Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1439469
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 DECEMBER 2021 10 NEWS Christmas specials • Environment 2021 has seen several ministers busy inaugurating parks, gar- dens and landscaping projects. Other positive green measures included long-term commit- ments on climate change, a ban on single-use plastics which comes in place next year, a more comprehensive waste policy and new tax incentives aimed at the regeneration of urban centres. But despite the refusal of a few outrageous projects, the onslaught of over-development continues unabated as govern- ment refuses to amend the 2006 local plans and revoke develop- ment guidelines issued in 2015, while new threats like land rec- lamation and more yacht mari- nas loom on local communities like the one in Marsaskala. No willingness to change the rules 2021 has seen no change in direction in land use policies. Government continues blam- ing local plans approved in 2006 for the onslaught on Maltese towns and villages besieged by five-storey developments and in some cases even higher de- velopments like the 10-storey development recently approved in Naxxar. Yet in so doing it ignores the development guidelines ap- proved in 2015 which worsened the situation by making it more attractive to demolish old build- ings by translating height in floors found in local plans in to height in metres, in a way which allowed fitted more floors in the same height. To further rub salt in the wounds, instead of challeng- ing the status quo, government claims that any change in local plans would result in compen- sation claims by owners, even if such claims have been refuted by a experts in European law, who spoke to MaltaToday. In the meantime, the ghost of permits past keeps coming back to haunt local communities, as was recently the case with a permit approved in Xlendi. Government even keeps ignor- ing pleas to change the designa- tion of Ħondoq ir-Rummien as a tourism area, using the same excuse that any change would entail compensation. One positive development in 2021 was the stronger stance taken by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, which has become a bulwark against the most insensitive proposals, like the proposed demolition of Palazzino Vincenti, a modernist building in St Julian's. Green spaces: the new deliverable While government seems wary of irking the developers' lobby by changing the rules, it has re- sponded to the demands of lo- cal communities for more open spaces, by constantly announc- ing new urban green spaces, which also come with the added benefit of pleasing constituents in these areas. And in a bid to ensure swift approval of these projects, they have been exempted from the need of a planning permit thanks to a legal notice pub- lished earlier in the year, creat- ing a new class of development which does not require any planning permission. This fast-tracking comes at a cost, as these projects are not subject to mandatory public consultation, perpetuating the top-down approach of minis- ters taking decisions. Although largely beneficial to the public, their design can be as contro- versial as is the case with the proposed garden in Mosta. Even plans for the rehabilita- tion of the Marsa waterfront have so far focused on tourism rather than the community centre's development. Still, on a positive note the greater in- vestment in urban green areas is bound to benefit local commu- nities, especially those living in deprived areas. Greenwash, some tinkering and major postponements 2021 has seen little will to change direction on land use policies and a great effort at greenwashing government policies and actions. But are major controversial decisions being postponed to after the next election? JAMES DEBONO Local communities have remained at the mercy of mega-development projects like the DB project approved in Pembroke earlier this year, or the 10-storey development approved in Naxxar just weeks ago. And while the former was actively resisted by the local council whose mayor voted against, the latter was approved with the full support of the mayor