The common good is not receiving the priority it deserves when it comes to high-rise buildings, the Church Environment Commission said today.
In a statement, it noted the eagerness with which a sector of the Maltese society was currently promoting a new trend of building high-rise buildings, as well as the complaints and reactions put forward by a considerable number of Maltese residents following permits given for skyscrapers in Mrieħel and Sliema.
The commission said it felt there was still a number of questions to be answered and doubts to be cleared about these projects as well as their impact on the people's quality of life.
It referred to proposals it had presented last December and said it felt that the criticism posed by whoever took the proponents of these two projects to task was justified. Before a final decision was taken on any project, especially when dealing with mega projects, one should meticulously consider the impact on the environs.
“In this case one has to consider the consequences on an area much larger than the surrounding streets, indeed reaching far beyond the locality of the building itself, possibly involving other adjoining localities, with adverse effects on traffic being felt as far as kilometres away.”
It noted that the argument that building upwards was the only alternative in place if building outwards was not an option would only hold water if all existing buildings were being effectively utilised, no building activity was being carried out beyond development zones, and if high-rise buildings would definitely improve the standard of living.
“Are these buildings really needed? If so, do we really need to go so high? Have we forgotten the high number of vacant dwellings in our islands? Moreover one has to be very cautious when drawing comparisons with other countries or even cities. Through experience we all know that everything comes at a price! Given the diversity of communities in different countries on the anthropological, geographical and other levels, it would be absurd to believe that a success story abroad will work equally well in the context of our islands,” it said.
The commission said it felt that the Environment and Resources Authority "led itself to be taken in" by the developers’ confidence game. It was quoted saying that it would not be appealing the decision of approval of the projects, since measures had been taken to mitigate the negative impact of the development.
It was also said that since it did not did not bring forward any objections at the preliminary stage, it would not be objecting later. Notwithstanding all this,the project went beyond reasonable limits, the Church commission said.
“The KA consequently feels that the ERA should appeal against the decision of the Planning Authority to safeguard the quality of life of all.”
Moreover, high-rise building did not only concern the environment but might also compromise the fiscal policy of the country.
It noted the statement by the Sliema parish priests about the issue.
“Such an initiative will hopefully be an inspiration to other groups/parishes who have at heart the good of their communities. May they never refrain from speaking out in the name of those whose voice is seldom heard in quarters where decisions related to their quality of life are often taken,” it said.