Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1280162
20.08.2020 10 TOWNSCAPES SINCE January 2017, the Planning Au- thority has invested in Malta's quality of life and environmental sustainabil- ity through its Planning Development Fund. e Fund promotes projects that embellish urban areas for the benefit of the wider residential community. With financing available to local coun- cils, NGOs and other entities, following the latest revisions, the Fund is now Malta's most widescale injection of capital into projects that, in particular, promote urban greening and support vulnerable sectors of society. Perit Cassar says "Since as early as 2003, the Authority has had various funding schemes for public projects but these operated in quite a fragmented manner. To fix this through the setting up of the Planning Development Fund, we've adopted a consolidated approach for the funding of urban improvement projects. We established a single com- mittee to regulate a single fund. Our re- vised, streamlined approach has made funding more accessible to urban em- bellishment initiatives." "e Planning Development Fund re- ceives financing from a few different sources, with on-street parking fees be- ing the most significant among them. Planning gains too make up a portion of the fund, whereby a developer of a size- able new development is asked to make a financial contribution for the incon- venience caused in the locality where their development occurs. e submit- ted funds have primarily been used on a locality's community projects aimed at mitigating the negative effects of urban development. e contribution, there- fore, is kept within the locality to be used on projects that improve its com- munity facilities and green areas." Building on its previous measures and following considerable input from various local councils and the Ministry for Environment, Climate Change and Planning, the Fund's revision in 2020 is replete with incentives for local coun- cils, regions, NGOs and other bodies to invest in Green and Blue Infrastucture (GBI). e Planning Authority believes in the benefits this will have on Mal- ta's environment, biodiversity, health and quality of life. In this respect, the Authority is promoting cross-organi- sational partnerships to encourage the involvement of people with the right expertise, the necessary experience and the most innovative and informed vi- sion. "Previously, a project would receive up to 70% of eligible funds," explains Perit Cassar. "ere were some excep- tions, though, because we've always en- couraged Local Councils to join forces on public projects. is is because two heads are better than one, and through a partnership you benefit from econo- mies of scale. To encourage joint pro- jects between two local councils, we had made 100% of eligible funds avail- able to such projects. With our latest revision, we've expanded this incentive to all partnerships and not just those between local councils. So, for example, a local council can now partner up with an NGO or another entity, or an NGO could partner up with another NGO, to jointly apply. "Besides partnerships, our funding rates have also been amended in other aspects too. For example, most projects used to receive 70% of eligible funding. But now, projects that incorporate facil- ities for the disabled will get 80%, and GBI interventions will receive 90%. In some cases, green open spaces, such as gardens and green roofs in urban areas, will even be granted up to 100%. is not only includes the capital expediture but any required studies and a five year maintenance plan." What's more, 100% of funding isn't the Fund's upper limit. Projects that incor- porate vertical green walls overlooking public spaces, such a public garden with walls on either side, will receive a 5% bonus and if there is need of a devel- Urban greening gets a funding Financial support for urban greening projects has been pushed towards the top of the Planning Authority's agenda. BusinessToday spoke to Perit Vincent Cassar, Chairperson of the Planning Authority's Development Planning Fund Commiee, about recent revisions made to this Fund as part of the Authority's green reforms