Joseph Muscat is right to allow the Armier boathouse people to obtain properly paid services from Enemalta and not to further criminalise them by denying them their basic human rights.

What next? I have visited these settlements and note they are mainly single storey. They lack colour but are not an extraordinary eyesore.

They could become an attractive addition to the rural landscape if the government and owners agree an action plan. With vision, they could emulate some of the beautiful whitewashed communities of the Greek Islands.

Each community should elect a committee to represent their interests. That committee should create its own charter based on the Condominium Act of Malta, which is already a bulwark of communal sense. The government should work with each committee and promote Maltese architects to work with each committee to create a community blueprint.

Maybe a competition could be held to encourage architects and representatives to agree on a common plan. The members of each community would then be obliged to pay to update their properties and contribute to the costs of upgrading the infrastructure.

In return, once each elected committee is in place, the government should grant an eternal lease to each competent authority. As long as each democratically elected community abides and enforces the agreed policies, such as the conforming colour scheme for frontages – be that white, magnolia, mixed with Maltese stone or whatever for each property – then it will be assured of control of its communal assets in perpetuity.

Registered owners of each property should then be granted their own freehold ownership of the property but would be obliged to pay an annual service charge to the elected committee, whose responsibilities would be to maintain the fabric of the space.

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