Since the 1960s, substantial parts of Malta have been besieged by an unyielding desire to demolish, construct and build. Fifty years of concretification and rampant development have changed our islands’ landscape once and for all. What remains of the Maltese countryside is continously beleaguered by all sorts of wily stratagems in an effort to gain access to ‘cheap’ land.
Successive governments from both sides of the House have bowed unflinchingly in front of proposals for development, many a time in the name of progress, investment and jobs. Entire coastlines have been irremediably transformed into soulless shorelines dotted by even more faceless structures.
Clearly it would be stupid to state that all development is destructive and unnecessary. No country can stand still without the necessary changes and expansions required. The perennial problem is finding a benign and salutary balance between the appetites of the economy and a modicum of decorum that safegaurds our open spaces and countryside.
With the roll out of SPED and the disintegration of Mepa, a new pattern is quickly emerging and this is called high-rise. The area around St George’s Bay and up to Paceville is set to witness an unprecedented level of development in the coming years. Developers have also long ago locked their sights on Sliema. Areas like Mrieħel, Pembroke, St Julian’s and Xemxija are also pencilled as potential sites of gigantic developments.
One ‘project’ seems even more audacious than the previous one. A rough estimate of the dwellings proposed tops 15,000 units and counting
Two of these sites were last week given the green light to the abject consternation of leading NGOs and commiserating residents. The government, through its board members, steamrolled the concerns, glossing over the anger expressed by all and sundry.
Clearly Imrieħel and Sliema are only the first to suffer the consequences of a contrived division of the planning and environment arms of the authority. These decisions will only serve as a precedent to further gorging and planning mayhem. Truly the environment has been relegated to second division.
This sudden urge to go skyward seems to be the latest trend gripping the developers’ imagination. It seems that with each passing day, one developer/real estate investor stakes a claim on some development or other.
Not to be outdone, one ‘project’ seems even more audacious than the previous one. A rough estimate of the dwellings proposed tops 15,000 units and counting. Someone also observed that the retail space proposed will equal the existing retail space we actually already have in Valletta and Sliema!
All this will leave an indelible mark on Malta’s environment and a toll on our quality of life.
A number of clear and present dangers are evident. In the short-term there is the question of interminable years of ongoing construction. This is followed by an increased concentration of traffic hot spots and immeasurable strain on the islands’ infrastructure be it roads, drainage and other vital services.
Long-term, the costs are probably incalculable at this stage beyond the obvious. Massive structures that have to be sold, maintained and the effects of entire neighbourhoods are unpredictable and uncertain. So far, financing and risk are also issues apparently undisturbed.
As if all this is not enough, the onslaught on outside development zones continues unabated. As a PN local councillor in Santa Lucija I am witnessing close to home the approaching onslaught on virgin land such as that proposed in Wied Garnaw, a valley that separates the villages of Santa Lucija, Gudja and to some extent Luqa.
A four-storey home for the elderly is being proposed on 4,472 square metres of ODZ land along Luqa Road. While the site in question is near the Santa Luċija boundary, it falls within the Luqa boundary.
The Luqa council some months ago issued a statement saying it opposed such development on this ODZ site. Strangely enough a few weeks ago at a local council meeting of my locality, all PL councillors voted in favour of this development in the face of a divided community that by and large rejects such a development. It was only PN councillors that voted against, but were clearly outvoted.
So far the site was designated as an area of agricultural importance, a valley protection zone, a strategic open gap, and an aquifer protection zone in the South Malta Local Plan. We shall have to wait and see how things pan out but things seem to be moving in the developer’s direction so far.
Construction remains a political hot potato and this administration seems hell bent on furthering unbridled development. Maybe, in a cynical way, Labour in government have come to understand the backlash the previous administration suffered when some form of logical control on development was employed between 2008-2013.
Although late in the day, I appeal to government to slow down with its rash decisions in this regard and plan not for the short but long term future of our country.
info@carolinegalea.com
Caroline Galea is a Nationalist Party candidate on the sixth district.