Updated 12.30 pm with MDA statement
Planning Authority officials were perplexed to discover that one of the objections to a controversial planning policy appeared to have been sent in by the planning minister himself.
The objection, sent last June as part of a public consultation process on a policy about building heights, raised eyebrows, as it suggested that Minister Clint Camilleri had objected to the very policy that he, himself, issued for consultation.
Times of Malta saw the objection, which was among thousands of other objections from people who fear the policy as proposed by the Planning Ministry could allow developers to squeeze in more floors in their buildings.
The objection, signed by a “Clint Camilleri” with the minister’s government email address – clint.camilleri@gov.mt – says the objector opposes the proposed height amendments.
“I, the undersigned, do not agree with the proposed amendment of policy P35 of DC15. The revision of policy P35 will result in an increase in the number of floors from those stipulated and deemed permissible through the local plans,” it says, before it goes on to elaborate on how it would negatively impact the character of the Maltese and Gozitan streetscape.
It was Camilleri himself who issued the public consultation.
In a reply to questions, the Planning Ministry confirmed that neither the minister nor any government official filed the objection on his behalf.
“It would be surreal that the minister will be objecting to a policy update brought forward by the same ministry or authority he is responsible for,” a ministry spokesperson said.
“If such an objection was filed impersonating the minister or on his behalf, this was completely unauthorised.”
The objection was also tagged with the email address of conservation NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa, but it also said it did not file the objection on the minister’s behalf.
The NGO runs an online platform that allows people to insert their email address to object to planning policies and applications. The organisation suspects that since the minister’s email address is in the public domain, someone must have filed an objection with his address instead of their own.
The NGO’s president, architect Patrick Calleja, said this was a unique and isolated case.
“I can confirm that this is the only query we have ever received about the matter and is probably some kind of joke,” he said.
“However, it should also be noted that every representation would have been answered by the Planning Authority with an official acknowledgement to the email address that was indicated, in this case that of Minister Clint Camilleri. With that in mind, it is very strange that this query has only surfaced now.”
Times of Malta also asked the Planning Ministry whether Camilleri received the PA’s acknowledgement, but the question remained unanswered.
The controversial policy document
The PA was running the consultation process to amend a policy in Development Control Design Policy, Guidance and Standards, a controversial document commonly known as the DC15.
Height limitations for buildings were traditionally set by the number of floors that could be built in any given area, as set out by the local plans.
But an annexe included in DC15, Annexe 2, laid out a table in which the maximum allowable heights of buildings previously indicated as floors, had now been converted into metres.
The consultation process could lead to the formalisation of this interpretation of the guidelines and conservation groups are concerned about this.
They fear the policy could allow developers to squeeze in an extra floor into their developments, thus creating denser buildings that will increase crowding and further strain the public infrastructure that supports them.
The public consultation process has since closed but Times of Malta is informed the PA received thousands of objections during that period.
'False' objections tainting consultation - MDA
In reaction to this story, the Malta Developers Association said on Friday that false objections taint the public consultation process, by placing undue pressure on policymakers.
The MDA claimed that this is not the first time objections have been filed for a third party without their knowledge.
"This practice is unfortunately common when it comes to public consultations which relate to the issuance of planning permits as well as the coming into force of new laws or policies," the MDA said.
"Presently, no verification exercise is being conducted by any authority which verifies whether submissions such as these are being done truthfully or with the consent of the party being represented."
"This effectively means that the process is being tainted with a lack of transparency and inaccuracy since it gives rise to a number of false objections which cause undue pressure on the decision-makers," the continued.
The MDA urgent reform is needed to curb such "abuse".