We cannot choose to ignore that most of our current building stock will be demolished before long, to pave the way for smaller unit apartment blocks. There is no way of reversing such trends.
The Local Plans approved by MEPA were specifically designed to arrest further ribbon development in rural areas, limiting development within already schemed boundaries. The result is already evident - most of the terraced houses built during the course of the last four decades are being demolished and converted to individual three unit apartment blocks and overlying penthouses.
It is undisputed that redevelopment within already committed urban boundaries is conducive to third party nuisance. Of equal concern, construction works in inhabited areas are also driven by health and safety risks associated with demolition and excavation operations.
Appropriate construction management practices are still generally lacking. Of equal significance, third party health and safety considerations and the lack of regulation compelling defaulters to reinstate damaged public property arising from construction operations, present a serious concern. To this effect, halting construction activity would not be a workable solution.
The guiding way forward should therefore be tied to an effective and determined strategy aimed at securing adequate construction site management and environmental control measures on construction sites.
The Environmental Commencement Management Construction Site Regulations, currently awaiting formal clearance, signal a concrete step towards securing the optimal way forward in adequate site management control.
In the draft legislation, it has been unequivocally stated that only machinery equipped with dust extraction systems must be used for the cutting of stones. This would serve to address potential dust generation concerns. In parallel, it is also specified that stone cutting is to be undertaken within the building itself, while sanding activity (both manual or mechanical) must also be boarded with an impermeable material and equipped with a device to reduce the emission of dust, although one is bound to question the health and safety implications arising from such activity being undertaken in an unventilated space.
These regulations also mandate contractors to store loose building materials (such as sand and aggregate) in sealed containers, while pavements should be left unobstructed and clean to the satisfaction of the local council. The lack of such regulations to date have meant that costs associated with the reinstatement of eventual damages are very often borne by the respective councils. It is now being recommended that damages arising from construction operations are to be repaired by the respective owners, failing which offenders should be liable to hefty fines.
One of the most innovative approaches carried forward in the draft legislation relates to the mandatory erection of hoarding along the periphery of construction sites. It is clearly indicated that sites where demolition operations are taking place should be boarded up to the full height of the building prior to works.
It is being recommended that all building up to two floors and a semi-basement in height must be boarded by a seven-metre free-standing hoarding to conceal the entire site from dust and falling materials, while in the case of buildings higher than three floors, a suitable, rigid, free-standing material extending to the full height of the building, enclosing the entire site, should be set up.
Although such approaches may sound novel, the practical and financial shortcomings associated with their implementation cannot be overlooked. Alternatively, one could possibly consider the use of impermeable fabric as opposed to full-height rigid hoarding, supported by the use of timber or metal barricades, along with appropriate signage and lighting.
These regulations clearly lay down that the responsibility to implement such measures lies with the owner commissioning the works. It is also being suggested that sites in which works are planned to take longer than four weeks, should feature a permanent noticeboard displaying the particulars of an appointed site manager, who is distinct from the architect in charge. According to the draft regulations, the notice should also feature the name and contact numbers of the contractor, along with the dates when the works are set to start.
An owner who fails to nominate a site manager will be served with a stop notice by MEPA, and works are to be halted pending the nomination of a site manager. In connection with all this, Government should also consider that owners should further be obliged to display the name of a health and safety site supervisor, which they are also legally required to nominate in terms of a separate legal notice (LN 281 Work Place Minimum Health and Safety at Construction Sites, 2004).
Those commissioning construction works are still largely unaware of their legal obligation to notify the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) on the details of a health and safety supervisor when works are scheduled to last more than 500 person days.
For this reason, the upcoming regulations should be amended to mandate owners to specify the details of the Health and Safety site supervisor, as distinct from the appointed site manager.
There is no dispute that these regulations will be tied to a cost element, which is ultimately borne by the consumer. Nonetheless, the proposed measures will however propel a much-needed change in our local construction industry, provided a determined enforcement framework co-ordinated by local councils is in place.
rmperiti@onvol.net
Robert Musumeci is also mayor of Siggiewi and a Nationalist candidate for the general elections.