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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 30 APRIL 2014 7 News Study finds lack of information on land reclamation A Strategic Environment Assessment is unable to assess environmental impact of land reclamation due to lack of information on earmarked sites JAMES DEBONO A Strategic Environment Assess- ment (SEA) on the new Spatial Planning and Environment Plan (SPED), which is set to replace the Malta's planning 'bible' – the Structure Plan – only includes three brief references to the gov- ernment's land reclamation plans, and states that their impact is un- certain due to the lack of infor- mation on the sites currently ear- marked for this project. A 'SEA' is required for any pub- lished plan which has an impact on the environment. But the government has so far re- fused to conduct a specific plan on coastal development, arguing that this issue should be addressed in the SPED, a document that will set the country's planning policies and priorities. If approved, the SPED – as amended by the present govern- ment – would enshrine land recla- mation as one of many policies in the overall plan, without a specific SEA on land reclamation. In this way, all applications for land reclamation would have to be assessed according to the SPED, even though individual land recla- mation projects would still require an Environment Impact Assess- ment (EIA). One of the SPED's objectives is to set guidelines for the development of the coast and land reclamation "to further socio-economic devel- opment". The government has so far resist- ed calls by environmental NGOs and planning ombudsman David Pace, for a separate plan to regulate coastal development, insisting that the policy would be regulated by the SPED, whose impact has now been assessed in the Strategic En- vironment Assessment. Of the two shortcomings noted by the SEA, these include the nega- tive impact on water resources and landscape aesthetics, while also passing an observation on renew- able energy, The SEA said that the negative impact on water resources was un- clear "due to lack of information related to the scale and location of land reclamation projects." It said the impact on the land- scape was "uncertain", but that a positive aspect of land reclamation was the "potential to facilitate re- newable energy infrastructure". Land reclamation committee A government committee chaired by architect Duncan Mifsud is presently assessing 21 land recla- mation proposals. In September, MEPA shot down a recommendation by planning om- budsman David Pace for a specific policy regulating the development of the coast and surrounding seas. Accepting this proposal would have ensured that any land recla- mation project would be individu- ally subjected to both an EIA, and a SEA as required by EU law. This would then have allowed interested developers to have "a clear indica- tion whether his proposal could be favourably approved," Pace said. But MEPA said land reclamation should be considered as a policy among others in the SPED. A study conducted by British ex- perts Scott Wilson published in 2011 had estimated that the costs for land reclamation in the two most viable sites as being between €42 million to €546 million, lead- ing it to conclude that that other measures should be considered "to reduce the size of the construction waste stream, before embarking on such as high cost project". jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Dubai's Palm Island remains one of the world's most prominent examples of land reclamation Labour MP objected to cemetery ban JAMES DEBONO LABOUR MP Charles Buhagiar, who doubles as the chairman of the Building Industry Consultative Council, has objected to the new policy banning the development of new cemeteries. The Malta Environment and Plan- ning Authority (MEPA) has ruled out any revisions to current policies to allow new cemeteries, and made it clear that the authority will decide on any pending application on the basis of the new policy it will be is- suing. The proposed policy is currently in public consultation phase. Architect Charles Buhagiar sub- mitted his objection to the new policy in December, on behalf of his client Piju Camilleri – a former aide of the notorious Labour minister Lorry Sant. Camilleri had already presented an application for the de- velopment of a brand new cemetery in Tal-Irmiedi, between Attard and Rabat. Camilleri's plans were for 1,000 graves. Although no prices were ever established, a recent government of- fer for plots in the public cemetery were being sold at €5,000 – although according to a parliamentary ques- tion in 2011, the actual cost of grave €8,000. While the new MEPA policy fore- sees the extension of existing ceme- teries and the reactivation of disused cemeteries, it bans the development of new ones like the one proposed by Camilleri. Objections In his submission to MEPA, Bu- hagiar referred to the lack of ad- equate burial facilities in the Attard and Rabat area, substantiated by 697 requests made by people residing in Rabat and 173 requests made by peo- ple residing in Attard for new graves. "The objectives are unfair on the residents of the towns and villages whose cemeteries have no room for expansion," Buhagiar wrote. He also referred to MEPA's deci- sions to grant a permit for new cem- eteries in Pembroke and Nadur. According to Buhagiar, the devel- opment fits in the area designated as a strategic open gap between Rabat and Attard. He said that the policy was also against the government's stated objective that what could be provided by the private sector should not be provided by the government; and that the restriction which does not allow the construction of new cemeteries goes against the EU's free competition directive. Buhagiar also insisted that applica- tions submitted prior to the coming into force of this new policy, should be considered on those planning policies at the time of submission or – in the absence of such policies – on their own merits. MEPA reply But in its reply, MEPA made it clear that applications have to be deter- mined according to the policies in place when a decision is taken. While Piju Camilleri is set to lose from this new policy, he stands to gain from other policies currently being drafted by MEPA. For exam- ple, it is set to remove a condition that would ban the construction of penthouses on land Camilleri's company owns in Hal-Ghaxaq. The land was controversially included in development boundaries by the Nationalist government in 2006, on condition that no penthouses or washrooms be allowed on the roofs of the new residences. Camilleri also applied to relocate an Msida petrol station on Valley Road, to an outside development zone in St Paul's Bay, over 2,736 square metres of pristine land along Triq is-Salini. MEPA is currently drafting a new policy regulating the development of petrol stations in ODZ areas. Labour MP and architect Charles Buhagiar submitted his objection to the new policy in December, on behalf of his client Piju Camilleri. Right: the plans for the new cemeteries

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