012 and that the capped amount of €50,000 "neither reflects present-day realities nor serves as an effective deterrent against large-scale or persistent irregular developments."

Earlier this year, in response to a Parliamentary Question filed by PN MP Stanley Zammit, Planning Minister Clint Camilleri had revealed in Parliament that 162 sites had reached the €50,000 capping.

Secondly, the Commissioner found that current regulations inadequately address mobile irregular structures -  such as kiosks, canopies, tables, and chairs  -  "since their mobile nature allows for easy removal and reinstatement, limiting enforcement to mere warnings with limited practical effect." Over the years there have been countless complaints regarding the placement of tables and chairs on pavements.

The Commissioner recommended that regulations be amended to allow for the confiscation of mobile irregular structures, aligning enforcement with existing provisions under the Traffic Regulation Ordinance concerning the removal of encumbering objects.

The authorities should take up these recommendations, and it is hard to understand why they have not. "The recommendations were not implemented. Consequently, the case was referred to the Prime Minister and the House of Representatives in accordance with the provisions of the Ombudsman Act," the Commissioner wrote.

The issues within the Planning sector are widely known - poor planning, an authority that doesn't look at the whole picture enough, local councils not having enough of a say, the list goes on. The Ombudsman's recommendations are a chance to implement some legislative changes that can strengthen the enforcement arm, and thereby automatically increasing the effective deterrent against breaching rules.

Ignoring these recommendations by the Ombudsman effectively means that the authorities are ok with inadequate enforcement legislation.

Tables and chairs placed beyond what their permit allows risk blocking emergency services from getting through, and that could be the difference between life or death. The situation must be brought under control.

The authorities also need to take a broader look at the planning sector. As said, the issues with the planning sector are vast, and aside from the legislative changes proposed by the Ombudsman, a review of how the planning authority operates is also needed. For instance, a real skyline policy should be implemented, the authorities should consider better protection of scheduled buildings in terms of their surroundings, a stronger say for local councils in major development applications should be ensured, a permit under appeal should not be executable - although the government is meant to be working on this.

These are just a few examples.