S.L. 552.12 чл. 2Interpretation.

(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Act" means the Development Planning Act, or any Act superseding this Act;

"the Authority" means the Planning Authority;

"alterations" means structural interventions to the interior and, or exterior of a building which do not result in an increase in the floor area of the building being altered; "amended application" means an application for amendments to a development, relating to changes in the internal layout or external appearance, for which permission has already been granted and is still valid:

*16th April, 2013.

(a) in respect of the same site and involving development of the same general character and description; and

(b) which does not involve a different use or an increase in the number of dwelling units, and increase in floor area;

"agricultural building" means a building used for agricultural purposes, including the storage of agricultural implements, but not for:

(a) the keeping of livestock or animal husbandry;

(b) the slaughter of animals; and

(c) the processing of animals or animal products;

"application" means an application for development permission; "boathouse for a registered fisherman" means a boathouse used for the storage of fishing boats and equipment used in the course of the registered occupation;

"bungalow" means a single dwelling unit, whether detached or semi-detached, where appropriate, consisting of not more than one habitable floor unless it is located within the development boundaries in an area designated for more dense development; "commercial development" means a development which is non-residential and non-agricultural and not listed separately in any other group in Schedule 1;

"compliance certificate" means a certificate referred to in article 61(2) of the Development Planning Act, 1992;

"demolition of a building or structure" means the pulling down or removal of the roof and any wall forming such building, room within a building, or structure; "designated officer" means such officers of the Planning Authority designated by it to formally endorse Development Permit Application Reports, who shall normally be the Senior Planning Officers and Managers of the Area Teams and the Manager of the Development Control Unit; "Development Permit Application Report" means the report prepared on an application for development permission which is submitted to a designated officer or to the Development Control Commission;

"Development Permit Fee" includes the Environment Fee; "dwelling" means any building or unit used for residential purposes, but excludes a hotel, guest-house, old people’s home and commercial establishments of similar nature;

"endorsement" means the formal acceptance of a Development Permit Application Report by a designated officer such that the application is then forwarded for determination by the Development Control Commission or determined by a designated officer under the powers so delegated by the Planning Authority;

"engineering operations" include photovoltaic farms; wind farms; the formation or laying out of roads and of means of access to roads; the movement, re-grading or surfacing of land including the creation of formal gardens or cemeteries; the construction or excavation of reservoirs not ancillary to a dwelling or when the applicant is not registered as an arable farmer with the Department of Agriculture; the construction of bridges and similar structures; the construction of sea defences, piers and similar structures; the creation and replenishment of beaches and other operations affecting beaches; the siting of moorings, and similar operations, whether on land or on the seabed; and excludes land reclamation for agricultural purposes;

"extension" means an increase in the floor area relating to the same use as the existing unit being altered;

"farmhouse" means a single family dwelling used for habitation by a registered farmer;

"film set" means the use of land, or the placing, installation or construction on land of structures, for the purpose of the production of films, television programmes, videos or other audio-visual productions; "flat" means a single dwelling unit within a building which contains several similar units which do not have their own separate entrance from the street but share a common access;

"floor area" means -

(a) for residential purposes, the amount of floor area within a building determined by the external measurements of the building, that includes the thickness of the external walls and half the thickness of dividing or party walls, and includes: any projecting rooms, staircases, lifts, shafts, internal yards, verandahs, open terraces, balconies, within the building footprint at each level; washrooms; terraces formed at roof level when these belong to penthouses 2 or to any roof structure exceeding 36m (excluding washrooms serving multiple flats); back yards, back gardens, front gardens, estate or plot gardens, self-imposed setbacks, at the lower level; and other structures within the site boundaries; unless otherwise specifically set out within these regulations; and

(b) for non-residential purposes, the amount of floor area within the site boundaries determined by the external measurements of the building, that includes the thickness of the external walls and half the thickness of dividing or party walls, and includes: any projecting rooms, staircases, lifts, shafts, internal yards, verandahs, open terraces, within the building footprint at each level; plant facilities; structures at roof level 2 exceeding 36m (excluding plant facilities); balconies; canopies and other spaces, including open spaces, used for commercial purposes: Provided that the void left in an intermediate level is not to be included in the calculation of floor area: Provided further that an internal yard shall not be included in the calculation of floor area at the upper level, when its size exceeds the area set out in the following table:

No. of floors Area 2 1 8m 2 8m2 2 3 9.6m 2 4 11.2m 5 12.8m2

Additional floors 8 + [(No. of floors - 2) x 1.6];

"garage" means a garage or space used for the parking of private cars, whether enclosed or unenclosed, and whether or not above or below ground level;

"land reclamation for agriculture" means the reclamation of land, including the deposit of material and the altering of the level of the land, for the purposes of agriculture; "livestock farm building" means a building used for the accommodation of livestock and for the storage of fodder or implements related to the same activity, but does not include farmhouses, greenhouses, buildings used for agricultural purposes or buildings used for the slaughter of animals or processing of animals or animal products; "maisonette" means a single dwelling unit on one or more floors, having a separate entrance from the street, located in a building consisting of more than one unit;

"penthouse" means a separate single dwelling which consists of one floor constructed above height limitation on the roof of a building, and which does not occupy the whole of the roof area and does not have permanent access to roof level; "planning control application" means those applications, not being applications for development permission, which require the approval of the Planning Authority for such changes to the Local Plans and, or the detailed alignments of buildings and streets within such Local Plans; "plant and machinery" means mechanical equipment or structures erected or placed on land but not within a building; "public car park" means a building or area exclusively used by the general public for parking of vehicles and is not ancillary to any other use on site.

"registered fisherman" and "registered farmer" mean a fisherman or a farmer registered with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, as the case may be; "relevant Department" means, for the purposes of the main sewer contribution, the Drainage Section of the Water Services Corporation, and for the purposes of the street contribution, Transport Malta and any other body which subsequently assumes the responsibilities of these Departments or entities;

"renewal application" means an application for the renewal of a development permission granted by the Authority in respect of the same site which is submitted before such permission expires; "screening" means the process during which the proposed development is considered by the Authority prior to the submission of the formal application; "site area" means the total area of land which is the subject of the application, and is marked in red on the site plan submitted with the application;

"special building" means a building providing an institution, club, society or other organisation of a religious, cultural, philanthropic, sporting or social nature not including Government departments or parastatal bodies with the facilities necessary for the pursuit of its objects, including schools, hospices, homes for the elderly, hospitals and similar buildings or uses, where the institution, club, society or other organisation is declared as being tax exempt by the Minister responsible for finance by regulations made for that purpose; "social/cultural/sports/educational/forced relocation category" means and is limited to developments concerning:

(a) hospitals/nursing homes;

(b) residential institutions;

(c) places in connection with public worship or religious instruction or the social or recreational activities of a religious body;

(d) educational institutions;

(e) museums;

(f) public libraries;

(g) social clubs/societies premises (not including any Class 6 uses bars, restaurant); or

(h) development which is required to relocate by an order of Government or a government agency or entity; "sports projects" means projects of sports facilities, or ancillary structures excluding commercial ones; "temporary structure/use of land" means the use of land for one use or purpose, which may include the setting up of a structure which is demountable and does not require the laying of foundations and is placed on the ground and constructed from impermanent materials, including canvas, other fabric, PVC and similar materials, and includes a tent, marquee, canopy or other structure of a similar nature such that "impermanent material" means material which does not consist of stone, bricks or concrete or, any other similar material: Provided that where such use of land is not specified in an approved development plan, such use shall be carried out for four months or less in any one calendar year; "terraced house" means a single dwelling unit on a site consisting of one or more storeys in a row of three or more dwellings and includes the dwellings at the ends of the terrace; "validation" means the acknowledgment by the Planning Authority of the receipt of a valid application for development permission, that is an application in respect of which all the requirements for the submission of an application have been fulfilled; "vicinity" means a distance within 500 metres of the original site; "villa" means a detached or semi detached single dwelling of not more than two habitable floors. This includes flatted dwellings (regulated by Policy 3.5 of Development Control Policy and Design Guidance, 2007, or future updates thereto) located in an area designated for villa development.

(2) In either Schedule 1 or Schedule 2, any expression defined in the Act has the same meaning as it has in the Act.