Local eNGOs have said that Prime Minister Robert Abela’s statement telling developers not to submit applications which do not respect planning regulations is ‘not enough,’ and that the existing planning policies do not align with the local plans for development.

The Malta Independent reached out to environment organisations in reaction to Abela’s statement last Saturday, where he said, among other things, that applications which do not conform to the regulations should not be submitted. Abela also said that applications in the village core had to convince the community that they were an added value.

Asked if Abela’s statement was enough, Executive President of Din l-Art Helwa Alex Torpiano said that while the Prime Minister’s statement is encouraging, as it translated into acknowledgement that there are problems, it is still not enough.

“Projects which do not respect planning regulations, one would expect, would not be approved. The problem lies with the proposals that do respect planning regulations, planning regulations which are not tight enough to result in good quality urban spaces and good quality architecture,” Torpiano said.

“Is there a perception that the ugly buildings out there are all against regulations? Wrong perception; most of them have a valid permit!” he continued.

Torpiano said that sometimes, this permit is issued on the basis of a “twisted interpretation” of the regulations - and then Din l-Art Helwa and others have to intervene to try to stop them.

However, the ability to twist regulations lies in the text of the regulations themselves, he said.

Abela had also said that plans were underway to implement changes to local plans to protect Hondoq ir-Rummien and the adjacent land.

Torpiano was asked if government should extend this proposal to changing the local plans in general, applying to all projects.

He said that the implementation of changes to local plans is a “double-edged sword.”

“Unless there is a clear, official, socio-economic vision, which defines our aspirations, for example regarding population density, population numbers, tourism models etc.. there is no guarantee that any tweaking of the local plans will lead to better urban design, and more open spaces, better skylines,” Torpiano continued.

He said that if there are pressures for population growth, the local plans will need to accommodate greater numbers of people, including more houses, hotels, offices, and more cars and roads. 

“Local plans also need to be local, in the sense that they need to reflect both the reality as well as the desired outcome for a locality. If the same policies apply to, say, Sannat as they do to Birkirkara, then both locations will have the same results. But does Sannat have the same needs as Birkirkara? And should it?” Torpiano questioned.

“So protecting Hondoq is fine, even though I think it is now very safe. But in other areas, will we need years of battle to achieve protection?” Torpiano asked.

Flimkien ghal-Ambjent Ahjar (FAA) Coordinator Astrid Vella said that while Abela’s comment was positive, his words are still not enough, as they have already been said before, adding that this is what they have remained, “just words.”

“The FAA has always maintained that prima facie applications which are in violation of Planning Authority regulations should be rejected, subject to appeal,” Vella said.

She said that applications for projects which are not suitable should be stopped and refused at the very start, because developers use this as an opportunity to use their influence to pass abusive cases.

These applications also consume large amounts of public funds, both in terms of PA salaries, as processing such applications is very laborious, and eNGOs and the public have to use their funds to challenge the application, all the way to the Appeals Tribunal and Court, she said.

Vella said that unless Abela’s words are enacted into a legally binding provision, it will be no more than political hype.

“We are seeing increasing numbers of communities around Malta and Gozo who have been negatively impacted by development, and are now rising up,” Vella said, as public outrage in this context increases.

She said that government is realising this, and is trying to passify supporters with such statements.

Vella mentioned several PA applications which she said violate regulations, mentioning the DB project in Pembroke, the Manoel Island project, Villa St Ignatius in St Julians as well as Ggantija Heights project, all of which the FAA is or has worked on, she said.

“Will the Prime Minister's recommendation apply to these projects too, or was it just a gimmick before the run-up to the EU elections, intended to appease supporters in a core electoral area?” Vella questioned.

Vella said that the local plans have already been changed in certain places, and so she questioned what the impediment was to changing the local plans in favour of protecting Hondoq ir-Rummien.

“There are other locations that would benefit from changes to local plans, including areas which had been scheduled as urban conservation areas before the local plans, but were mysteriously removed when the local plans were issued” Vella said.

She continued that other areas calling for changes are the older areas of Hamrun and Gzira, which are two of the only towns which do not have an urban conservation area.

“After studying these lacune, it became evident to FAA that these changes coincided with applications from powerful developers, who wanted protection removed from the development site,” she said.

Vella said that one has to distinguish between the planning policies, and the actual local plan maps.

“The policies are extremely sound. In the case of Sliema and St Julians, for example, the policies in 1992 stated that the two localities had almost reached their carrying capacity, and no more permits should be issued to demolish houses and re-develop them into apartment blocks. That was 30 years ago,” she said.

Vella said that to the country’s detriment, the actual maps drawn up by MEPA planners had been tampered with before they were legally ratified.

“Before they were ratified, the local plans were submitted for Ministerial approval. At that stage, the actual maps were tampered with, with several zones changed all over Malta and Gozo,” Vella alleged.

This resulted in several instances where the local maps, did not align with the planning policies, she said. A case in point Vella mentioned is Mosta’s Wied il-Ghasel, where the local maps are in conflict with the policy calling for the protection of the valley, Vella said.

PM’s words ‘a matter of PR’- Callus

Moviment Graffitti activist Andre Callus said that the Prime Minister’s words were just “pleasing words, and a matter of PR.”

Callus said that over the past years, the country has seen, and continues to see developers submit applications which they know violate regulations on a daily basis, yet many are then approved by the Planning Authority.

Consequently, the few times NGOs and citizens do fight against the approval of an application, said application is then refused by the courts.

“What Abela is saying is ridiculous, as nobody can stop developers from submitting applications. What we need are authorities who work well, and those who serve developers,” Callus said.

He said that planning policies must be changed, such as those regulating Outside Development Zones, where there are a lot of loopholes, and other problems.

Callus said that the ‘Xebbajtuna!’ protest was the outcry of thousands of citizens. “The time for empty words is over,” Callus said, adding that there needs to be a significant change in planning and environment authorities.

He highlighted a problem in the planning policies, which need to be changed. Callus said that in a meeting between NGOs and the Prime Minister after the protest, organisations expressed their worries about the existing planning policies.

“The policy needs to consider the context first and foremost. If the local plan says that in this plot, a building with five stories can be built, it does not mean that this is a must. If it doesn’t make sense, then it should not be approved,” Callus said.

The same goes for areas which are not ODZ. “If there is agricultural land in this area, this should not be touched, even if it is not in ODZ,” Callus said.

Callus said that we have policies which go against the local plans. The local plans only consider what could be developed in an area, but the PA must look at the policies to review an application.

“Instead of having policies which limit what can be done in the local plan, we have policies which make it worse, planning policies which allow for more than what could be developed, giving developers what they want,” Callus said.

He said there is the need for new policies which work contrary to the existing ones, policies which force authorities to consider and look at other aspects.

Asked if he believes that government will move towards changing planning policies, Callus said that up till now, there is no awareness that things need to change.

“Those in power know that the people are angry, but developers still have a lot of power, and still rule over politicians,” he said.

The only way things will change is if people and communities continue to fight against development, and put pressure on politicians, Callus said.