Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/753405
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2016 15 it could be improved. This is the way forward. Every piece of in- formation will be assessed, and we will come up with a revised version. Then there'll be another six-week consultation period on the revised version..." Quite a few complaints and suggestions have already been put forward, not least by Pace- ville residents who fear being evicted from their homes. Are their fears justified? After all, the plan itself actively proposes expropriation... even (oddly) of a tract of public land, which the government already owns... "I think people are misunder- standing the expropriation issue. As you say, here is public and private property involved in the masterplan. In cases of public property – widening a square, for instance – it's not a problem. When it comes to private land, however..." She picks up a pen and draws a rough diagram on a piece of paper. "Let's say that part of the mas- terplan envisages a street passed through this area so that a tower can be built on one side, over here. This street would have to pass through private property. If this project is going to happen, it has to happen as part of a com- prehensive plan. So if a street needs to be passed through pri- vate land, the developer needs to come to an agreement with the residents for it to happen. So it's not a matter of 'expropria- tion'. Those properties will NOT be expropriated. Expropriation means government taking pri- vate land for a public purpose. This" – indicating the diagram – "is not a public purpose; it's part of a comprehensive develop- ment. So nobody will leave their home unless they agree to. That's not how it was present- ed to the public. The masterplan even specifies a figure – €151 million – in compensation for expropriated land... "I did not write the masterplan. I am seeing it like everyone else. I am not the Planning Author- ity..." She is however the parliamen- tary secretary responsible for planning... "Yes, and I will take responsi- bility... when it's done. But we haven't reached that point yet. We're still at the beginning. I'm not happy with the first draft ei- ther. One of the things I asked Broadway Manning was: if they knew exactly where all the resi- dences were, would they have drawn up a different master- plan? They replied: no, it would not have made one inch of a dif- ference. Because this was a first draft, and they were only look- ing at the place generically: what best fits the area; what gives the best access to historical sites; opening up access to the valley; enlarging the sandy beach areas... At a later stage, that information would become relevant. But at this stage, the draft masterplan is just a guide to start working on." Schembri stresses that the emphasis on expropriation and other issues is deflecting atten- tion from the real purpose of the exercise. "I don't want Paceville to be developed haphazardly. Because that's what will happen. Paceville is a place zoned for tall buildings. They will be built with or with- out a masterplan; and if we don't have a comprehensive strategy for infrastructure, transport, parking, waste management, and so on... then it will happen anyway, and we will be sorry that we didn't do it before. I know I am in the hot seat, I know it is difficult to actually do it. But I'm not going to say: 'this isn't easy, so I'll shove it to whoever comes after me'. That's not right. This is a good initiative. The problem is that everyone is thinking that this first draft is a final, cast-in- stone thing. It isn't." Schembri seems exasperated by such widespread doubt; but isn't it also reasonable to expect scepticism? This issue comes in the wake of numerous other environmental polemics – the Zonqor Point controversy, the approval of high-rise projects in Sliema and Mriehel... and here we have another proposal (in draft form, granted) which seems to favour hand-picked develop- ers at the expense of others. And which also seems riddled with conflicts... we haven't discussed Franco Mercieca's, for instance. How can he chair a parliamen- tary committee on this issue, when he has a financial stake in a project that will exponentially increase in value as a result of the plan being discussed? "I haven't heard his views on what his interests are in this. I am presuming that this will come up at the next parliamen- tary committee meeting. And I want to know what his posi- tion will be as well. There are parliamentary procedures, and I am sure that whatever he will be doing will be according to parlia- mentary practice. At the end of the today, the committee is made up of members from both sides of the House; if there is a prob- lem with the chair, the commit- tee members should be the ones to say something about it. But at this point in time, I cannot take a position when I haven't heard his side of the story." Fair enough, but it doesn't leave us with very much, does it? The PA takes no responsibil- ity for engaging the clients of the biggest net [private] beneficiary of the entire project, and noth- ing happens; Franco Mercieca doesn't declare a blatant conflict of interest, and nothing hap- pens... "I don't think it's fair to say nothing is happening. There will be a review on Mott MacDon- ald's work, and we have to see what they come up with, too. But for argument's sake let's say there was a conflict of in- terest – I don't think there was, but that's not the point – the important thing now is that the review is carried out, to put peo- ple's minds at rest. I want people to look at this plan, and say that it is a sincere effort by the gov- ernment to do something that is good for Paceville. Because we're trying to open up the foreshore to the public; at the moment, it's all hotels. It's not just develop- ers who will benefit. We want to open up the valley, so that it becomes accessible to everyone. When I mentioned this to a jour- nalist, the reaction was: 'I didn't know there was a valley in Pace- ville'. This is part of the problem: Paceville's potential is all hid- den. Even historical sites; most people don't know they even ex- ist. What I'm saying is this: tall buildings will happen. Progress will happen. Development will happen. Let's not allow it to hap- pen haphazardly." Interview Proposals for a regeneration of Malta's largest entertainment district has been met with anxiety and scepticism by residents and entrepreneurs alike. Planning secretary DEBORAH SCHEMBRI however insists that such fears are premature and misplaced Paceville masterplan PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MANGION