The surnames of Malta's planning system
An island where everyone knows everyone
Summary
Malta's planning database is a mirror of the island's demographics. Just 30 surnames account for a vast share of all applicants, and their approval rates are remarkably consistent (~82–86%). The most common surname — Vella — appears in 9,163 applications. But the real story is in the power pairs: specific applicant-architect relationships that repeat across hundreds of cases.
Chairperson and hearing data is drawn from board minutes in the PA database. See methodology for coverage details.
Key findings
Top applicant surnames (PA applications)
| Surname | Applications | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|
| Vella | 9,163 | 83.3% |
| Camilleri | 9,026 | 83.6% |
| Borg | 8,020 | 84.4% |
| Farrugia | 6,474 | 83.3% |
| Zammit | 5,574 | 83.7% |
| Grech | 5,509 | 84.9% |
| Attard | 5,130 | 84.8% |
| Galea | 5,080 | 83.3% |
| Micallef | 4,724 | 83.7% |
| Cassar | 4,408 | 83.3% |
The top 10 surnames account for 67,109 applications — roughly 29% of all PA applications. Approval rates cluster tightly between 82–85%, suggesting no meaningful surname-level advantage. These are simply Malta's most common surnames.
Approval by applicant type
| Type | Applications | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|
| Government/Public | 1,501 | 92.7% |
| Company | 9,112 | 87.8% |
| Other | 89,015 | 87.2% |
| Church/Religious | 94 | 85.5% |
| Individual (Mr/Mrs/Ms) | 133,300 | 81.9% |
Government applicants have the highest approval rate at 92.7%. Companies get approved at 87.8% — nearly 6 points higher than individuals.
The power pairs: architect-applicant relationships
The most striking pattern is not in surnames but in repeat business relationships between specific applicants and architects:
| Architect | Applicant | Joint cases |
|---|---|---|
| Perit Mr Mario Scicluna | Mr Joseph Cutajar | 160 |
| Perit James Bonnici Camilleri | Daniel Zahra | 119 |
| Perit Mr.David Xuereb | Mr Julian Buhagiar | 104 |
| Dr Robert Musumeci | Mr Joe Grioli | 98 |
| Perit Joseph V. Camilleri | Mr Alfred Scicluna | 94 |
| Perit TBA Periti | Mr Chris Grech | 86 |
| Perit Brian Ebejer | Mr Charles Camilleri | 63 |
| Perit Mr. Mannie Galea | Ms Catherine Galea | 60 |
| Falzon & Cutajar | Mr Michael Stivala | 51 + 42 (spelling variants) |
Mr Joseph Cutajar and Perit Mario Scicluna have worked together on 160+ cases (212 including a spelling variant of the applicant name). This is an extraordinary volume — roughly one application every 2 months for 25+ years.
The Stivala family: a case study
The Stivala surname is interesting not for volume (604 total applications) but for its higher-than-average approval rate (86.9%) and the concentration around one individual:
- Mr Michael Stivala: 168 + 86 + 30 = ~284 applications (name variants)
- Uses primarily Falzon & Cutajar (93 cases) and Perit Michael Falzon (50 cases) as architects
- Approval rate: 87–95% depending on name variant
Board members
The board member data reveals a small group of individuals who have sat on thousands of hearings:
| Member | Hearings | Approval rate |
|---|---|---|
| Perit Anthony Camilleri | 5,156 (member) + 163 (chair) | 94.7% / 99.4% |
| Perit Simon Saliba | 4,134 (member) + 741 (chair) | 91.7% / 95.1% |
| Perit Mireille Fsadni | 4,019 | 93.7% |
| Perit Mariello Spiteri | 3,579 | 91.5% |
| Mr Frank Ivan Caruana Catania | 2,808 (member) + 214 (chair) | 92.1% / 90.7% |
Dr Charles Grech stands out with multiple name variants totaling ~1,200+ hearings and a 97–100% approval rate. Across all spellings (Dr Charles F Grech, Dr Charles Grech, Dr Charles F. Grech, Dr. Charles Grech, Dr Charles Grech are), he was present at hearings that approved virtually everything.
Chairperson tenure
| Chairperson | First hearing | Last hearing | Total | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perit Elizabeth Ellul | Apr 2016 | Jun 2025 | 5,959 | 9.2 years |
| Mr Martin Camilleri | Mar 2017 | Mar 2026 | 4,764 | 9.0 years |
| Miss Stephania Baldacchino | Jan 2022 | Mar 2026 | 3,576 | 4.2 years |
Three chairpersons have presided over 14,299 hearings between them. Perit Elizabeth Ellul alone chaired nearly 6,000 hearings over 9 years.
Why this matters
The planning system is governed by a remarkably small group of people making decisions on a remarkably large volume of cases. The same board members sit on thousands of hearings, the same architect-applicant pairs submit hundreds of cases, and the same surnames cycle through the system. This is partly explained by Malta's small population (~500,000), but the concentration of decision-making power in so few hands is notable.