Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1132126
20.06.19 12 OPINION George Mangion George M. Mangion is a senior partner of PKF Malta, an audit and consultancy firm | gmm@pkfmalta.com L ast week people were surprised by a snap decision taken by the prime minister to order a moratorium on site excavations until further notice during which time consultations with stakeholders will be conducted. Fingers were pointed to the Kamra tal-Periti. Quite a few expect it to be re- sponsible for proper governance and due diligence over its members in executing their professional duties. e reply from Simone Vella Lenicker, president of the Kamra tal-Periti, was that new proposals to tighten up regulations were proposed by an extraordinary general meeting of the chamber held last November. Moving on to the reaction by the Mal- ta Developers Associations, one notes an expression of its solidarity towards residents who suffered from such unfor- tunate incidents. It wholeheartedly sup- ports any action taken by government to safeguard public safety. Draft regulations have just been announced which place more onus on architects and site manag- ers. e new kid on the block is geotechni- cal design reports. Core samples from the site need to be taken and examined sci- entifically to be interpreted as to the ge- ometry, existence of fissures in rock sub- strata and to comment on the strength of adjoining buildings. is report must now be submitted by the architect before excavation occurs. A method statement is to be followed scrupulously. It is the responsibility of the site manager (appointed by the de- veloper) to make sure the method state- ment is adhered to. It is obvious that due to the building frenzy at the mo- ment there is an acute shortage of war- ranted architects needed to service the ever-growing flow of new building per- mits. So in practice, this rule seems to be difficult to implement unless foreigners are recruited. With a shortage of qualified site manag- ers, how can one expect that each build- ing site will be adequately supervised? e plight of site managers increases heavily when adding to their duties the onus to order a cessation of works once the project is served with an enforcement notice. Fines for breaching the meth- od statement have now been raised to €10,000, whereas ignoring an enforce- ment order carries a penalty of €50,000. ere has been a substantial increase in insurance cover with the minimum start- ing from €750,000. Time will tell if such rules will solve the problem of adequate supervision and timely initiatives taken to curb abuses. A positive step is that geotechnical investi- gations on building sites became manda- tory. ere should be no excuse for cut- ting corners. But one may ask, why do we need more regulations when existing ones are ade- quate yet there are instances they are in- curiously ignored? e law is abundantly clear - quoting article 439 of the Civil Code of Malta it states that it is not lawful for any person to dig in his own tenement, any well, cis- tern or sink, or to make any other excava- tion for any purpose whatsoever at a dis- tance of less than seventy-six centimetres from the party-wall. Today, hardly anyone follows this rule and all excavations in the rock founda- tions are shaved within inches of the third-party wall. e present law on the retention of seventy-six centimetres from the adjacent third-party wall was intro- duced in 1868. Another solid reason for this law was to protect individual wells cut into the rock. Who bothers today, to keep a distance between one well and the other of 152 cm. Experts recommend well over 30 metres would be needed in the case of clay. Rarely do these rules apply today, when land is so expensive. Again, contractors argue that as a result of new technology in rock-cutting equipment such precautions are redundant. Widespread non-obser- vance of the law has been partly blamed for the structural instability in the rock formation when a neighbour decides to carry out deep excavation works. Over the past few years excavation has been going deeper and deeper, which recently resulted in the collapse of five residences in different parts of the island. To aggravate matters, so as not to lose any valuable land, certain developers first construct their basement up to the level of the adjacent foundations: they then ei- ther construct the party wall exactly ad- jacent to the other building, or else make use of half of the party wall, which may have been constructed a long time previ- ously without the adequate measures to take additional loadings. Some developers lament that the one- size-fits-all rule is dangerous. While the new rules are still to be en- acted, will there be enforcement to make sure that each developer appoints a struc- tural engineer who, together with a geo- logical engineer, assesses the ground for- mation and calibrates the strength of the adjacent building structures. e present law permits the excavation, say five sto- reys deep, next to a party wall of an ex- isting block of apartments without taking into consideration the ground formation, being fissured rock, soft rock (turbazz) or clay. e jury is out and we may ask what are the directives that currently regulate this sector. e laws are ample, but one may specifically refer to the construction and site management regulations issued in 2105. One salient rule states inter alia, that where the Director or his delegated rep- resentative deems that the cessation of construction activity is to be immediate because of imminent danger or grave nuisance to the public, or third parties, an enforcement notice and the required pre- ventive measures may be issued. Another rule states that if the stability of adjoining buildings, walls or services may be endangered by excavation works, ad- equate underpinning, shoring and brac- ing shall be provided to prevent damage to, or movement of, any part of adjacent properties, or the creation of a hazard to third parties or the public. An important safeguard is the law for the Avoidance of Damage to ird Par- ty Property which came into force in 2013. One poignant rule, states that the developer shall carry out an appropriate geological investigation of the area to be excavated. e geological investigation must be carried out following the demolition of a building overlying the area to be exca- vated. Prior to commencement of excava- tion works, the developer shall submit to the Director the results of the investiga- tion and, if necessary, an amended meth- od statement based on the results of the investigation. So the law is clear but accidents contin- ue to happen. It is obvious that the problem lies not in the absence of adequate rules but to the heightened frenzy of building activity and the laissez faire attitude that prevails. All to the detriment of hapless residents who in the past weeks woke up to find their abode has collapsed around them. e urgency to remedy the dire situa- tion is now bigger due to a flood of per- mits for high rise projects sanctioned close to densely built areas. One cannot underestimate the lobbying power of developers (a multi-million euro sector) who are perceived to set the tune. To conclude, it is laudable for gov- ernment to halt the party and carry out urgent consultations with experts and stakeholders. It is true that the proliferat- ing construction industry is the proverbi- al goose that lays the golden egg. ey wield a strong argument, but health and safety of citizens should al- ways be our top priority. Site excavations - avoiding a close shave