Any media blurb documenting the execution of direct enforcement action by the Planning Authority (read the demolition of illegal development as opposed to the slapping of toothless enforcement notices) makes for uplifting news indeed. This is especially so in a culture where any form of enforcement is stigmatised.
The latest round of enforcement action embarked upon by the Compliance Unit of the Planning Authority entailed the demolition of a string of illegal developments in Dingli, Attard, Birżebbuġa, Żebbiegħ, Xewkija and Għasri as well as the nipping in the bud of agricultural room development in an area contiguous to the Mdina bastions.
This is obviously commendable work which deserves to be highlighted, especially since the PA is a national favourite punching bag.
I may sound cynical but such enforcement action needs to be taken consistently over the years rather than in fits and starts.
It needs to be substantiated at decision-making stage, whereby ODZ development and all forms of development with a considerable socio-economic impact should be frowned upon by the PA.
A number of high-profile enforcement cases involving whole residential properties embellished with all sorts of amenities (swimming pools, etc.) have been left on ice for decades while the sanctioning (a get-out-of-jail free card of sorts) reprieve provides a permissive loophole to those infringing the law, allowing them to pay their way out of illegality.
More significantly, the much-touted revision of the Rural Policy and Design Guidelines (the infamous 2014 permissive ODZ policies) needs to be finally ushered in, given that this overhaul was first announced just short of three years ago.
It is frankly counterproductive for the PA to address small-scale illegal development (a laudable step, nonetheless) when, in the same vein, its decision-making boards are constantly dishing out permits for all sorts of tenuous pretexts in ODZ areas.
And, judging by the number of permits granted for development of an agricultural nature, one may be forgiven for assuming that the number of local farmers was actually surging and that the agricultural sector was finally being given the clout and platform that it deserves.
Even the recent organisation of the Agrifair, conceived so as to promote local produce and yet another laudable initiative, cannot conceal the fact that agricultural land is constantly being pummelled by a diverse array of pressures.
Enforcement action needs to be taken consistently over the years rather than in fits and starts- Alan Deidun
These range from solar farm proposals (disguised as panel-holding greenhouses, as is the case at Żebbiegħ) to proposals for new quarries (as is the case along the cliffs at Bengħajsa) and for new flyovers (as is the case at Mrieħel).
But perhaps the most ludicrous hazard to agricultural land comes in the form of the model aircraft association facilities proposed for Wied Żnuber, limits of Ħal Far, which has yet to receive a formal thumbs-down from the authorities.
The Agrifair spirit should not be an ephemeral flash in the pan but should rather extend throughout the year.
World Ocean Day
Through the CORALLO project, financed within the ambit of the Interreg Italia-Malta 2014-2020 funding programme, the University of Malta, the ERA and Heritage Malta have launched an innovative competition for all five- to 16-year-old Heritage Malta passport holders, pursuant to celebrating the coastal and submerged assets of our Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
The project in question in fact aims to promulgate the responsible enjoyment of a number of Natura 2000 sites in Malta and Sicily.
Winning submissions to this competition will be toasted at a World Ocean Day commemorative event being held at the Malta National Aquarium on June 17 under the patronage of President George Vella.
Competition submissions can revolve around one of the following two Natura 2000 sites included in the CORALLO project: the one encompassing the Għar Lapsi-Mnajdra coastline (Wied Magħlaq) as well as the waters around Filfla (MT102 - Żona fl-inħawi ta’ Għar Lapsi u ta’ Filfla); and the one extending from St Julian’s (eastern coast of Malta) to northern Gozo (MT105 - Żona fil-baħar bejn il-ponta ta’ San Dimitri (Għawdex) u il-Qaliet).
Interested students can participate in any of three competition categories, involving the use of photography or videography or the formulation of artistic models and compositions (charts, models, collages, paintings, sculptures, etc.) composed of reused AND/OR recycled material.
All submissions can represent, display or show any of the following aspects: (i) human activities related to the responsible and sustainable enjoyment of these areas (like scuba diving, snorkelling, kayaking, paddling, small-scale fishing, coastal walks and hiking, stand-up paddling, coastal clean-ups, etc); (ii) geological features (arches, caves, cliffs, islets, etc.) and (iii) natural landscapes.
All submissions will be uploaded on the CORALLO project website (www.corallo-italiamalta.eu) from where they will be publicly disseminated.