The Malta Chamber of Geologists noted Saturday that the current planning reform misses a fundamental layer of regulation: geological risk and site safety.
While the proposed bill focuses heavily on legal procedure, timelines, and appeals, the Chamber pointed out ways the reform could be improved to protect public safety, building integrity, and the environment.
Mandatory geological investigations should be integrated before permit approval. Under the proposed framework, obtaining a permit or submitting a commencement notice does not take into consideration the geological safety of the site. Geological and geotechnical risk are often deferred until after a full planning permit is issued during the building execution stage.
The Chamber proposed the integration of at least preliminary geological site assessments as a mandatory requirement before full development permission is granted. This ensures that site viability, rock stability, void risks, and ground failure hazards are identified before construction is greenlit, preventing unsafe permits from being approved in the first place.
Ground and environmental impact must be fully integrated. The reform allows the Planning Board to use broad discretion to depart from policy based on spatial, architectural, or contextual considerations, but lacks specific scientific criteria regarding subsurface conditions.
The Chamber proposed the introduction of standard geological risk maps, mapping unstable cliffs, rock fall zones, karst topography, and clay slopes, into the planning matrix. Planning decisions should legally mandate geological hazard mitigation rather than treating ground stability as an afterthought.
The recommendations from the Jean Paul Sofia Inquiry must be implemented. Recommendations from recent public inquiries, such as the 2024 Jean Paul Sofia inquiry, highlighted that a report by a geologist should precede any ground excavation. This emphasis on ground conditions and excavation safety must be formally integrated into regulatory decisions.
The Malta Chamber said it has repeatedly emphasised that comprehensive geological reports produced and formally signed by certified, qualified geologists are a standard requirement embedded within the statutory building and planning frameworks of neighbouring European countries, such as Italy and Greece.
By comparison, integrating mandatory, certified geological assessments directly into national construction and development legislation is essential for aligning local regulatory standards with wider European norms, ensuring structural safety, and mitigating subsurface risks before any excavation or construction project begins.
Furthermore, the Planning Authority and the Building and Construction Authority must be bound to a unified standard where a geologist's assessment forms a core part of the planning approval for any site requiring major excavation or rock cutting, the chamber said.
Professional geologists must be included on planning and consultative boards. Entities like the Building and Construction Consultative Council and Planning Authority review bodies currently lack representation from geologists represented by the Malta Chamber of Geologists, the statement concluded.