The Church's Environment Commission has called on the government to address the uglification of Malta and publish the revised planning policy that allowed the sprouting of villas and swimming pools in the countryside.
In a document published on the church website, the Interdiocesan Environment Commission (KA) urged soul-searching on whether "our actions or lack of them" are contributing to safeguarding the natural and urban environment of the Maltese islands.
It said it hoped the revised Rural Policy and Design Guidance 2014 would protect the Maltese countryside and genuine farming needs.
The commission urged the government to protect farmers’ livelihoods and encourage young people to become farming entrepreneurs by granting Maltese agricultural land a special protection status as a strategic resource.
It shared the concerns of farmers being evicted from the land that they have tilled for generations.
It said the budget must “ensure that the country benefits from rigorous, unequivocal, loop-hole free development plans, planning and environment policies and their enforcement” as it called for a review of all local plans.
Meanwhile, the Development Notification Order (DNO) is a legislative instrument that has become “an abusive vehicle” through which government entities avoid going through a full development process, it added.
The commission also called for the protection of Gozo’s ridges through the review of the policy which is allowing the disfiguration of ridges.
It said the Planning Authority should be given back the core function of planning, and urged a national study on the demand and supply of property.
The KA said concessions for tourism purposes should stop as it was enabling the sale of property for residential purposes.
“Concessions of public land that were originally granted for tourism projects especially in scenic and protected areas cannot have their uses changed to residential ones, such as those at Ħal Ferħ and Comino.
"Such land had originally been sacrificed to sustain a thriving tourism industry. So its use should be safeguarded for such a purpose,” it said.
On the Malta to Gozo tunnel, the KA said other options should be considered before more decisions are taken on the tunnel.
“As the Marsascala marina project has shown, politicians cannot promise everything to everybody even though this is the standard practice when general elections are approaching.
"We will reach a stage where we will have to accept that the country just cannot afford to provide more berthing areas for boats. Dismissing and playing down public outcry over projects by government officials is a symptom of arrogance and disrespect for the common good of the public that such officials had sworn to serve."
It said that even though the Rabat-Marsalforn road in Gozo was in urgent need of upgrading, traffic data from the peak period of Santa Marija in August could not be used to justify “a so-called upgrading” that takes up ODZ land unnecessarily.
The commission said the budget should provide incentives for the retrofitting of buildings and sensitive redevelopment of existing buildings as well as incentivise teleworking which provides a healthy work-life balance and result in the reduction of demand for office space.
The full document can be read here.