It’s not trust in Mepa that’s at stake by Simone Mizzi
There seemed to be a glimmer of light for the environment coming through from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority recently with decisions that protected our natural and built heritage. This eman-ated from the rigour applied by the Environmental Planning Directorate in its outright dismissal of the Ħondoq ir-Rummien applic-ation and with the reprieve of Manikata’s iconic church, saved by the bell from meddlesome intrusion by a well-merited Grade 1 status.
This flash of hope soon flickered at the dubious interpretation of farmland policies with the location of the Magħtab cattle farm close to residences and by the transferring of a petrol station in Mġarr onto virgin land in an oversized move that rides on the back of health and hazard regulations and old outline permits.
The approval of both, coming so soon after those for Ħondoq and Manikata, may indicate that, following its reform, Mepa’s environmental sensitivity is applied to projects that are in the public eye and not to those micro-developments that keep the environment-al deficit permanently in the negative.
In the case of the Magħtab cattle farm, allocating existing disused farmland would have distanced the residential community from health and nuisance hazards. Doubling the size of Mġarr’s petrol station on arable land outside Żebbiegħ implies that concerns for the Mġarr community were not really those at stake when a slim majority of a six-to-four vote approved the move.
However, it is another positive move that in new planning processes, outline permits have been removed so that errors made by former authorities cannot be perpetrated by the present.
With some large-scale projects still in the balance, Mistra’s gigantic ridge development and Ħondoq ir-Rummien’s marina complex, it is not only Mepa’s reputation only that is at stake but two major areas that affect our islands’ credibility and attractiveness, for ourselves and for the visitor.
We expect Mepa to stand firmly behind its directorate’s decision on Ħondoq when passing final judgment on this large tract of Gozo’s coast and to grant it immediate ODZ protection. If this dismissal were to be reversed, any growing trust in Mepa would soon dissipate, and with it Ħondoq’s natural state. Pressures from potential tourist development will otherwise remain, allowing planning applications to be altered continuously until they find acceptance.
Indignant statements by deve-lopers have accompanied the 40 per cent reduction in building applications. And why should this not be? Can we expect to continue building in height, breadth and depth at the current rate, mostly unneeded sub-zero-quality construction to oil the economy or seeking justification because “old housing is unsuitable for today’s living standards”?
An economy that depends on the building trade is a weak eco-nomy and needs to diversify by building – not on its landscape but on its strengths. These are unquestionably tied to our cultural and natural assets and, thankfully, much is being saved through rethinking or restoration.
The drop in applications is good news for what is left of our “good” cultural landscape. There is tre-mendous work ahead for our construction industry to regenerate the quality of that free-for-all building binge of the last 30 years. Even where regulated this is still being executed without thorough care for our cultural landscape, two words that define our built and natural legacy marked by centuries of human activity.
We do look to Mepa to apply micro-management of our landscape to prevent us losing the unique panoramas that give our island life its quality. Vistas over open spaces to the horizon or countryside continue to vanish daily. The spectacular view from Madliena out to sea is now lost to new glamorous villas on their prominent edge, the bypass corner vista to St Paul’s Island blocked by dishonourable high construction and an ill-advised row of trees. Mellieħa’s central sea view is marred by the Seabank extension while rings of high-rise bury traditional townscapes, obliterating the vision of our baroque churches, so uniquely typical of Malta.
Even that one vista we hold most dear is being corroded. The skyline of Valletta entering Grand Harbour at sunset shows only too clearly numerous penthouses with shiny glass windows that are taking their toll.
Malta has yet to ratify and implement the European Landscape Convention. To do so may mean we have to protect the good, the bad and the ugly. All are legacy of centuries of human activity. Carving out the bad from the good is a conundrum for our planners and we hope the new structure plan can offer solutions.
While outline permits are perhaps still under scrutiny, we look to Mepa to chalk up more positive points in favour of the environment by reversing Mistra. We are still in time to preserve Ħondoq. It is the environment that is at stake, not Mepa’s reputation. Only the former is ours to keep.
The author is executive president of Din l-Art Ħelwa
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