The Planning Authority’s new rural policy, which amongst other things aims to minimise development in outside development zones (ODZ), was launched for public consultation on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference in Mtarfa, Environment and Planning Minister Aaron Farrugia said that the new policy will only allow development in “genuine” cases, normally related to the agricultural sector.
He said that the updates to the controversial 2014 policy will see three primary areas being addressed. Firstly, it aims to improve and sustain the agricultural sector; secondly, it will revise certain definitions so that there is much less room for interpretation when it comes to decisions on applications; and thirdly, small rooms in the countryside will only be limited for use as agricultural stores for farmers.
Farrugia added that the policy will be tied to an over-arching policy which will set out protected zones, habitats, and species and condition the PA’s decision-making process accordingly.
“I believe this new policy strikes a balance between sustainable development and intelligent planning”, Farrugia said, noting that since taking on the Environment and Planning portfolio this is what he has sought, as evidenced by the well-received new fuel station policy.
The policy will be released next week, and the public consultation phase – where members of the public can put forward their opinions and suggestions – will run for six weeks, before the policy is finalised and put forward.
The rural policy, which was first released in 2014, has been the justification for several controversial projects; not least one where a dilapidated room in the Qala countryside was slated for conversion into a fully-fledged villa – an application which was approved only to be eventually withdrawn by the applicant.
Asked directly whether the new policy will be ensuring that such cases do not happen, Farrugia said that this is where the re-definition of certain terms comes into play.
Planning Authority Executive Chairman Martin Saliba in fact said that residential development will not be accepted save for particular cases where a residence already exists.
In such a case, restoration or even redevelopment is permitted as long as the footprint of the building, both in terms of land take-up and height remains the same – although he noted that the design aspect of any project will be fundamental within the new policy. Only minimal alterations to already existing residences will be permitted, Saliba said.
In the case of agriculture-related developments, Farrugia said that one also has to prove that they are a genuine farmer; “you cannot wake up one morning and say you are a farmer just so you can get a permit”, he said.
Saliba pointed out that the PA is in discussions with the agricultural department in this regard as the onus is on them to provide the necessary information, while he also noted that the thresholds for agricultural developments will be changed in such a way that those farmers with a large amount of fields will be able to improve their operations, but those with small holdings would be more limited in the size of what they can develop.
The new policy will apply to all pending applications as well as new ones once it is implemented.