The Malta Chamber of Planners acknowledged today that the current speed of development may be part of the cause of some of the collapses, in the sense that as much work as possible is being done in the shortest time possible.

However, this is not within the Chamber’s remit to investigate or comment about, and appropriate safeguards need to be implemented together with the necessary studies and strengthening of existing agencies to make sure they can adequately fulfil their statutory responsibilities, the chamber said in a statement.

It is imperative that development is executed with due diligence and in accordance with the approved plans, permit conditions and other relevant construction regulations. The Chamber recommended caution on putting forward any hurried short-sighted suggestions, and should wait for the necessary investigations to be concluded.

The chamber’s statement was issued in the light of comments being brought forward in the media following the current spate of construction incidents which have prompted the Prime Minister to take immediate action.

The chamber expressed its empathy with all the victims of these three major incidents, which could have much worse repercussions. While we are aware that the incidents are not the direct result of planning or lack thereof, some of the proposals already published might have long term impacts both on planning for better places in general and the streetscape as we know it.

The chamber said it is concerned on simplistic proposals such as the proposal of stopping excavations for plots and allowing an additional overlying floor instead. At face value, this may seem an obvious quick solution, however what impacts would it have in the long term? The immediately glaring effect will be on the streetscape where such a concession would result in buildings being higher than existing adjacent buildings.

Would it also mean that already developed buildings with a semi-basement which have not excavated totally below ground would immediately become eligible for an additional floor? What about those instances when development consists of two contiguous plots or more? Would such sites be eligible for underground parking and an additional floor or would we be happy that in such instances, the skyline will have a gap of a floor in relation to the rest of the streetscape?

A more long- term approach would be to limit the number of units to the amount of parking being provided by the development., rather than keep approving developments with lack of parking and having to pay for the parking shortage thus exacerbating the parking problem in localities.

The chamber said it will be reviewing the proposals to be published by the Government on Monday and will comment on the matters which are relative to the profession. In the interim however, the Chamber once again calls for proper holistic planning to be reinstated in the country. 15 years ago, a few years after the creation of the Planning Authority there were a myriad of planning tools which were used in planning such as Development Briefs, Action Plans, Subject Plans and others.

A cursory look at the Planning Authority website shows that apart from one or two cases, the most recent plans are dated almost a decade. The revised Local Plans which were supposed to be published in 2014 are still on hold. The lack of comprehensive planning and laissez faire attitude may be good for the economy but is extremely unhealthy for the country in the medium to long term, and the current spate of construction accidents may be just the tip of a massive iceberg, the impacts of which will start being more evident in the immediate future. Unless proper and comprehensive planning is implemented immediately, it may be too late for our country!