The Interdiocesan Environment Commission, on the occasion of World Town Planning Day, which will be commemorated next Monday, 8 November 2021.

The Interdiocesan Environment Commission, in a statement to mark World Town Planning Day on Monday, talks about ”dragging their feet”when it comes to changes to certain development plans and policies. Saying that ”inaction means the end of planning in Malta.”

”Choosing not to act at all or choosing not to act on time means a de facto end to planning in Malta,” it said. If land-use planning is not used to provide a timely change in the direction of a country’s development, which would place the public interest and wellbeing at its heart, then what is its whole purpose?

The KA said that its concern on this lack of action and the procrastination in taking timely action is its key reflection on the occasion of World Town Planning Day 2021.

The AC criticised those who have tried to introduce the concept of precedent into the planning system. It said that ”this concept does not make sense in planning because development proposals cannot be compared due to their context.” The AC stressed that ”a questionable development permit should not be a precedent for similar development in the future.”

The KA said that it is not surprised by the devastation that is taking place in Xlendi and on the cliffs of Xaghra, Gozo, nor is it a surprise that after a year that the Rural Policy and Design Guidance had to be amended, this has not yet been approved. ”The reason is that the authorities do not want to take timely action.”

The KA stated, ”why would people be shocked at the uglification of Xlendi or the destruction of the ridges in Xaghra? The root cause of all this is the lack of political will to change the ill-advised plans and policies that had been approved in spite of warnings from various NGOs, local councils and the KA that such plans and policies would result in what everyone is now witnessing.”

It added that, ”authorities seem to have been more interested in satisfying narrow interests than the common citizen’s wellbeing which includes that of young Maltese who will grow in a country where the urban and natural environment leave much to be desired.”

The KA said that it has repeatedly called for the protection of Gozo’s ridges through the reversal of damaging clauses that were introduced in the Development Control Design Policy, Guidance and Standards of 2015. ”Was not the destruction of ridges in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s enough for the authorities to recognise that inadequate planning is as bad as minimal planning or no planning at all?”

Regarding the development of the complex of 85-industrial unit complex in Xewkija, the Commission said that this is just an ”eyesore” due to the ”lack of scrutiny in the planning before the construction work started.”

This is an example, the KA said of how in recent years the Development Notification Order (DNO) ”has been used by the Government to prevent proper scrutiny in planning, including public consultation.” The Commission added that it has ”repeatedly talked about the misuse of the DNO that is leading to other major projects.”

The Commission also stressed it is time to officially recognise planning as a profession.

To read the statement in full please click here.

File photo: Xlendi montage by Wirt Ghawdex

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