Shut windows is not an option

Tuesday’s edition of The Times contained two articles which at face value appear highly contradictory. We had an article about over-construction and the impact this is having on residents of St Julians. In the same news­paper, one could also read a press release issued by the Labour Party complaining that the increase in costs and application tariffs is adding pressure on an already strained construction industry, leading to job losses.

Pinning the construction slowdown on increased costs is simplistic and erroneous. The slowdown in the construction industry is, to a large part, due to the oversupply that exists in the market and adverse financing conditions. The Malta Environment and Planning Authority is also being more stringent in its decisions, as evidenced by a number of cases whereby it refused to grant permits on grounds of overdevelopment.

We live on two densely populated small islands. We literally live in each others’ backyard. The effects, both positive and negative, of buildings being demolished and constructed, are unavoidable. Over the past two decades we have witnessed a construction boom that changed significantly our urban landscape.

The extent and, I would add, also the type of development that took place in Malta over the past decades created a backlash. Residents, especially those in areas subjected to heavy development, are weary of the daily sight, sounds and other inconveniences caused by heavy construction. Shut windows may keep away the dust but not the vibration, the clatter and the eventual changed streetscape.

Some question whether all this development is necessary and sustainable. Some question the quality of design and whether the construction industry is contributing to an overall better quality of life.

It is in full awareness of such sentiments that the National Environment Policy considers as one of its six objectives the need to improve the environment by including measures aimed at the need to safeguard our built cultural heritage; the importance of encouraging local councils to consider pedestrianisation in their sustainable development strategies, the relevance of placing more emphasis on quality in design in the spatial planning process and, furthermore, proposes that studies be conducted on mitigation options for zones that have experienced heavy construction work.

The tension between the speculative nature of the construction industry and the protective mindset of a growing percentage of the population is there for all to see. The solution to this tension cannot be the annihilation of the construction industry or the destruction of our urban city cores or green areas. Our solution has to be in directing the construction industry towards projects that give life back to the city and village cores while respecting a street­scape, retaining our green lungs and maintaining the authentic feel of our urban core areas. Within these cores, we have properties that, for various reasons, remain vacant, neglected and in dire need of rehabilitation.

The solution in the past has very often been to earmark such property for demolition and reconstruction as apartments. We are now looking at how to incentivise the reuse of these properties. This would serve many purposes. It would generate jobs for people in the construction sector, it would inject new life into our towns and villages, it would improve the visual fabric of our streets and it could strike, if done properly, a better balance of the social fabric of our communities.

The government has already launched initiatives to encourage owners of abandoned property to invest in such properties. Over the coming weeks we will be providing fiscal and tax incentives to facilitate consolidation of ownership of such properties, given that multi ownership often leads to abandonment.

The government is presently working on the Strategic Policy for Environment and Development (SPED), the document that will determine how we use our land and spaces both onshore and offshore for the next 20 years.

We have broadened our approach to strategic planning to encompass the concept of spatial planning, whereby economic, social, cultural and environmental policies are all taken into con­sideration together with the geographical context of where development is to take place.

This policy will not extend the development zone boundaries, thus reaffirming a commitment to contain urban sprawl. The SPED objectives are based on an evaluation of the current impacts associated with construction and aim to identify the means of transforming the construction industry in a manner whereby, while its economic role remains, it also takes on board its role in providing for a better quality living environment and in ensuring that national targets linked to resource efficiency, reduction of air and noise pollution are achieved.

The challenge for the construction industry today and for the future lies in this transformation. Shutting one’s window to today’s realities is not an option.

Dr de Marco is Minister for Tourism, Culture and the Environment