Local councils are sometimes slated for not doing enough work, or remaining intransigent in the face of issues that directly impact their zone of influence.

Yet this week, the Lija council, led by Mayor Ian Castaldi Paris, has fought for and successfully brought about the conservation of Transfiguration Avenue and its unique belvedere.

In a nutshell, developers wanted to construct apartment blocks with penthouses in the area immediately surrounding the structure. The building itself is a Grade 1 Scheduled Monument, protected by MEPA regulations. Mayor Castaldi Paris and his team got directly involved and appealed to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to come up with a conservation order to ensure that the surrounding area would remain in keeping with the character of the village and not impinge or hinder the view of the belvedere. It would have been very easy for the council – as has happened on many a previous occasion in various localities – to simply do a Pontius Pilate and wash their hands of the issue. The council did not; it actively got involved and did a true service to both the residents of Lija as well as the village itself.

We have seen councils dissolved over petty disagreements and others that were simply there to render lip service – yet this council took a local issue to heart and took the bull by the horns. Politics aside, it is a very refreshing thing to see and many councils would do well to take a leaf out of Lija’s book. In essence, a local council is there to safeguard the wellbeing of its residents, the locality itself and to take an active role in making the most out of local opportunities and doing its best to snuff out threats.

In recent years, there has been a plethora of environmental watchdog groups sprouting up in Malta and on the whole, they do a very good job in making sure that decisions are not taken to develop or re-develop property and open spaces when they should be preserved. These same groups argue that not enough is done on an administrative level to ensure that such premium spaces are not encroached on. This might be a watershed. One cannot say that there have never been any councils that have worked hard to preserve their locality, but it is probably the most high-profile case to have come to light in the past years. The council did not stop there and has announced that it will shortly be coming up with a plan to further preserve Lija’s architecture, private gardens and very simply – its long-standing urban character.

This is indeed the way forward. Pro-active local councils that are not influenced by party politics and squabbles will certainly do much to improve Maltese villagers’ lives.

If councils can unite and fight on one solid front for residents and their villages, they will truly be accomplishing their mission. Many councillors and mayors use their appointments as stepping stones to a more important political post, but all is not lost – the actions of this council show that village pride and a sense of sustainability and responsibility still exist in this dog eat dog world. The public should also take note of what this council has achieved and will continue to build on as it is surely a benchmark of what people should expect of those they have voted into office on a local government level.