Uphold residents' rights

Last week, I wrote about complaints I receive from residents in different localities protesting against mobile phone base stations erected on rooftops in residential areas. I hasten to add that these are not the only complaints that I get from people who feel that their rights to enjoy their private property peacefully is all too often threatened by external factors imposed on their immediate environment by others. The most common complaints relate to the dust and noise pollution caused by the construction industry during building works but also by construction plants located close to residential areas.

Residents feel that, for far too long, the construction industry has been left free to do as it pleases under the dubious pretext that regulating this sector could somehow pose a threat to economic activity.

The inconvenience caused to residents, especially elderly residents, is much greater than one would think. Living day in day out next to a construction plant, which emits noise and dust incessantly, is not just a health hazard. It also often creates tension and distress. Construction projects which last for a number of years cause similar misery to neighbouring residents and, at times, people also have to endure material damage caused to their own property with their pleas for compensation ignored by the building contractors. This is not to mention the eyesore that uncovered construction plants cause to the surrounding landscape.

In this column I have already raised one particular case relating to the Blokrete construction plant in Lija where residents have long complained of dust and noise pollution. There has since been an improvement with respect to dust pollution emitted from this plant, although the same may not be said on noise. I know that Mepa is on this case and that additional improvements are in the pipeline. I also know that the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament, in which I am a member, is still following this case after the Commission admitted that EU law on air quality was not being respected.

I have since received several other complaints about construction plants in many other areas, most recently on one in Naxxar. Complaints on construction sites where building works are taking place also abound, especially from the Sliema and St Julians area.

I also know that petitions to the European Parliament are also piling up and this means that these complaints will inevitably surface in Brussels. I intend to follow these complaints very closely and to give residents their due.

I strongly believe that it is high time for residents' rights to be respected.

To my mind, the environment also means the right of residents to live peacefully in their property without the constant harassment from construction projects or construction plants in the neighbourhood.

None of this is to say that construction plants should be closed down or that construction projects cannot take place. But better regulation should make for a better coexistence and in this new balance the industry must appreciate that it needs to do more to respect the rights of residents. Indeed, some construction companies I have visited have already started to get their act together.

In this vein, I welcome the Prime Minister's recent declaration that the government is committed to redress the balance on the environment which has, for too long, favoured development at the cost of the environment. I know that Minister George Pullicino is equally committed to this view.

Indeed, this commitment is echoed in the PN electoral programme, which speaks very clearly on the need to respect the rights of residents. In point 142, the PN programme commits the government to "protect the right of residents to enjoy their property from the impact of the construction industry, especially from air and noise pollution".

In point 143, it states that "we shall extend the rules on the management of construction sites to cover all localities in Malta and Gozo. These rules should reduce dust and construction noise pollution in all localities".

And point 144 states that "A board shall be set up on the security of construction sites to give more peace of mind and security to residents in the neighbourhood as well as to works on the sites, especially during the demolition and excavation works. We shall improve the mechanisms to ensure that construction works conform to rules on energy efficiency in buildings".

These are very clear commitments and they leave no doubt as to the action that needs to be taken.

The question remains as to when these commitments will be delivered.

My view is that, on residents' rights, the time for action is now.

Readers who would like to ask questions to be answered in this column can send an e-mail, identifying themselves, to contact@simonbusuttil.eu or through www.simonbusuttil.eu.

Dr Busuttil is a Nationalist, member of the European Parliament.