Is Mepa reform just a hollow dream?

With regard to Mepa's claims of misinformation, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar would like to confirm that in our recent press conference we did not say that the Amery Street house is scheduled (protected), however, in highlighting the house's heritage value, we quoted Grade 2 conservation regulations, which might have given the impression that the house is scheduled.

It has now been confirmed to us that the house is not going to be totally gutted as had been thought. This information on change to plans demanded by the DCC board was not made available to us in spite of all our efforts to acquire it in the days before the press conference. It is disgraceful that in spite of Minister George Pullicino's and the Prime Minister's pledges and best efforts, Mepa is still blocking NGO access to plans online which would guarantee up-to-date and correct information. NGOs are not asking for a privilege, but a right of access to information which is already available at the Mepa front desk, a right which was, incidentally, also promised to members of the public.

We however reiterate that Michael Falzon failed to declare all previous applications on the site, as well as its location in an urban conservation area in the application form, as he is obliged to do according to Mepa Circular to Architects 8/02. We observed similar omissions on no fewer than 30 applications related to scheduled sites, applications which conveniently fail to mention that the sites are within the urban conservation area, and still less register the scheduled status of the sites. FAA maintains that omissions such as these, and especially the failure to register the full address of the site to be developed, severely curtails the public's right to be informed, and that applications with such serious shortcomings should be immediately annulled and permits rescinded.

In the other case we tackled, the Windsor Terrace houses are a very rare example of an intact row of seven identical turn-of-the century houses, which is why the street has a high B+ rating.

I am ready to state under oath that until a short while ago, the row used to be encircled by a blue preservation line on the Mepa Mapserver, which line mysteriously disappeared when the issue of this application was raised.

Again, both the case officer and the Heritage Advisory Committee (HAC) argued vehemently against this permit; while Mepa's boards are allowed to decide against the directorate's recommendations, they are obliged by the same Development Planning Act to "register in the relevant file the specific planning reasons" justifying their decision. The reason quoted in the Windsor Terrace case, that the flats would mask an unsightly backdrop, does not feature anywhere in Mepa's planning regulations. Similarly the board gave an incorrect example in the Don Rua permits as they have a different height limitation and also because precedent is a legal but not a planning reason as required by the DPA. As the auditor said, the DCC boards are there to abide by Mepa regulations and not to create them, which is what happened in this case. It is the board's failure to quote the "specific planning reasons" which prompts us to call for the rescinding of this permit.

It is obvious that if this house is built up, a whole block will follow suit, destroying one of Sliema's few treasured intact streetscapes. The government has expressed itself strongly in favour of sustainable development. Is the destruction of our heritage sustainable? Is it worth losing jobs in tourism and undermining neighbours' health for a few months of employment in construction to add more apartments to our total of around 65,000 vacant units?

If Mepa is really committed to its mission statement "that together we should carefully plan so that our heritage, this gem which we treasure, will not fade away", it will heed our call and review this highly destructive permit. If Mepa is not prepared to rescind this permit which runs counter to directorate, HAC and Appeals Board recommendations, we will know that in spite of Castille's genuine commitment, this Mepa reform is nothing more than a hollow dream.