Outside development zones to be clearly defined in new policy

The kind of buildings that can and can’t go up outside development zones are to be defined in a new policy framework to be ready by the end of September.

So far, only those developments that are not allowed to be built in Outside Development Zones (ODZ) are listed. The reviewed policy will clearly define the developments that will be permitted.

They could include, for instance, reservoirs, hospitals or schools, planning authority chairman Austin Walker told The Times. However, such developments would have to be seen in the light of the relevant policies, such as whether the country needs another school or another hospital, he said.

The ODZ area will also shrink to exclude the so-called areas of rationalisation and areas of containment.

Areas of rationalisation are those that already contain residences and where it had been established that more could be built. Parameters such as height limitations and the type of buildings to be allowed have still to be established for some of these areas.

Areas of containment are those with some kind of industrial development such as a batching plant. These areas could be used for further industrial development, as “ideally use of virgin land should be avoided,” Mr Walker said.

“Nowadays, these are still defined as being ODZ but we know that within these boundaries, defined in 2006, industrial development can take place. To give an idea, the area of Ħal Mann in Mosta is an area of containment. There are some sites which are blank but which one way or another have to be filled.

“Technically, it is ODZ, as it falls outside the building scheme, but the area is already built up and neither you nor I would be calling it an ODZ... if there are sites that are blanks and someone asks to build a warehouse there, technically, should I put it there or on a virgin site?”

The planning authority is also in the process of reviewing and updating other policies, as some, such as those on petrol stations and high-rise buildings, have not yet been approved by the government.

This is causing the planning authority to turn down certain applications as it does not have an approved policy on which to base its decisions. In cases that have to be processed, officials have to use their own discretion.

A committee, chaired by architect David Pace, is looking at these policies, updating and reviewing them where necessary to provide clearer guidelines after discussions with stakeholders. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Directorate is beefing up its resources. The directorate, now under former Din L-Art Ħelwa president Petra Bianchi, is engaging a further 45 people for the staff. Dr Bianchi said the EPD’s top priorities were air quality and water, as well as the perennial issue of the countryside.