Any reform of the authority responsible for land use planning and development permitting should not pander to the self-serving interests of the various players in the sector, the Chamber of Architects said.

It said in a statement this should depend primarily on the accountability, professional conduct, competence, experience and qualification of the officials charged with these matters as well as on the overall intention of the legislator to truly achieve sustainable development through a holistic approach.

The chamber said it looked forward to the coming months which would reveal whether, in practice, the demerger of the authority would effectively result in a better quality of the planning process and, ultimately, an improved built environment.

It reiterated its availability to continue to discuss with the newly established Planning Authority, the Environment and Resources Authority and the legislator to ensure a smooth transition and an improved service.

It noted that a number of its recommendations over the past months were taken on board, in particular its advice that the building regulation function, which primarily concerned the regulation of the construction process and detailing of buildings, should not be merged with the planning function which primarily concerned issues of land use, building volume and public amenity.

It noted, however, that the Design Advisory Committee as contemplated in the Act would end up being yet another bureaucratic process, which had no real impact on the quality of the built environment.