I have never met Simon Bailey, but he’s a modern-day hero for me. Here’s why. This time last year while most of us were enjoying the bright lights and Christmas festivities, Bailey was at his keyboard. He wasn’t sweating the small stuff and whining online about first world problems such as the late delivery of a takeaway meal. No. He was banging out detailed and well-thought-out submissions about the Paceville Masterplan.

The first draft of the now-discarded plan was uploaded for public consultation on December 18, 2015 up to January 8, 2017. It’s not really the best of times to be cross-referencing planning policies and wading through plans while drafting submissions which may probably be dismissed by the authorities. However, Bailey – a Paceville resident – did just that. Eschewing the mince pies (or maybe not) he drew up a well-explained 1,840-word study of the proposals from the only view that had been completely ignored till then – that of residents.

We know how that panned out. Over the year other residents, NGOs, activists, AD, several local councillors and other stakeholders were alerted to the far-reaching repercussions of the plan as initially drafted. They attended marathon meetings, tried to whip up wider awareness about the wrongness of the approach, the environmental madness of silting up our bays and further intensification of our coastline.

They also had to put up with the defeatist attitude of others who concluded that Paceville was a lost cause – a giant pissoir studded with lap-dancing clubs – upon which any sort of development would be an improvement. And of course, the inevitable pontificating about how the plan was necessary for the economy (as if the present over-heated economy on steroids is going to be much news when we’re all stuck in some massive traffic jam in our canyon-like streets).

Eventually it seems good sense prevailed. Both Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech and Parliamentary Secretary for Planning Deborah Schembri said that the plan should go back to the drawing board – and that’s where it currently is (hopefully not be resurrected in a more grotesque and intensive form).

At this point it looks as if we have dodged a bullet – albeit temporarily. The voices condemning the initial projections are in an overwhelming majority. But it’s good to remember that it wasn’t always like that. Back in December when Bailey was drafting his submissions, it seemed very much like a done deal. But, still he wrote them. Still, residents and activists organised meetings. Still, architects and experts offered their services and supported the objectors. Still, members of environmental organisations and volunteers gave up many unpaid man hours in their endeveaours. They did this even though at times, the prospects of any breakthrough seemed minimal.

Here’s wishing a happy and serene year ahead to all the real rebels out there. Keep on rebelling

Nowadays, it has become the thing to claim to be anti-establishment. Practically everybody is spouting off about how anti-establishment they are as if they’re some local version of James Dean with bigger balls. I can’t help but laugh. The real rebels, the ones who are trying to make a difference are people like those mentioned above, the ones chipping away at the coal face of reality in a decent, low-key, understated manner – without the reward of huge consultancy fees and well-paid government positions. To the real rebels – Respect. To the wannabes – relegation to the Ridiculous League.

■ There’s a photograph of a building going up in Birkirkara which is doing the rounds. It shows the ever-familiar extra storey/s going up and overshadowing the neighbour’s solar panels. I’m guessing that there aren’t going to be many sun-powered hot showers any more.

The photograph encapsulates the national dilemma which we’ve been grappling with unsuccessfully for the last three decades or so – are there any limits to private property rights? If everybody has a right to maximise the economic value of his property, does it mean that there should be no regard as to the decrease in value, amenity or comfort of the property of others? If the latter is the approach which the authorities are adopting (as is evidently the case) then it’s just going to be a mad scramble for resources. With regulation and enforcement totally watered down, it’s going to be a free-for-all out there.

This non-interventionist approach is being billed as the “pro-business, unbureacratic” approach. I hate to burst anyone’s bubble but complete deregulation, the likes of which we’re seeing today in the local scenario, has always and inevitably led to disaster and suffering in other countries. The deregulation of the energy sector in the US led to the blow-up that was Enron and financial deregulation and “light touch” bank control in Britain led to banking crises. Environmental deregulation will inexorably lead to a more polluted, resource-depleted Malta.

That may make me sound totally conservative/old-fashioned/non-cutting-edge with the government gurus who think they’ve discovered deregulation as a solution, but we’ll reap the dire results eventually and prove we have learnt nothing from the experiences of other countries.

■ Here’s wishing a happy and serene year ahead to all the real rebels out there. Keep on rebelling. As my favourite columnist ever – the late Molly Ivins – once said: “What you need is sustained outrage... there’s far too much unthinking respect given to authority.”

drcbonello@gmail.com

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