Din l-Art Helwa has slammed the Malta Developers Association proposal,  saying it is to “reassign” floor area to ” further boost construction.”

The latest proposal from the MDA, is being “firmly opposed” by Din l-Art Helwa which, it said, as reported in the media,”effectively requests the Prime Minister to facilitate construction in locations, or on scales which are currently not permitted, with the claimed objective of protecting urban conservation areas.”

DLH in a statement, pointed out that at the MDA’s annual general meeting earlier this year, “their president had complained that developers often face delays due to heritage concerns.”

“The MDA seems to be now proposing that their members would stop trying to build multiple storeys in old village cores, by instead being given permission to increase construction in other parts of the island,” stated DLH.

It argued that “this is in itself, an indictment of the ineffectiveness of the authorities that are currently entrusted with protecting our village and town cores.”

“This proposal completely negates the basic concept of planning regulation,” said DLH. “Planning laws and policies exist to safeguard the interests of the community, and developers cannot be allowed to trade rights and reassign floor space from an area to another.”

It continued by saying that “the protection of village cores cannot be ‘traded’ for the disregard of existing planning policies elsewhere.”

Din l-Art Helwa concluded by asking the government to “immediately and unequivocally reject this proposal by the MDA, and instead to strengthen the protection of both urban cores as well as rural areas outside the development zones.”

Permalink: DLH slams MDA proposal to “reassign” floor area to “boost construction”