Din l-Art Helwa has commended the ”unprecedented action” being taken by the seven resident associations calling for a comprehensive review of the outdated Local Plans.
They will be joining forces this Sunday in a unified call for a review of the Local Plans, in an event to be held the main square in Zurrieq, starting at 10.30am.
The event is a joint effort between the Ghaqda Residenti taz-Zurrieq and the newly-formed Residenti tal-Qrendi and Residenti Hal Safin. They will be joined by residents of Siggiewi, the G?aqda Storja u Kultura Birzebbugia, the Marsaskala Residents Network, and the Fondazzjoni Wirt iz-Zejtun.
The groups will be calling for a review of the 2006 Local Plans, which they said, ”have had a deeply negative impact on their townscapes and the quality of life of communities and individuals in their localities.”
“The construction spree in our towns is down to faulty planning policies devised in 2006, and which are still being used to justify senseless building across the islands. The Local Plans are outdated, and written to favour overdevelopment and speculation of land, coastline and sea. The situation has been further exacerbated by the way the DC15 has been applied; on top of this, the government is seeking to amend the DC15 policy to intensify further construction. The authorities have consistently sought to favour construction over quality of life and the environment. This has to change,” the groups said in a joint statement.”
The groups have also invited the wider participation of other resident associations interested in joining Sunday’s press conference. “The struggles we face in our towns, although different, stem from the same reason. We invite other residents from other towns to join Sunday’s event, because we are fighting the same phenomenon.”
“The call for a review of these plans is bigger than ever,” the groups said in a statement. “We believe it is high time for a revision that takes into account the public’s quality of life, and which puts the brakes on this senseless construction and speculation drive that has been going on for years.”
DLH, in a statement on Thursday said that the Planning Authority ”has long lost sight of its vision to make Malta and Gozo a more pleasant and desirable place to live in. The Planning Authority no longer acts on behalf of the community to provide a balanced and sustainable environment and to provide a better quality of life for the community through transparent and fair planning services.”
It insisted that ”the Planning Authority has submitted to speculators allowing them to ravish the nation destroying our cultural, built and natural heritage with impunity.”
”We are at a stage where the planning system urgently needs to be comprehensively overhauled: it is no longer a matter of simply reviewing the Local Plans.
”There is no vision for Malta and Gozo. The socio-economic model for Malta and Gozo, with an emphasis on spatial and infrastructural planning, needs to be addressed with urgency,” stated DLH.
It concluded by saying that ”a debate on the matter should be on the nation’s agenda.”