Floriana council accuses Mepa of being too lenient

The Floriana local council has accused the Malta Environment and Planning Authority of being too lenient in the application of policies aimed at curtailing office development in Floriana and this to the detriment of residents.

Mayor Publio Agius accused Mepa of going against what had been agreed with the council on the Grand Harbour Local Plan.

Policy GF15 of the local plan lays down that new office space in Floriana will only be granted if a proposal meets certain requirements, such as if it is intended to form part of a government ministry, involves conservation of a historic building or is for the use of a philanthropic organisation.

The mayor explained that Floriana lacked residents. The Demographic Review of 2003, compiled by the National Statistics Office, showed there were only 18 births in Floriana that year.

The council had insisted on policy GF15 to, among other things, encourage people to take up residence in the locality.

"Things are degenerating and Mepa couldn't care less. In the past few years it has been overly lenient in the application of policies and this is not an isolated case. There is need for Mepa to be more rigid when it comes to applying the policies," Mr Agius said.

The mayor was addressing a press conference in front of Block 95 in Triq San Frangisk where Mepa had issued a permit for one of the apartments to be used as offices by a shipping agency.

Councillor Nigel Holland said the reasons given by Mepa for the approval of office permits were "unbelievable and ridiculous".

Speaking about Block 95, Mr Holland said that in granting the permit, Mepa had said such an office would have little effect on the traffic flowing into Floriana and that one of the largest car parks in Malta was close by.

He said the traffic problem in Floriana was one of the reasons why the council had insisted on the policy. Mepa's reasoning did not make sense when the government was spending so much money to introduce a park and ride system to stop the congestion.

"It is clear that when it comes to the issuing of permits in Floriana, Mepa acts in the interest of the commercial operator having financial muscle to the detriment of the residents. I say this with all responsibility," Mr Holland said.

A resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, explained that she lived in a block of apartments where the premises above hers had been converted into an office. "Office employees, who are not allowed to smoke in the offices, do so in the shafts and, as a consequence, when I open a window there is a stench of smoke" she said.

"I am forced to live in a sealed home and apart from that I can't even rest because of the noise from office chairs wheeling to and fro," she said.

Reacting to the council's comments, Mepa's public relations officer, Sylvana DeBono, said that Mr Agius expressed great concern over the decline in the number of residents and, consequently, the threat that the locality will become a business district rather than a residential one.

"Mepa shares this concern to the extent that, as pointed out by Mr Agius, it included this in a specific policy (GF15) in the Grand Harbour Local Plan. It is very easy to make sweeping statements such as that in the past years 'Mepa has been overly lenient in the application of policies'. These allegations need to be substantiated and examined case by case.

One thing immediately stands out: Mepa is being accused of being lenient when it is normally accused of being rigid."

Ms DeBono said the application in Triq San Frangisk was recommended for refusal by Mepa, was refused by the DCC and was further refused on reconsideration. The applicant has now filed an appeal against Mepa's decision.

"It is hardly fair that such comments are made by the local council when, as a registered objector, it knows that the process is now outside Mepa's jurisdiction. Moreover, if Mepa had not been around, GF15 would hardly be in force," she said