Sliema is yet again experiencing an uncontrolled surge in new building development. The local council’s resources are stretched to the limit and it is becoming obvious that we have lost control of the situation.
Local wardens have now been centralised and the police have extremely limited human resources. They cannot even cope with petty crimes, let alone chase contractors who keep breaking the law.To make matters worse, the planning authority’s enforcement officers are not easily accessible, or rather, they are on permanent hibernation.
With the upcoming Kappara Junction project, the situation in Sliema and surrounding localities can only get worse. The local council’s office staff are spending endless hours dishing out road closure permits against a fee, instead of servicing the needs of residents.
There has been an increase in the number of road closure permits issued by the council and in the number of roads being closed on a daily and weekly basis in Sliema. In the first quarter of 2016, 470 permits were handed out for road closures, compared to 340 in 2015 and 285 in 2014.
In the first quarter of 2016, 470 permits were handed out for road closures, compared to 340 in 2015 and 285 in 2014. The closed roads mean people seem to spend more time than ever trying to get in and out of Sliema
Also in the first quarter, 22 roads were closed every week, an average of 4.8 closed roads per day, in comparison with 14.6 closed roads per week in 2015 and 12 in 2014. The closed roads mean people seem to spend more time than ever trying to get in and out of Sliema; not to mention the problems caused by roads that are closed or blocked illegally, with no valid council permit.
To add insult to injury, we have to endure the constant ‘bullying’ of contractors and workers who ‘reserve’ parking bays as they please, using all types of props, from wooden pallets to concrete blocks.
With two proposed high-rise buildings in Tigné which, according to rough estimates, will require about 35 heavy vehicles to enter and exit Sliema every day during the excavation period, one can only imagine the traffic nightmares that will be created around the already chaotic Tigné and Qui-Si-Sana seafront.
There is also the looming threat of having to endure endless dust choking up the air for at least 12 to 18 months, to say nothing of the shadow that will be cast over the Għar id-Dud and Qui-Si-Sana promenade and playing field for most of the day once the buildings have gone up.
The summer months are just round the corner and although the planning and tourism authorities ban building development during August, this measure is certainly not enough to alleviate the frustration of Sliema’s residents and visitors alike. There needs to be synergy and constant communication between all the authorities involved in order to start trying to solve this problem.
A traffic management strategy must be put in place, and most importantly, should be communicated to all involved by Transport Malta.
I believe that as a councillor, my foremost duty is to protect the rights of those residents who voted me into office to represent them. Therefore, it should be our obligation, as an elected council, to seriously begin looking into the possibility of having a building moratorium or implementing a by-law that would protect our residents from the constant traffic chaos and threats of increased air and noise pollution.
It is high time that the government halts its bid to strip local councils of that little bit of autonomy they still have left with regard to decisions involving building permits. The government must halt the process of centralisation and should embark on discussions with all the stakeholders involved.
But this is not going to happen, is it? Especially with the non-existent Minister for the Environment and most members of the government’s Cabinet bowing their heads before the dictates of the Prime Minister.
Time and time again, residents of Sliema have been taken for a ride by the current administration, whether this concerns the implementation of the residential timed parking scheme or the eternal building site that Sliema has become.
It seems that respect and discipline have been deliberately swept under the carpet, to be replaced by a nonchalant attitude towards anything that affects the everyday lives of residents.
Pierre Portelli is a Sliema local councillor.