Back in 2016, Malta was shocked when an atrocious master plan for Paceville was unveiled. It was heavily criticised for pandering to certain developers by proposing to, among other things, turn the area into the high-rise section in Malta.
A few years on and said high-rise developments are still going through, yet there is no master plan in place. As such, one must ask, did objecting to the Paceville master plan make any difference? A number of the high-rise developments seen in the master plan have been approved, all be it in generally different forms.
The infrastructure – the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g. buildings, roads, power supplies) needed – proposed in the master plan has not really been constructed given that it remains in limbo, thus creating a completely new set of problems.
The issue here is that the Planning Authority has dragged its feet so much on the issue that residents in the Swieqi, St Julian's and Pembroke areas now face serious issues relating to traffic congestion, infrastructure problems, and seeing the area turn into something which was inconceivable to them just a few years ago. The objections made to the plan back in 2016 should have been better noted, and more changes that are applicable made, instead of just putting it on hold resulting in the current situation.
The main idea behind the plan was to draw up a plan for Paceville to control the high-rise construction in the area. However, the plan was heavily criticised on a number of points, including being unfair to certain property owners while benefitting others, steamrolling over residents, building too high, and creating a high rise society without the relevant infrastructure for the surrounding area even with what was proposed.
When the PA's master plan was proposed, it was not only picked apart by society and eNGOs, but by some developers and property owners in the area themselves who argued that what was on the plan was not what they had in mind, as it went over and above what some of the developers themselves wanted.
Fast forward a few years since it was sent back for revision, and the area is quickly starting to look like high-rise central. Residents have been fighting one losing battle after another as their localities are quickly eaten up by big development in an area with severe traffic congestion and other infrastructural issues. A prime example of this is the recent db Group development application, which was approved despite over 4,000 objections.
Since the shelving of the master plan, the Mercury House development has been approved, as was the Villa Rosa proposal, beside the ITS site.
The Swieqi, Pembroke and St Julian's areas are still traffic-ridden localities and they will get much worse with the three major projects unless some major and costly infrastructural work is made.
The PA continues to hear the list of controversial high-rise building applications without said master plan in place, with the argument always being that since the master plan is not in place, current policy needs to be followed.
As a prime example of this, during the db Group application hearing, the PL representative on the Board Clayton Bartolo highlighted the need for a master plan, but said that developers should not be the ones penalised for this. Other board members have pressed for some form of master plan, including Chairman Vince Cassar.
Other known projects, which were at some point in the pipeline such as the Corinthia mega project, have now been in limbo for a number of years.
The latest in the master plan saga came last August, when a Planning Authority spokesperson officially confirmed that the plan has been shelved. A PA spokesman told The Times of Malta that "the PA had decided it would be 'more appropriate' to wait for the Local Plan review rather than forge ahead with the tendering process (for the master plan)".
Some argue that the country not only urgently needs a Paceville master plan, but a national one. The Planning Authority has approved high-rise buildings in other localities as well, such as Mriehel and Sliema, often affecting views from iconic Maltese sites like Valletta and Mdina.
This is not the only situation where the Planning Authority's slow pace has resulted in a controversial situation. The introduction of the Fuel Stations Policy a few years ago has seen many protests over the excessive uptake of ODZ land. Eventually it was agreed that the policy would be reviewed, and Environment Minister Jose Herrera sent the policy to the Environment and Resources Authority, which concluded their review and delivered their suggestions earlier this year.
In June, the Planning Authority began its review of the policy; however, it has not yet been implemented. Their delays have resulted in more fuel station applications being filed and others approved under the old policy, on which there is general agreement that it needed to be urgently changed.
from The Malta Independent https://ift.tt/2Osshkg
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