S.L. 552.9 Art. 3Interpretation. Cap. 552. Cap. 549. Cap. 291. Cap. 291. Cap. 363. Cap. 363. Cap. 363. Cap. 363. Cap. 552. Cap. 552. S.L. 424.29 Cap. 390. Cap. 552.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

"the Act" means the Development Planning Act or the

Environment Protection Act as applicable; "areas of high development intensity" means those localities which are listed in Schedule VII; "the Authority" means the Malta Environment and Planning Authority or any other authority that may, from time to time, be designated as having responsibility for these regulations; "the Commissioner" means a Commissioner for Justice in terms of the Commissioners for Justice Act;

"construction" includes works, activities, events and practices for, or in connection with, the building, alteration, renovation, finishing, demolition, excavation or removal within any site or building within any type of construction works as defined in Schedule Vl;

"construction site" means a site where construction is being carried out whether it is public or private land;

"contractor" means an individual, partnership, company, or any other legal entity who is engaged to perform any type of construction works or related services by an owner on a

* These Regulations have been repealed by Legal Notice 341 of 2022. †By virtue of Legal Notice 296 of 2007, all the provisions of these regulations, other than Schedule III section 1(b) and Schedule IV section 1(a) and (b), are in force in relation to Type A and Type B developments listed in Schedule VI. construction site;

"Court" includes a Local Tribunal established under the Commissioners for Justice Act;

"emergency" means an unexpected situation, or a sudden, unforeseen happening which requires immediate action to correct in order to protect lives and, or property and, or economic livelihood; "footprint" means the space contained within the external walls of a building at ground floor level, including internal yards, shafts, terraces or courtyards totally enclosed or surrounded by the building, but excluding terraces, backyards, yards and pool decks not totally enclosed or surrounded by the building; "Government" means both the Government of Malta and Local Councils established under the Local Government Act; "hazardous material" is any item or agent (biological, chemical, physical) which has the potential to cause harm to humans, animals or the environment either by itself or through interaction with other factors as defined in local legislation; "hoarding" means a temporary structure enclosing a construction site during construction works, to restrict access and provide protection to the public; "immediate vicinity" means the area within thirty metres from any site, and includes the footprint of the site in question, referred to in regulation 12 and where by way of irregular construction site management demeans the social, historic or environmental importance of the site or area referred to in that regulation; "Joint Committee" has the same meaning as that in the Local Government Act;

"Local Council" has the same meaning given in the Local Government Act;

"locality" has the same meaning given in the Local Government Act, and includes, for the purpose of these regulations, arterial and distributor roads and all other areas excluded from the competence of local councils under the same Act; "the Minister" means the Minister responsible for the Environment or that Minister who may, from time to time, be designated as having responsibility for these regulations;

"the Ministry" means the Ministry responsible for the Environment;

"nuisance" means any act, omission or thing which is visually offensive or causes smells or noise, or occasioning or likely to occasion injury, annoyance, offence, harm, danger, or damage of whatever nature, or which is or is likely to be injurious or dangerous to health or the environment or buildings;

"offender" means that person or legal entity to whom a citation has been issued;

"officer" means any person authorised by the Minister to issue charges related to these regulations and shall include:

(a) a Police officer; and

(b) an Enforcement Officer, Community Officer or any other person appointed by the Minister, or his delegated authority, to carry out the enforcement of these regulations as established under the Development Planning Act; "owner" shall have the same meaning as that construed in the Development Planning Act; "private property" includes any land, whether developed or otherwise, or any other permanent structure whose ownership is vested in a private person or entity; "public property" includes any place to which the public has access; “site manager” means a person carrying out the duty or duties derived from the provisions of these regulations. Such person shall be nominated by, and responsible on behalf of, the owner for ensuring the correct implementation of these regulations. The appointed site manager may be either of the following:

(a) the owner himself;

(b) the project supervisor as construed in the work place (Minimum Health and Safety Requirements for Work and Construction Sites) Regulations;

(c) a Perit as defined under the Periti Act; or

(d) any other competent person; "stop notice" shall have the same meaning as that construed in the Development Planning Act; "street" includes any road, alley, square, footpath, pavement, bridge, shore front, quay, or other place of public passage or access;

"tourism zone" shall refer to those areas defined by the competent authority responsible for tourism as tourism zones.