Twelve localities are to benefit from more than €1.5 million through the planning authority’s Urban Improvement Fund, which is financing 19 projects aimed at improving quality of life.
The fund, launched in 2006, has so far invested €7 million, generated from payments developers are obliged to make, in over 180 projects.
This meant developers were giving something back to the localities affected by development, Environment Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco said at the signing of the contracts between the councils and the authority for the approved urban projects yesterday.
They include the embellishment of public gardens and landscaping works in Birkirkara, Naxxar and Mellieħa; the development of a recreational park in Żurrieq; a solar panel grid system in Qala; the upgrading of the Qui-Si-Sana promenade; paving works in streets and squares in Qormi, Għarb, Msida, Rabat, Mosta and Żurrieq; and the upgrading of a football ground in Birżebbuġa.
Dr de Marco appealed for a “quality leap” in terms of the type of applications submitted, encouraging projects that would bring about the regeneration of village cores and not just the resurfacing of roads.
“This is not the right priority if it is done at the expense of letting our heritage deteriorate,” he said. “Why are Baroque buildings and church façades abandoned and applications submitted to embellish a centre strip, or to surface a road?”
He said it was necessary for localities to identify the main sources of abandon and pollution. If it was traffic, then certain zones should be pedestrianised, he said, asking how many localities had taken the bold step of changing their squares from car parks into recreational areas for families.
Historical zones in towns and villages had “amazing potential” not just for tourism to spread into their hearts, but also for the residents, he insisted, adding that the fund offered opportunities for localities to invest in a more sustainable environment and improve quality of life.
Between 2009 and 2011, councils would have received approximately €100 million through their annual financial allocation and 23 special financial schemes, sponsored by the secretariat.
These funds were being used to implement 550 projects in various localities, said Local Government Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said.
“At the start of 2010, it was envisaged that during the course of the year, local councils would manage to tap €6 million in EU funds; in reality, they have managed to tap €14 million,” he said of their other source of income.
The fund uses a vetting system to assess submitted projects, which must include a certified estimate of costs, stating how much funding is expected. If the allocation for that particular locality is not enough to cover the total cost of the proposed project, it must demonstrate how the rest is to be financed.