Parliamentary secretary Chris Said yesterday announced his secretariat was granting €160,000 to seven local councils and one consortium of councils to make long-term holistic plans for their communities.

"We don't want mayors to wake up one morning and come up with a plan... ," Dr Said remarked, stressing that this money would go towards more "sustainable" plans for demographic, economic, social and environmental improvement.

Funds under the sustainable localities programme this year will go to Żejtun, Għajnsielem, Għarb, Kalkara, Kirkop, Mellieħa and Rabat, as well as a consortium made up of seven councils (Birkirkara, Sta Venera, Msida, Ta' Xbiex, Lija, Balzan and Iklin) in conjunction with St Teresa College, which has its schools in these localities.

These entities were chosen after 22 applications were submitted and the money will go towards preparing three-year plans most of which, until now, are sketchy.

Last year's beneficiaries of this fund were Dingli, Ħamrun and San Lawrenz. This year the scheme has been extended in view of the demand.

During the press conference, held at San Niklaw estates in Żejtun, there was very little in the way of explanation as to what would actually be done with the funds. It increasingly transpired that they would be going towards studies by "experts" and the consultation with the community itself.

Following the studies, the resulting plans will be spread over three years.

Kalkara mayor Michael Cohen, for example, said his council was exploring the idea of using the seaside village as a hub for ferries as an alternative mode of transport, as well as to revive the tradition of boating and boatmen Kalkara was known for. There are, however, no plans yet.

Another possible plan was outlined by Kirkop mayor Mario Salerno, who said that due to the changing demographics, a lot of children in the village of 2,500 residents had no one to take care of them at home after school, and the council was hoping it could do something to address this situation.

Meanwhile, Frank Fabri, head of St Teresa College, said the council-college consortium he was heading was intent on promoting a healthier lifestyle, especially in the light of worrying statistics on Malta's weight problems.

Mellieħa mayor Robert Cutajar said studies would be carried out to see how the locality could become better as a touristic area, bearing in mind the needs of a village whose population tripled during the summer.

A spokesman for the secretariat stressed this money would not go towards implementing the plans, and that possibly the money, spread over eight entities, would not even be enough to cover the cost of professional consultation and services required.