Last Saturday another press conference was held in relation to the government’s plans to increase the area of the Ta’Qali National Park. The project would see a sizeable portion of land that is partly being used as a concrete factory, converted into green public open space.
During the press conference, Dr Jose Herrera, Minister of the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change, was reported to have said that the priority was quality of life as he explained the need for such places for public enjoyment. The Minister reportedly went on to state that “We [the government] recycled 40 tumoli of degraded land and instead of creating another industrial estate we gave it back to the natural environment.”
Perhaps the Minister was not made aware of the fact that the land being referred to, intended to be converted to public open space, is already designated as land reserved for recreational use for the public under the 2006 Local Plan, as it falls within the National Recreation Centre of Ta’Qali. The site that he is claiming could have been used to accommodate an industrial estate,is specifically designated for Sports Art Cultural Facilities where industrial use would not be permitted.
Parliamentary Secretary Dr Deo Debattista also made reference to ‘industrial use’ during the same press conference when he reportedly said that “We are expanding economically and need space for factories but government chose to give the land back to nature instead of using it for a factory.”
Here we can see the same assumption that this land may be developed for industrial use, without any regard being given for what is stated in the governing land policies.
The Parliamentary Secretary additionally makes reference to a demand for more land for industrial use to accommodate factories. Thisstatement contradicts government’s intended plans for anothertract of land also within Ta’Qali.
Presently the Planning Authority is holding a public consultationon a proposed revision of the Ta’Qali Action Plan to implement changes on another portion of land within Ta’ Qali. Through this revision an area covering about 55,000sqm will be converted from land designated for industrial use to land designated for commercial use. The policy amendment is also proposing a change in the maximum permissible height of development by increasing it from a maximum of 10m to 17.5m. This would result in 2 additional floors over and above that which may be built today.
The whole nature of the site would change from one of relatively low lying development reserved for light industry and storage facilities to a series of five storey blocks reserved for supermarkets, catering establishments and offices. The revision of the Action Plan would effectively convert this land reserved for industry into a business district.
According to the consultation document this requested change was put forward by government.
At present a number of development applications requesting permission for new buildings for industrial use on land that is outside of the development zone are being processed by the Planning Authority. This would lead one to believe that as the Parliamentary Secretary had noted, demand for land for industrial use still exists.
No formal justification supported by studies or detailed reports to warrant this substantial change in the Ta’ QaliAction Plan, was provided. There is also no information as to whether this gross reduction in land available for industry would have to be compensated elsewhere.
The public has until the 25th of October 2019 to submit their comments to this revision. They can do so by sending an email to the Planning Authority at [email protected].
Tara Cassar is an architect focusing on planning policies and environmental issues related to land-use, active with a number of local eNGOs.
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