Be the first to comment!ENGOs call for postponement of Local Plans Consultation
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A coalition of NGOs made up of Birdlife Malta, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Friends of the Earth, Malta Organic Agricultural Movement, NatureTrust and Ramblers Association, in a joint statement today expresses concern at MEPA’s handling of the Local Plans consultation.
The NGOs said that in 2006 MEPA had been condemned by the MEPA Auditor and the Ombudsman for failing to submit the changes in the Local Plans to a second round of consultation. This time MEPA is launching its first round of consultation during high summer when public participation is known to be at its lowest ebb.
The NGOs added that they have long maintained that meaningful consultation can only be achieved by increasing public awareness through education campaigns; however past NGO offers to help organise such outreach campaigns were turned down. “Therefore the public has been largely kept in the dark about the relevance of the Local Plans and their long-term impacts which could include increased air pollution, increased flooding, the destruction of Malta’s architectural and rural heritage, commercialisation of residential areas and an increase in the glut of over 72,000 empty properties.”
“Significantly, the Structure Plan states that 24 plans were to be drawn up in order to cater for the specific needs of each locality. However in 2006 Malta was divided into just seven Local Plans, which amalgamated areas as diverse as Bugibba, Mdina, Qrendi, Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temples and several other towns and villages in the same Local Plan,” the NGOs said.
“MEPA is now actively considering replacing the existing Local Plans by just three Local Plans: one exclusive to Gozo and Comino, one for the whole of urban Malta and the other for the Maltese Out of Development Zone. This defeats the purpose of ‘Local Plans’ – intended to tackle the development issues of each area through specific policies which are not necessarily applicable to other areas.”
The ENGOs asked, “Could this change have been dictated by developers’ complaints at having to deal with different policies in each Local Plan area?”
The ENGOs call on MEPA to postpone next week’s public consultation in other to ensure meaningful input by the public which will tangibly contribute to a better quality of life for Malta and Gozo.
File photo by Alain Salvary.
