Sliema is yet again experiencing an uncontrolled surge in new building developments. The local council’s resources are stretched to the limit and it is becoming obvious that we have lost control of the situation.

Local wardens have now been centralised, thanks to the recently formed LESA department and the police, who have extremely limited human resources can’t even cope with petty crimes, let alone chase contractors who keep breaking the law. To make matters worse, Mepa’s enforcement officers are not easily accessible or rather, they are in permanent hibernation.

With the upcoming Kappara Junction project, the situation in Sliema and surrounding localities can only worsen. The local council’s office staff is spending endless hours dishing out road closure permits against a fee, instead of seeing to the needs of the locality’s residents.

In fact, when taking a closer look to the permits issued in the first quarter of 2016 compared to that of the two previous years, you will notice an increase in road closure permits (table 1) and in the amount of roads which are being closed on a weekly and daily basis (table 2):

People seem to spend more time trying to get in and out of Sliema, due to the number of closed roads. Not to mention those roads which are closed or blocked illegally, with no valid permit from the local council. To add insult to injury, we have to endure the constant ‘bullying’ of contractors and workers who ‘reserve’ parking bays as they please, using all types of props, from wooden pallets to concrete blocks.

With two proposed high rise building in Tigné, which, according to rough estimates will see approximately 35 heavy vehicles enter and exit Sliema on a daily basis during the excavation period. One can only imagine the traffic nightmares that will be created around the already chaotic Tigné and Qui-si-Sana seafront. With the looming threat of having not only shade for most of the day on the Ghar id-Dud and Qui-Si-Sana promenade and playing field, we’ll also have to endure endless dust particles choking up the air for at least 12 to 18 months.

The summer months are just round the corner and although Mepa and the MTA do not allow any building developments during the month of August, this measure is certainly not enough to alleviate the frustration of Sliema residents and visitors alike. There needs to be synergy and constant communication between all the authorities involved in order to begin and try to solve this problem. A traffic management strategy must be put in place and most importantly should be communicated to all involved by TM.

I believe that as a councillor, my first and foremost duty is to always protect the rights of those residents who voted me into office, to represent them. Therefore, it should be our obligation, as an elected council to seriously begin looking into the possibility of discussing a building moratorium or implement a by-law in order to protect our residents from the constant traffic chaos and threats of increased air and noise pollution.

It is high time the government stops stripping the little bit of autonomy the local councils still have with regard to decisions involving building permits. The government must stop the process centralisation and should embark on a number of discussions with all stake holders involved. But this is not going to happen is it? With the non-existent Minister for the Environment and most of the government’s Cabinet bowing their heads to whatever the Prime Minister dictates.

Time and time again residents of Sliema have been taken for a ride by the current administration, from the implementation of the residential timed parking scheme to the constant building site that Sliema has become. It seems that respect and discipline have been deliberately swept under the carpet, to be replaced by a nonchalant attitude towards anything affecting the everyday lives of residents.

 

Mr Portelli is a Sliema Local Councillor