Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/528426
4 MATTHEW VELLA THE successor of Malta's Struc- ture Plan, the draft Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) will widen planning loopholes to leave the road wide open for development outside building zones, Din l-Art Helwa has warned. DLH president Simone Mizzi told a parliamentary committee for the environment on Monday that the aim of a robust Struc- ture Plan was to define the use of space and land for the nation for several years. "An honourable government will ensure it has been drafted responsibly to protect land which is our most important resource. However the opposite is set to take place if the latest draft of this all important national pol- icy is approved in Parliament," Mizzi said. 21 eNGOs have encouraged the public to attend this Satur- day's rally in favour of the envi- ronment, after a controversial private university was proposed inside a natural park at Zonqor Point. Mizzi said that the draft SPED had been written in such a way that projects deemed to be 'un- feasible' within urban areas can be built outside development zones (ODZ) where land is cheaper and much more accessi- ble, such as in the case of Zonqor Point. "Also of great concern is that projects deemed to be of a 'sus- tainable' nature are similarly to be permitted in ODZ areas. The criteria of sustainability is a very broad one which cannot easily be defined. Sustainability of development can be applied to most projects, making it le- gal for all sorts of construction to take place in ODZ, including rural and coastal areas which are so sought after by developers for easy and quick gain," Mizzi said. The NGO demanded yet again that the clauses allowing projects to take place in ODZ simply be- cause they may be deemed un- feasible in urban zones, and permitting projects that favour sustainability, to be taken out of the SPED. "These loosely-applied terms go totally against the spirit of the legislation which is to give clear, precise and well defined direction to the nation on the use of space over the next dec- ade. The words 'feasibility' and 'sustainability' should be struck off, or else be clearly defined. "To do this the Structure Plan should go back to the drawing board to be rewritten as the se- rious document it is intended to be, and include detailed plans and policies for every area of the Maltese islands," Mizzi said. "The Prime Minister promised protection for the environment in the 2013 general elections manifesto, yet Zonqor Point is yet further evidence that shows his intentions are the complete opposite," Mizzi added. The NGO has proposed a mor- atorium on all large scale and in- stitutional construction projects till the Structure Plan (SPED) can be correctly defined. mvella@mediatoday.com.mt maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 17 JUNE 2015 News Veteran environmentalist dubs JAMES DEBONO ALFRED Baldacchino, a well- known environmentalist and former Assistant Director in the Environment Protection Direc- torate, has denounced as "ama- teurish " the site selection report drawn up by the CEO's office of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority about the proposed American University of Malta. Baldacchino was speaking during last Monday's meeting of parliament's committee on planning and the environment. "This report was so poor and amateurish that it does no hon- our to those who wrote it and to the Authority which has been entrusted with protecting the social and environmental inter- ests of this country," he said. He described the report as "misleading" for both the gov- ernment and all those who have "the national interest at heart". Baldacchino points out that the report fails to assess the impact on the eco-system, not- ing the lack of any reference to fauna. "Is it possible that no fauna exists in this place? Is it pos- sible that there are no reptiles, insects, invertebrates, birds, mammals and molluscs?" He notes that the report refers to hunting and trapping simply to reinforce the point that the site is heavily degraded. But Bal- dacchino contends that the very SPED being used to allow unbridled construction in cheaper ODZ land Latest draft of Structure Plan increases loopholes in favour of development, says Din l-Art Helwa Fertile and undeveloped – but SPED will be allowing development in such pristine areas Alfred Baldacchino