Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (www.ambjentahjar.org) is pleased to note that the Ministry for the Environment and Rural Affairs has finally issued the draft construction site environment regulations for public consultation. These measures should be a significant step towards mitigating the effects of construction on neighbours and indeed whole areas affected by building works.
Although the regulations being discussed may need some fine tuning, many homeowners will welcome them as the recent trend of demolishing and rebuilding houses that in many cases were built less than 20 years ago, means that much construction is taking place in densely populated areas.
Unfortunately, this launch has coincided with yet more accidents on construction sites.
These incidents and fatalities have become an almost daily occurrence, making one wonder how many more deaths have to take place before building regulations are finally introduced. In 1998, a draft Building Control Act along with proposed Building
Regulations were presented by the Building Construction Industry Department falling under the Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure. That was nine years ago. What has become of them since then?
The Maltese construction industry has moved from large projects to mega-projects without the necessary guidelines to regulate the sector. Construction techniques and materials, as well as building heights, have changed drastically over the last few years, but has expertise progressed at the same rate?
The lack of building regulations leaves construction site workers, neighbours, passers-by and eventual buyers of property more exposed to risk and danger and often, if a citizen decides to claim his rights with the help of the Law Courts, this can mean a wait of many uncertain years before any compensation for losses of any kind are awarded or received.
These issues are not currently covered by existing regulations nor environmental site management measures. What is keeping them from being issued and enforced?