Flimkien għal Ambjent Ahjar welcomes the PN’s declarations in their policy document issued yesterday, which places the well-being of the person at the centre of the PN environmental policy, aiming to enhance the liveability of Malta’s towns and villages. This is in fact the focus of FAA’s remit, as the eNGO maintains that once quality of life and health is the priority, protection of the wider environment follows.
Safeguarding the commons: the air, water, land, open spaces, culture and cultural heritage, and natural landscapes are all priorities, especially in the context of Malta’s lack of resources. It is refreshing to read that the PN recognises all these environmental elements, along with good governance and long-term planning as being essential to the country’s economic development.
While ODZ policy shall continue to encourage farming, FAA supports the proposal that any development in ODZ should be submitted to the utmost scrutiny and only considered if it is in the national interest and approved by a two-thirds parliamentary majority.FAA however maintains that such a motion should be conclusive on the first vote; allowing it to be debated three times, with the last ballot a simple majority vote, would open the door to permitting unacceptable projects. The concept of ‘national interest’ is to be scrupulously established to avoid the mistakes of the past.
As regards growth within the development zone, FAA supports the stand that holistic planning, a more detailed SPED and the Local Plans need to be in place before applications for tall buildings should be processed. The NGO emphasises that this is not just a regulatory issue:roads and especially public transport, water, electricity and drains need to be upgraded to ensure that adequate infrastructure is in place. FAA asks if tall buildings can be justified since Malta has a glut of 40,000 empty housing units and not enough workforce to handle existing projects, let alone some thirteen skyscrapers.
Malta has reached a watershed moment in urban planning with recent polls showing that most Maltese identify traffic, an environmental issue, as the most pressing problem that Malta is facing. The present Government’s approach is to promote outdated and misguidedsolutions in order to enrich certain interests at the cost of the public. Malta needs strong leadership and long-term vision that has the courage to steer a new course, and the policies outlined in the PN document are a significant step in the right direction.