Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1531843
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JANUARY 2025 NEWS as Malta sees shift in housing trends Year Approved in ODZ % Approved on green- field sites % Total number 2014 49 1.7 693 23.7 2924 2015 67 1.7 1005 25 3945 2016 120 1.6 2077 27 7706 2017 147 1.6 2137 23.7 9024 2018 146 1.1 3170 24.7 12829 2019 136 1.1 3535 28.3 12474 2020 94 1.2 1894 24.3 7831 2021 115 1.5 1587 0.9 7578 2022 100 1 2399 25 9599 2023 86 1.1 1805 22.3 8112 2024 104 1.2 1649 18.9 8716 1164 21951 90738 New Dwellings approved between 2014 and 2024 government to a private de- veloper. Another major de- velopment is pending on land previously owned by Enemalta in Qajjenza. Other significant developments in the pipeline include privately owned tracts of land in localities such as Msida, Paola, and Qormi. The development of these open spaces is often facilitated by the approval of pedestrian roads, granting access to new dwellings and thus overriding the ban on internal develop- ment, which is not accessed by existing roads. The shift towards brownfield site development is also en- couraged by policies favour- ing higher buildings in urban areas, including areas in or in close vicinity to village and town cores. However, despite the per- centage decline, the number of dwellings on greenfield sites in 2024 remains higher than in any year between 2008 and 2015, a period marked by re- duced construction activity due to an economic downturn. Statistics also reveal that the number of new dwellings ap- proved outside development zones (ODZ) increased from 86 (1.1%) in 2023 to 104 (1.2%) in 2024. Over the past decade, 1,164 new dwellings have been approved in ODZ areas. However, the number of ODZ dwellings approved in 2024 re- mains significantly lower than the record 147 such dwellings approved in 2017, suggesting a greater reluctance to issue such permits in recent years. Permits for ODZ dwellings typically involve the conver- sion or redevelopment of ex- isting rural structures. The increase in such permits be- tween 2015 and 2019 coincid- ed with the introduction of a rural policy allowing the con- version of countryside ruins into fully-fledged villas, pro- vided proof was submitted that these had previously been used as residences. A decade of highs, lows, and rebounds The data shows that follow- ing a peak in 2019, when a record 12,474 dwellings were approved, the total number of new dwellings dropped to 7,831 in 2020 during the pan- demic and further to 7,578 in 2021. Numbers rebounded in 2022, with 9,599 dwellings approved, only to decline again to 8,112 in 2023. Official statistics show that 127,781 dwellings have been approved in Malta and Gozo since 2007, with 90,738 ap- proved between 2014 and 2024. The total number of dwellings approved in the past decade is nearly equivalent to the total number of dwellings record- ed in the 2021 census for the entire North Harbour region (91,145), which includes Mal- ta's main urban towns such as Birkirkara, Qormi, Sliema, St Julian's, Msida, and San Ġwann. heritagemalta.mt CALENDAR OF EVENTS J2¯Ìµ'M)W#Û̵Ñ 2025