The land that has been selected to conform to Cabinet criteria and which will eventually be included in the new development zones is just 1.3 per cent of the total area earmarked for building, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said yesterday.
Speaking at a press conference to announce the final plans in the Rationalisation of Development Boundaries exercise, Minister Pullicino said that on Wednesday he had presented a motion for eventual discussion in parliament to confirm the new development boundaries after the public consultation exercise came to an end.
He said that the boundaries will first be discussed in the House Planning Committee and would then move on to the full House for eventual approval. The plans have been extensively updated following the public consultation exercise with new provisions, including criteria to conserve any archaeological remains found on the sites within the new development boundaries.
Minister Pullicino said that the government elected in 1987 had found a disastrous situation wherein agricultural land was being given over to development at an alarming rate.
“We were losing nearly 200 hectares of land to development per year and that means the size of 34 “Siggiewis” in 16 years, or more than twice the size of this town every year. The situation was so serious that people were building close to the gas plant in Birzebbuga.”
The minister said that the government was constrained to carry out a quick exercise to close off the Temporary Provision Schemes once and for all. He said that it was clear that the anomalies created by these schemes had to be addressed and the Nationalist Party had made a commitment to arrange the situation in its electoral manifesto of 1998.
Minister Pullicino acknowledged that this situation was a sensitive and delicate one but the government had decided to act to create a more equal and just situation. He reiterated that the criteria set down by the Cabinet were strict and rigorous.
The minister said that only 1.3 per cent of the total land area earmarked for development had been included in the new development scheme through the publication of its criteria. The remaining one per cent was the result of the local plan process which has been going on since 1995. This makes up the 2.3 per cent of land already earmarked for development. The amount was 2.4 per cent in the original proposals made in May and had therefore been reduced. He said that it was expected that far less than 10 per cent of local plan submissions would eventually be included in the new zones.
Minister Pullicino said that this area included around 18-20 per cent of land that was already built up and also included roads and public spaces.
He also referred to specific cases such as the Tal-Papa area in Birzebbugia that was included in the South Local Plan as well as Mtarfa and Hal Farrug, which had previously been outside the development zone but were now included.
The minister said that in 10 years’ time, there will be two per cent less land in the development zone than there was in 1971 and five per cent less than what was earmarked in 1987. He said that if the exercise was not concluded now, the possible consequences for more land to be handed over to development could have been much worse.
Referring to the Opposition’s statements on this exercise, Minister Pullicino said that this was nothing but a smear campaign intended to throw certain individuals such as Minister Ninu Zammit and Dr Beppe Fenech Adami in bad light. He also outlined cases in Manikata, Attard and Swieqi where the development boundaries had been addressed in a rational manner.
Minister Pullicino said that some of the submissions provided by Alternattiva Demokratika did not make sense and he also expressed surprise at the Chamber of Architects’ disagreement with the new boundaries. He said that the exercise was intended to address social and environmental concerns and was planned for the common good of all.