The government’s proposed controversial planning reforms, which are currently open for public consultation, “remain broken” even as Planning Minister Clint Camilleri said that there are plans to scale back certain amendments being proposed, a group of Environmental NGOs (eNGOs) have said in a statement.
The eNGOs said on Monday that “every provision in the amendments to the Development Planning Act has the aim of eliminating an existing environmental protection.”
“None of the provisions are meant to protect the environment, and no safeguards are present to restrict the use of the more expansive and ambiguous provisions. Furthermore the amendments do nothing to approve the quality of our lives, our building or natural environment,” the groups said.
They also noted that the Minister “essentially acknowledged” that many of the provisions would have led to unpredicted consequences. This is the clear result of the fact that no consultation with environmental organisations was held, and that no studies were carried out to assess the need or impact of these changes, they added.
“Indeed, it is clear that the intent of the reform was to move from a rules-based system established on policies to a system where everything was to be assessed on a case-by-case basis to accommodate vested or clientelistic interests,” the eNGOs said.
“Even taking into consideration the Minister’s comments that parts of the most egregious elements of the reform will be toned down, the ENGOs cannot possibly accept a situation where the remaining provisions remain on the books. Due to the lack of provisions which improve environmental protection, the end result remains a net harm for Malta's environment,” the groups said.
They said that they remain “extremely concerned” about a number of matters.
“The Planning Authority will maintain the ability to rezone areas and increase building heights arbitrarily. In particular the Minister seems to be receiving the wrong advice on the matter as the proposed amendments clearly allow ODZ areas to be turned into development zones,” the NGOs said.
“The Local Plans, which provide crucial planning and environmental protection constraints, will still lose their standing and be overridden by more recent lower level policies which allow loopholes in favour of developers,” they added.
They also said that the Planning Board will no longer be considering environmental and sanitary constraints when determining a planning applications and that new so called "vested rights" will obstruct future Governments from improving environmental protections as circumstances dictate.
“Given the situation, the only decent thing to do is to withdraw the reform and start from scratch,” the eNGOs said.
“This should include proper consultation with stakeholders, studies showing the need and impact of the proposed solutions, and a strong commitment to improve Malta and Gozo's environment, instead of fattening the pockets of those who are destroying it,” they said.
Failing this, the eNGOs said that they are ready to use “every democratic means at their disposal to persuade the Government to withdraw this reform.”
The statement was signed by Ramblers' Association of Malta, Din l-Art Helwa, Birdlife, Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust Malta, Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Wirt Ghawdex, and Ghawdix.