Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1214775
JAMES DEBONO THE Lands Authority has pre- sented a masterplan to define the extent for the placing of tables and chairs and design guidelines for ancillary furniture at Misrah ir-Repubblika, Valletta – more popularly known as Pjazza Regi- na. But while the original plans submitted in December fore- saw the restriction of tables and chairs to two rectangular areas occupying 836 square metres, new plans presented in February have increased the seating area to 1,041sq.m. Both plans establish a 7.4m dis- tance between the two rectangu- lar blocks reserved for chairs and tables, and foresee a 1.8m dis- tance from the Queen Victoria monument on both sides. But the latest plans have re- duced the distance between the seated areas and the existing buildings on both sides of the square. Reacting to these changes, the PA's internal advisory panel on design issues (design advisory committee) called on the Lands Authority to revert back to the original plan, arguing that this offered a clearer separation be- tween the historical buildings and the tables and umbrellas. Furthermore, the committee al- so called for more detailed plans showing the location of the ta- bles, umbrellas and outdoor bars. If the masterplan is approved by the PA, all tables and chairs presently covered by four per- mits will be realigned to respect the boundaries set by the master- plan. 5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 FEBRUARY 2020 NEWS More tables squeezed into Pjazza Regina under new plan PA's design committee says Lands Authority should revert to original plan Bottom, from left: the current placing of chairs as it stands now; the original plan presented in December; and the new plan as proposed in February, to squeeze in more tables and chairs in the iconic piazza MATTHEW VELLA BIRDLIFE Malta has formally written to Environment Min- ister Aaron Farrugia to inform him that as stipulated by Malta's environment laws, it will only be recognising and communicating with him in regard to any issue related to the conservation of wild birds' regulations, including hunting and trapping. The move comes in response to a decision made by Prime Min- ister Robert Abela to place the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WB- RU) under the remit of Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri. BirdLife Malta not only de- scribed this decision as "diaboli- cal" but also shown how it is ille- gal within the present legislation, leading them to file a judicial pro- test against the government. "To date the government has yet to justify this decision not on- ly on moral grounds but now also on legal grounds," BirdLife CEO Mark Sultana said. "The Environment Protection Act and the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations legally recognise the Minister for the Environment as the only minis- ter responsible for environment protection and for any authori- ty relating to it. Moreover, both Malta's national environment law and the subsidiary legislation which regulates bird protection – and as such, WBRU itself – al- so state, black on white, that the same unit should be established within the ministry responsible for the environment. "As such, any decisions or ac- tions to be taken by WBRU and eventually the Ornis Committee – when these are set up – includ- ing appointments and legisla- tions not under the Minister for the Environment, should be con- sidered illegitimate." The Wild Birds Regulation Unit centralises the regulatory func- tions for the implementation of the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations and to oversee and drive the implementation of gov- ernment policy on sustainable hunting governance and wild birds conservation. Sultana said that with the hunt- ing and trapping seasons just coming to a close in January and now an upcoming spring hunting season for this year, the ongoing situation has brought uncertainty on the way future seasons should be regulated. "We hope to see this resolved in the most logical way, that of hav- ing WBRU and the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations remain under the Minister for the Envi- ronment. We are optimistic and in the meantime we hope that Minister for the Environment Aaron Farrugia is not used as a rubber stamp for Clint Camill- eri's decisions." BirdLife won't engage with 'minister for hunting' Minister for Gozo... and hunting, Clint Camilleri: Birdlife says the Environment Protection Act and the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations legally recognise the minister for the environment as the only minister responsible for environment protection and for any authority relating to it BirdLife says removal of hunting policy from environment minister is illegal