Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1282292
14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 AUGUST 2020 COMMERCIAL SINCE January 2017, the Planning Authority has invested in Malta's quality of life and environmental sustainability through its Planning Development Fund. The Fund promotes projects that embellish urban areas for the benefit of the wider residential community. With financing avail- able to local councils, 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 sup- port vulnerable sectors of society. Perit Cassar says "Since as ear- ly as 2003, the Authority has had various funding schemes for pub- lic 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 ap- proach for the funding of urban improvement projects. We estab- lished a single committee to reg- ulate a single fund. Our revised, streamlined approach has made funding more accessible to urban embellishment initiatives." "The Planning Development Fund receives financing from a few different sources, with on- street parking fees being the most significant among them. Planning gains too make up a portion of the fund, whereby a developer of a sizeable new development is asked to make a financial con- tribution for the inconvenience caused in the locality where their development occurs. The sub- mitted funds have primarily been used on a locality's community projects aimed at mitigating the negative effects of urban devel- opment. The contribution, there- fore, is kept within the locality to be used on projects that improve its community facilities and green areas." Building on its previous meas- ures and following considerable input from various local councils and the Ministry for Environ- ment, Climate Change and Plan- ning, the Fund's revision in 2020 is replete with incentives for lo- cal councils, regions, NGOs and other bodies to invest in Green and Blue Infrastucture (GBI). The Planning Authority believes in the benefits this will have on Malta's environment, biodiversity, health and quality of life. In this re- spect, the Authority is promoting cross-organisational 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 re- ceive up to 70% of eligible funds," explains Perit Cassar. "There were some exceptions, though, because we've always encouraged Local Councils to join forces on pub- lic projects. This is because two heads are better than one, and through a partnership you ben- efit from economies of scale. To encourage joint projects between two local councils, we had made 100% of eligible funds available to such projects. With our latest re- vision, we've expanded this incen- tive 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 Urban greening gets a funding Financial support for urban greening projects has been pushed towards the top of the Planning Authority's agenda. Here, Perit Vincent Cassar, Chairperson of the Planning Authority's Development Planning Fund Committee, talks about recent revisions made to this Fund as part of the Authority's green reforms