Cases that took decades
Thirty-one years for a garage
Summary
Some planning applications have lingered in the system for over 30 years. The longest-running case — a proposed garage in Gozo — was filed in August 1993 and only resolved in March 2025: 31 years and 7 months.
Key findings
The longest cases in the database
| Case | Description | Location | Filed | Decided | Days | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA/02631/93 | Garage for private cars | Rabat, Gozo | Aug 1993 | Mar 2025 | 11,550 | 31.6 |
| PA/00053/94 | Rehabilitation of farmhouse | Burmarrad | Jan 1994 | Aug 2024 | 11,190 | 30.6 |
| PA/05126/94 | Sanctioning of boathouse excavation | Mgarr | Aug 1994 | Mar 2025 | 11,178 | 30.6 |
| PA/03660/24 | 5 apartments (different layout from PA/727/23) | Gzira | May 1996 | Feb 2025 | 10,496 | 28.7 |
| PA/06961/94 | Dwelling and garage | Xewkija, Gozo | Nov 1994 | Sep 2021 | 9,822 | 26.9 |
| PA/04325/98 | Demolition/extension of Comino Hotel | Comino | Jul 1998 | Apr 2025 | 9,762 | 26.7 |
| PA/07162/98 | Demolish & rebuild Cosmopolitan Hotel | San Pawl il-Bahar | Dec 1998 | Aug 2024 | 9,380 | 25.7 |
| PA/00481/93 | Marine cages for fish farming | Marsaxlokk | Mar 1993 | Sep 2016 | 8,592 | 23.5 |
| PA/01671/03 | Playground → underground parking & garden | San Pawl il-Bahar | Mar 2003 | Jan 2026 | 8,331 | 22.8 |
Notable cases
PA/02631/93 — A simple garage application in Rabat, Gozo that sat in the system for 31 years before being withdrawn by the Planning Directorate. Not the applicant — the directorate itself withdrew it.
PA/04325/98 — A proposal to partly demolish and extend the Comino Hotel (the only hotel on the island of Comino between Malta and Gozo). Filed in 1998, withdrawn at the applicant's request in April 2025 — 26 years later.
PA/05126/94 — A sanctioning case for an illegal boathouse excavation in Mgarr. Filed in 1994, finally dismissed for non-compliance in 2025. The illegal work was done, the application to legalize it took 30 years, and it was ultimately dismissed.
PA/01671/03 — A proposal to turn a public playground in San Pawl il-Bahar into underground parking and a redesigned garden. Filed in 2003, approved in January 2026 — nearly 23 years later.
What these cases reveal
Many of the longest-running cases are either:
- Environmentally sensitive (fish farms, Comino Hotel, ODZ farmhouses) where decisions keep being deferred
- Sanctioning cases where illegal work was done decades ago and the bureaucratic process to resolve it ground on
- Ambitious projects that went through multiple revisions over decades
The system has no effective mechanism to close or expire these zombie applications.