Re-zoning and rationalisation

In 2002 Minister George Pullicino made it amply clear that our country had enough buildings to cater for all our population needs for the next 20 years. We were thus supposedly covered until the year 2020. This obviously begs the question, why then the uncalled for extension of our development boundaries?

This has to be examined in context. In the first place the speed with which the decision to extend the boundaries was taken. Secondly we must take account of the opposition shown to these extensions by us all - I have not seen any independent praise of the rationalisation process (I stress the word independent).

Further, we are to keep in mind that in the last few years major changes to the areas already zoned for development have been made and that these have, on paper, the potential to take us well beyond 2020. Here I refer to the increase in the building heights of areas such as Balzan and Swieqi and to the re-zoning of a number of villa areas to allow for the building of maisonettes. Effectively this re-zoning exercise carried out slowly and carefully by Mepa after a number of years of consultation means more living space without disturbing at present virgin territory.

Had the re-zoning exercise been carried out in such a manner as to close off properly and logically certain areas then there would not have been such opposition to the whole matter. The utter and complete disregard to the legitimate complaints of the various environmental organisation was wrong. To compound matters even further, the Chamber of Architects, disregarding any vested interest in favour of more building land, also opposed the extensions since they deemed them unnecessary and hurried.

It would seem that in the zoning world situations change radically and dramatically, perhaps even conveniently, and that we are faced with such a population explosion that the needs of 2002 are not the needs of 2006.

The use of the term rationalisation process is also an interesting one. This carries with it the tag that previous exercises by the Nationalist government since 1996 were irrational. On the question of our rationality, I would also contend, rationally, that the Nationalist Party in government has been irrational in many of its decisions of late!