Legal notice will remove 187 illegal billboards
MEPA has issued enforcement orders calling on a number of billboard operators to comply with the adverts regulations order, but the orders have largely been ignored
A revised legal notice is to be published next week seeking the removal of the illegal billboards that have peppered the Maltese islands for the past decade, some of which were also used by the Labour Party during its political campaigns.
The Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s enforcement unit has identified 187 such billboards.
MEPA has issued enforcement orders calling on a number of billboard operators to comply with the adverts regulations order, but the orders have largely been ignored.
Most of the operators have taken advantage of loopholes in the present laws and managed to bypass the system.
One way some operators have responded to an enforcement order is to change a commercial advert into a non-commercial one – in doing so the enforcement order is nullified. This was usually followed a few days later by the appearance of yet another commercial billboard.
The new legal notice, driven by the new parliamentary secretary responsible for planning, Deborah Schembri, will change the regulations on billboards to ensure a fair competitive market and at the same time ensure serious consideration for aesthetics and the safety of motorists and pedestrians.
The legal notice will eliminate loopholes to provide for a more effective enforcement procedure with higher fines. Enough time will be allowed to have billboards removed within a specified timeframe, and failure to do so will lead to administrative and direct action fines.
The legal notice will also target stationary and parked vehicles which are used for the display of advertisements. These may be towed away and fines issued against them.
All billboards will have to be registered with Transport Malta and shall have a yearly licence of €1,500. The term ‘Political Advertisement’ will be redefined to ensure that political billboards may only be allowed from the time when an election is announced.
Fines are being introduced ranging from €1,000 for the first offence, going up to a maximum €5,000.
