The interior ministry on Thursday denied claims by the Famagusta district government that pending regulations had caused the processing of planning permission applications for single-family homes to grind to a halt.

It said that the regulations, as they currently stand, “specify eight provisions” wherein the construction of a single-family home may be permitted, as well as the minimum plot size, the maximum permitted distance from the property line, acceptable forms of access, and other guidelines.

As such, it said, the scope of discretion any district’s urban planning authority has at its disposal to allow or not allow such developments is “limited to a minimum”.

For this reason, it said that the fact that new regulations requested by the district government remain pending “do not affect the ability to consider individual planning applications”.

The Famagusta district government had declared on Wednesday that “applications concerning a single residence cannot, at this stage, be examined” as it was awaiting the approval of new guidelines from the interior ministry.

It said that the examination and processing of planning applications would, therefore, proceed “after the completion of the procedure and receipt of the relevant approval” from the interior ministry.