New revised use classes ‘assess today’s realities with less bureacracy’

The Parliamentary Secretary for Planning and Simplification of Administrative Processes in consultation with Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) will be publishing a new Development Planning (Use Classes) Order which replace that issued in 1994.    

The Use Classes Order is a legal notice which groups uses with similar land use and environmental impacts together into classes.

To simplify and reduce the bureaucratic burden of these new procedures, the new Use Classes Order has been divided into eight main categories, each aggregating a cluster of classes. The categories are Residential, Social, Tourism and Leisure, Commercial, Industrial, Storage and Distribution, Agriculture and Aquaculture.

In most cases, even within the same category, a change of use from one class to another will require full development permission, but this will not apply for cases where the proposed change of use within an existing development will constitute a lesser land use and environmental impact to what is already permitted on site, as long as it is within the same category.

For example for a change of use from a school (Class 2C) to an old people's home (Class 2A) there is still need for full development permission, while for a change of use from a retail outlet (Class 4B) to an office (Class 4A) a simple development notification is sufficient. While the same procedure will also apply for a change of use from a hotel (Class 3B) to a guest house (Class 3A) prior clearance from the Malta Tourism Authority will be required in this case.  

The new order has also amended the list of development planning uses which do not fall within any of the 8 categories because of their particular nature. This comprehensive list, referred to in the legal notice as Outside Use Class, includes amusement arcades, band clubs, discotheques, fireworks factories, bakeries and supermarkets amongst others. Where such uses are proposed, a full development permit is required since consideration of their context needs to be made as they raise unique planning issues which need to be studied.

Dwellings remain within Class 1 but the new Order gives more direction to activities carried out as part of a residence. Whilst the concept of operating an occupation or business activity from a residence is still being encouraged, the legal notice makes a proviso so that the type and scale of these activities is controlled.

The new Use Classes Order has also introduced the concept of "lodging" as an activity which can be carried out in a residence by allowing tourism accommodation of up to 16 persons within a residence located in an Urban Conservation Area. This has the scope of encouraging the regeneration of Urban Conservation Areas and is subject to clearance from the Malta Tourism Authority. 

In the light of the experience gained over the years, the previous Class 6 has evolved into two Classes 4C where cooking is not allowed and 4D where cooking is allowed. Takeaways have been taken out of this category and placed within the classified list under Article 4 (outside use class). Although takeaways including pastizzerias offer food and drink facilities these places raise different environmental issues, such as litter, longer opening hours, and additional traffic and pedestrian activity.

The new legal notice will come into effect by the end of January 2014 and will be downloadable from the Authority's website www.mepa.org.mt