There have been several reactions since the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, about a month ago, announc­ed that it was preparing to launch a limited amnesty of sorts. It gave as the main reason the fact that it had thousands of enforcement orders that it could not cope with and that the amnesty would generate a substantial amount of badly needed funds.

In principle everybody is against amnesties, as these sound like a reward – sometimes expensive – for the wrongdoers.

All the NGOs, admirable for their public spirit, spoke out against it. The anti-everything, ‘I’m all right Jack’ sort of thing.

Former minister Michael Falzon, in a balanced contribution entitled ‘Begging for Mepa’s pardon’, makes a distinction between capital and venial infringements, illegalities and irregularities.

Perhaps it may be useful to refer back to the evolution of our planning system. In the beginning of the last century, no planning permit as we know it today was required. The owner merely gave notice to the Superintendent (later Director) of Public Works, informing him of ‘his intention to reconstruct the front wall of his property’, usually receiving his assent by return of post.

The less we utilise our built-up areas,the more we will encroach on our open space, on our vanishing natural environment

He would also notify the superintendent of police of the projection of any balconies, which would be limited to two feet and six inches. Supply and demand ruled the roost.

When I returned to the Public Works Department after a post-grad in planning in London in 1953, any site fronting on an existing street, administratively limited to 12 canes in depth, or situated within a radius of two miles of Kingsgate – not necessarily fronting on any street – was deemed to be a building site.

The board in charge of issuing the new building permits was called the BCB (Building Costs Board) and was more concerned with the availability of building materials, even directly selling wooden joists and wooden shutters from demolition works.

I, naturally, started agitating for reforms.

Our sanitary regulations, imported from the United Kingdom, were based on the reaction to the back-to-back houses of the industrial revolution and imposed 10-foot backyards as against our traditional central courtyard houses. Overnight, our traditional houses became technically insanitary.

A major problem with architects was coping with the anterooms required for all bathrooms and WCs as well as the verandahs. En-suite bathrooms were not allowed and at one time only one bathroom in a house was allowed for fear of subdivision!

With the introduction of lifts in the post-war period, the dimensions of shafts and backyards became a major problem for additional building heights.

It is no secret that a lot of approximation exists in this area and it would be realistic to acknowledge the status quo.

Here we lost the opportunity to save a lot on building costs and building intrusion by reducing our floor-to-ceiling heights as we were advised to do by the UK Housing advisers.

They advised us that with the wider use of artificial heating and ventilation, the convection currents would be at their best at head level and there would be considerable energy savings in buildings if the clear heights were reduced to about eight feet.

Another problem area is the designation of ‘detached’ and ‘semi-detached’, another importation from the United Kingdom.

These range from 25 per cent and 33 per cent to 50 per cent and change from time to time, sometimes disappearing altogether!

How does one treat these sites? Victims or villains? I think that we should view them in the wider context of our limited size.

We cannot afford waste. The less we utilise our built-up areas, the more we will encroach on our open space, on our vanishing natural environment.

Get people back to our urban cores, even if we have to pack tighter. That will also reduce travel and travelling time.

André Zammit was a lecturer on planning at the University of Malta and has chaired various planning boards.

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