The government is looking into buying or renting private land to transform into open, public spaces, Project Green chief Steve Ellul said.

The initiative is part of the new agency’s seven-year plan to invest €700 million to create green urban spaces.

The project would see the government acquire privately owned land that is within the development zone but has not yet been developed, and open it up for the public.

In an interview with Times of Malta, the 37-year-old financial analyst and newly appointed CEO said the agency is in the stage of drafting clear guidelines for the new policy and is determined to see it through.

“It was part of the government’s electoral manifesto and we plan to deliver on that promise,” Ellul said.

“But I want to assure people that we will not spend, not even a single euro, on land speculation or on practices that pave the way for speculation.”

Ellul also revealed that within the next 12 months, the agency will complete the renovation and extension of several existing public spaces and gardens – namely San Klement park in Żabbar, one park in the heart of Birżebbuġa and another one in Bengħijsa, and a couple of others in Cottonera and Gudja.

Mosta’s Ġnien l-Għarusa tal-Mosta, situated next to the Mcast campus, will also get a 1,500-square metre extension as part of this initiative.

Ellul said these smaller projects are quick wins that can be achieved relatively quickly, because “people want open spaces now”.

“We want to deliver well and fast,” he said.

“And the new gardens will have much less concrete and many more trees, greenery and sustainable materials.”

Ellul said that most crucially, the spaces should be functional – meaning they need to be tailored to the needs of people who use them.

“In Mosta, for instance, the garden will be modified according to the needs of students who go there to study,” he said, adding that he is also committing to increase enforcement, install CCTV cameras and maintain the country’s gardens regularly.

“These projects, along with the bigger ones, will change the face of Malta, and within seven years, no matter where you live and where you are in this country, you will have a public open space within a maximum 10-minute walk.”

One thing I believe we need to work more on is a change in culture. I feel there is still some resistance from people who realised the projects will eat away parking spaces- Steve Ellul, Project Green CEO

Earlier this week, Ellul, together with Environment Minister Miriam Dalli and EU funds Parliamentary Secretary Chris Bonett also launched a scheme allocating €10 million for community greening projects by local councils, NGOs and individuals who propose the green regeneration of existing areas.

Appointed as CEO of the newly established Project Green agency earlier this month, Ellul is tasked with delivering one of the Labour Party’s most ambitious electoral promises.

Before the election a year ago, the party pledged to convert at least five large urban spaces into parks and gardens, in some cases redirecting traffic to underground tunnels and knocking down existing buildings to make space for green areas in the heart of some of the busiest towns.

It is a €700 million project part-financed by the EU and spanning over seven years.

Labour pledged that St Anne’s Street in Floriana  and central San Ġwann would be turned into a garden, with traffic rerouted underground.

The party had also promised that the Ħamrun milk factory in the Milend area would be transformed into a large garden, complete with underground parking, and the Santa Venera tunnels and Birkirkara aqueducts would be given a green roof.

Last week, Ellul announced the first rollout of the projects and indicated that San Ġwann’s main road and an area behind the American University of Malta in Cospicua were among the first priorities.

No timelines yet

But when he sat down with Times of Malta earlier this week, he still had no clear indication of when the projects could be completed.

Public consultation on the San Ġwann project will kick off within three weeks, he said, but it is still too early to predict when people will be able to set foot in them.

He said there are designs proposed for San Ġwann, for instance, but they are not finalised, until he discusses them with people in the locality.

“I don’t want to build gardens that people are not comfortable with. We must ensure everyone is happy with what we’re planning to do,” he said, adding that public feedback on the initiatives so far had been overwhelmingly positive.

“One thing I believe we need to work more on is a change in culture. I feel there is still some resistance from people who realised the projects will eat away parking spaces. If we want to see more open, public spaces, we must be ready to give up some of the importance we give to cars.”

Fancy a coffee?

Ellul also believes some of the larger gardens should have a cafeteria or an eatery, because it would attract more people to public gardens which are often not frequented enough. But he shot down the suggestion that this would pave the way for the commercialisation of public spaces.

“In some large parks, a cafeteria is a necessity, but that doesn’t mean we’re commercialising the garden. I can assure you, there will be no project that eventually paves the way for some supermarket, for example,” he said.

“Other gardens will not even have that cafeteria, because they’re better left raw, untouched, to allow people to have picnics, for instance.”

The construction issue

Asked about unbridled construction, Ellul acknowledged that people are also furious about the deeper problem that is causing natural environmental destruction but said it does not fall within the remit of Project Green.

“I can never accept developments that go beyond Planning Authority policies, be it Comino or Żonqor, or anywhere else,” he said.

“We’re in a situation where we’re doing very good work in giving people new and open spaces, only to hear about decisions on questionable developments happening someplace else.

“It used to hurt me as a citizen and now it hurts me even more, because there is a lot of good that is being tainted by the news of these decisions.”

Election candidate?

Asked repeatedly to confirm or deny rumours that he intends to contest the MEP election or the general election, Ellul dodged the question every time, but at one point said he “cannot exclude what might happen in the future”.

“What is important right now is that we deliver good results for the people. That is what I’m focusing on,” he said.