The Labour Party this morning called for a national policy on high rise building development.

Roderick Galdes, the party spokesman on MEPA, said the country had, for years, been basing its decisions on temporary policies, such as the floor area ratio policy.

This policy, however, was having an impact on the characteristics of various urban areas.

“High rise building could have its advantages, but unless it is properly planned according to the country’s needs, it could have a major impact on our traditional villages,” Mr Galdes said.

“While there could be grounds to consider raising building heights in some localities, this should be done within a holistic and well thought out plan that would cause the least environmental impact on the localities involved,” Mr Galdes said.

He asked why the Prime Minister and his predecessor as minister responsible for MEPA, had not adopted a policy drafted by the Authority some years ago. Such a failure meant that there was uncertainty in this area of building development.