Our country’s unprecedented economic success has been sustained, but the rise in demand has undoubtedly led to a drop in the supply of affordable housing.
Rent levels and sales prices have risen, and this government is determined to do what needs to be done through targeted initiatives that will help both the rent and sale markets to function well.
The increase in market rents has left families who live in rented apartments unable to keep up with rising costs. Since this legislature started, I have already met families who cannot find any affordable accommodation suitable for their needs and, in some cases, people who became homeless and are living without a shelter over their head.
Over the past two weeks, I visited two sites earmarked for two affordable housing projects, one in Cospicua and the other in Siġġiewi.
It was my pleasure to visit the Hanover area and St Mark Street, the same surroundings where former prime minister Dom Mintoff was born and raised in his very own Bormla. But this area has been left in an abandoned state in recent years, attracting drug abusers, among others.
The Cospicua housing project intends to regenerate the place and transform this slum area from a series of derelict buildings to a holistic complex that gives something back to the community. Indeed, apart from the 65 units and 115 parking spaces that will be provided, the project will also yield 850 square metres of open space, childcare facilities and a youth centre.
It’s part of our vision that it should not just be about rebuilding houses but also about rebuilding communities.
It’s no longer the time when the government simply builds a cluster of buildings and puts vulnerable people there
It’s no longer the time when the government simply builds a cluster of buildings and puts vulnerable people there. We have to include social, environmental and local requirements in the equation to ensure that such projects do not impact negatively on the local community.
We also need to ensure that such projects blend with the neighbourhood so that residents eligible for this affordable accommodation are not stigmatised with all the negative repercussions associated with it.
The Siġġiewi project – in Triq Dun Manwel Zammit – has been on the cards since 2006, never to materialise. Stakeholders have been consulted, and we took into consideration the concerns of neighbouring residents and the local council. I will not go into aspects that are simply a result of a Nimby (not in my backyard) approach. However, where valid points were raised, the authorities took action and made changes where possible.
For instance, we have decided against adding a further level, even though we could have easily applied to do so in line with existing legislation.
We have created more parking spaces than required by law and this in stark contrast with private developments in the same area that opted to pay a fine (under the urban improvement fund) instead.
We have also included a substation to better serve the local community, while incorporating childcare facilities and the project of sheltered housing for the elderly.
I represented the Labour Party on the Malta Environment and Planning Authority board for several years, yet I don’t remember a government that gave so much weight to the concerns raised and carried out intensive impact assessments in both planning and environmental terms.
This is truly a government that listens.
We will not stop here. Nor will we address the housing issue just by building more units.
My secretariat is currently working on various fronts, from restructuring how the Housing Authority works to the profiling of applicants according to priorities, and from the simplification of existing bur-eaucratic measures to the introduction of new schemes.
I’m sure that, with the political will expressed by our ambitious Prime Minister, we can deliver and address such an important issue for the affected citizens during this legislature.
Roderick Galdes is Parliamentary Secretary for Social Accommodation.