In the past three years the Paola local council has been developing its regeneration action plan (Sustainable Planning for Urban Regeneration – SPUR) aided and supported by the URBACT Programme and the project REPAIR. The project was developed by the council, led by councillor Renald Dalli, and supported by an Urban Local Support Group which included several stakeholders from the town. Executive secretary Kevin Borg led the discussions between the ULSG and the government agencies, while Malcolm Borg from Heritage Malta drafted and developed the plan.

When asked about his experience in the URBACT Programme, Mr Dalli explained that when he was approached by Dr Borg and Ronnie Calleja (AS Hibernians) to engage in the REPAIR project it was definitely a learning curve but the experience was a very positive one. “REPAIR was tailor-made for Paola’s special conditions as a township. Paola today is a busy hub, a centre for transit and commerce but little had been done to address the pressing exigencies and its future.” REPAIR provided a golden opportunity for the council to sit down with the experts and plan ahead in an integrated and sustainable way.

Mr Kevin Borg said that the council did not just approach various stakeholders and experts to join the ULSG, but also representatives from local NGOs in order to get feedback from the citizens. “We sought team players as in the case of AS Hibernians who were engaged in the restoration, rehabilitation and adaptive re-use of the Corradino Military Detention Barracks.” There was also close collaboration with the Malta Industrial Parks and the assistance and support of Chief Architect Gorg Cilia was crucial. “The involvement of the Malta Chamber of Planners, Rene Attard and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority especially representatives from the Local Action Plan teams (Marco Attard Portuges and Patrick Mifsud), was a very good opportunity to work together.” Kevin Borg described the ULSG as a positive step in the formation of the Paola Heritage Foundation in 2009.

When asked about the significance of the REPAIR Action Plan and why was it chosen as a pilot project, Dr Borg held that the choice of Paola action plan and the Florence action plan as pilots in programme was possibly a matter of highlighting best practice in conservation and regeneration planning. “This is essentially a citizen’s action plan,” stated Malcom Borg. The main thrust of the plan is based on five elements; (1) The use of the Unesco Guidelines as a platform for planning for tourism and transit; (2) the implementation of Transit Oriented Development Strategy to spur regeneration and transit; (3) The use of Character Appraisal as an ideal tool to analyse context and landscape; (4) The use of node projects to push the actions and reach the objectives of the plan; and (5) Finding the financial backing for the projects so these may be actuated.

“I think if we want an environment and context which people feel related to, they have to be directly involved.” In one of the node projects, the Pjazza Paola and the KONNEKT people were critical, enthusiastic and extremely collaborative. In three days 890 citizens voted for three design schemes prepared by the local council Architect Perit Christopher Mintoff. An exhibition was set up to provide a background to the concept and an architect to assist voters in understanding the various ideas. The project of the action plan now is in the final draft stage. The final draft was compiled in tandem with Mr Paulius Kaulikaus and Mr Hen Gerriste (lead experts) launching the Implementation Plan. This will be presented in the final meeting in Avrig, Romania this month and a summary will be sent to all households in Paola.