Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/487054
maltatoday, Sunday, 29 March 2015 12 News Offering little tangible examples of how the South of Malta should be developed, but delivering his talk with plenty of optimistic bonhomie on the future of the region, Malta Developers Association (MDA) president Sandro Chetcuti called on the public to stop treating the devel- oper as an environmental bogeyman. He was addressing a form on 'The future of the South' organised by flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar and ramblers' Association at Smart City yesterday. eating up a substantial amount of his presentation time with a breath- less and impassioned plea explaining the true purpose of the Malta Devel- opers Association, Chetcuti said that the MDA was formed five years ago to in fact curb the excesses of the past and to regulate new development. "Past developments have ruined the environment and even the har- mony of certain village cores. So in- stead of looking at the developer as somebody who sets out to wreck the environment from the word go, we should seek to work together with them to reach a healthy compro- mise," Chetcuti said, adding that he often engages in conversations with fAA on the viability of certain sites. Chetcuti added that he "loves" the "culture and people" of the South and their "simple" approach to life, and that we should seek workable compromises that respect the area's natural development but that also "go beyond the status quo". riffing off a previous presenta- tion by architect edward Said on the potential restoration of certain abandoned forts in the South, Chet- cuti recalled how a past client of his wanted to develop the fort San Sal- vatore into a boutique hotel, but that this was blocked by the planning au- thority at the time, Chetcuti asked, "Why should we leave certain places just as they are, when we could po- tentially have a win-win situation?" Building to an emotional cre- scendo, Chetcuti said that his final message was that we start to look at developers as people with whom you can discuss, and who can potentially play a crucial part in bringing your vi- sion into fruition. "So what do we want for the South? Do we want it to be another Qawra? Another St Julian's? Should it stay as it is? Let's discuss this," Chetcuti said, stressing the importance of discus- sions among developers and environ- mentalists at planning stage since, "unless things are made clear at the planning stage, you can hardly blame entrepreneurs who then come in to – legally – build something you may not like." Jumping in to comment on a sub- sequent presentation which brought up the example of Tigne as a typically dismal development, Chetcuti said that Tigne and the like "hurt devel- opers too". "it's not the developers that are to blame, but the planning authority," Chetcuti said, fending off protests from the attendees, adding that, "there are developers and develop- ers... Just like there are priests and priests, hunters and hunters..." Architect edward Said – who spe- cialises in restoration – identified some historical forts around Malta that he deemed worthy of restora- tion, while also warning against al- ways taking the "puritan" route when it comes to restoring historical build- ings. He contended that we should be tolerant towards certain "interven- tions that might bother certain res- toration purists", as this would be a viable way of reaching a compromise between conservation and devel- opment, putting the philosophy of "adaptive re-use" in practice. Said singled out fort San Salvatore and fort ricasoli as historical forts that are crying out for regeneration and that could be 'put to good use'. He noted that fort San Salvatore boasts a history dating back to the Knights, and also served as the island's first ever concrete batching plant. go- ing by his experience of working on fort Tigne, Midi Towers and fort Manoel, Said estimated that a full restoration of San Salvatore would amount to around €6 million, while stressing that a too-conservative ap- proach would be inadvisable. "We should get over the idea that all Maltese forts need to be restored in the same exact way they looked when they were first built, as is the case with rinella, for example. not all forts should be used as tourist sites, as 'tableaux' of what they used to be." Coordinator of Sahhambjent Jason Bonnici – also a general practitioner based in the region of the south – put paid to the belief that the heavy-duty industrialisation of the South has led to pervasive health problems. But he added that any plan to create neces- sary green areas would also address the region's socio-economic prob- lems. "Unfortunately, a lot of youths from this area tend to be early school leav- ers, for example," Bonnici said. "My proposal would be to not only create the necessary green spaces, but to give these youths training and work experience by allowing them to help set them up". Claiming that such green spaces would also "offer a tourism alterna- tive distinct from the mass tour- ism approach that characterises the north of Malta," Bonnici said that creating aesthetically beautiful green areas would go a long way towards incentivising people to walk and exercise in their locality, reiterat- ing how various studies have prov- en, time and time again, the direct medical benefits of open and green spaces. treljic@mediatoday.com.mt Tasteful restoration and the battle for green spaces developers struggle to shed environmental bogeyman image during a lively debate on the 'future of the South', TEOdOr rELJIc discovers MDA president Sandro Chetcuti: Developers are not bogeymen. Environment Minister Leo Brincat (left) attended the forum