Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1120492
23.05.19 16 TOWNSCAPES THE Planning Authority is proposing standard procedures for Social Impact Assessments (SIA) to become a requirement as part of the planning system. With the practice of SIA in Malta still in its infancy, the Planning Authority, through this document is seeking to in- troduce a standard procedure for its use and the terms of ref- erence to guide the preparation of future SIAs. To date, SIAs are only obligatory if a pro- posed project is making use of the tall buildings policy. A social impact assessment (SIA) seeks to identify and manage both the positive and negative social impacts of planned projects or proposed policy-making. SIAs are used to mitigate negative impacts and identify opportunities to enhance benefi ts for local com- munities and broader society. e Planning Authority is proposing that when plans or policies are being drafted, the Executive Council assesses the need for an SIA on a case-by- case basis. However when the Strategic Environment Assess- ment (SEA) screening process identifi es the need for an SEA on a plan or policy, this will automatically trigger the need for an SIA to be carried out. In proposed development appli- cations, an SIA will become a requirement whenever the rel- evant plan or policy indicates it to be a requirement. All SIA reports shall be published. e proposed procedures may be downloaded from the Planning Authority website www.pa.org.mt. e Author- ity invites the public to send in their comments and feed- back either through postal address: Planning Authority, SIA Procedures Consultation, Strategic and Policy Making Division, St. Francis Ravelin, Floriana, FRN 1230 or through email address: sia@pa.org.mt. Submissions must be received by 28th June 2019. PA proposes to introduce social impact assessment procedures THE Planning Authority has agreed to sponsor the purchase of specialised fi re rescue equip- ment which will be used by the Civil Protection Department (CPD). e equipment con- sists of a turntable ladder which will facilitate access to high rise buildings for rescuers and those they are required to assist. is sponsorship, amounting to €690,000, is part of the Plan- ning Authority's corporate social responsibility programme, in re- sponse to higher rising buildings being developed in the Maltese Islands. Speaking at the signing of the agreement Johann Buttigieg, chairperson of the Planning Au- thority's Executive Council said the PA wanted to lead by exam- ple. "We know that the PA's plan- ning policies and Board deci- sions are impacting the opera- tions of other entities, such as the Civil Protection Depart- ment. We do not want to wait for an accident to happen, after which we will start speaking about the rescue equipment that CPD should have at their dispos- al," he said. "We feel responsible that as we promote our tall building policy framework, we should also be at the forefront of speaking about the challenges that such build- ings may pose in the future." Planning Authority sponsors specialised fire rescue equipment for tall buildings