Pjani Lokali tal-lastku

Meta l-Pjani Lokali kienu approvati, kien l-ewwel darba li f’Malta sar attentat biex ikun regolat l-iżvilupp fuq livell lokali bis-serjetà. Il-ħtieġa kienet ilha tinħass is-snin. L-ippjanar għall-użu tal-art b’mod professjonali, f’Malta, beda fl-1989 bil-proċess iwassal għall-ħolqien tal-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar.

Għall-bidu, kif jispjega b’mod ċar fil-pjan ta’ struttura, kien ippjanat li jkun hemm 24 pjan lokali għall-Malta u Għawdex, imma imbagħad spiċċajna b’sebgħa. Ħames Pjani Lokali kienu approvati fl-2006, bit-tnejn l-oħra jkunu approvati iktar kmieni: dak dwar il-Bajja ta’ Marsaxlokk fl-1995 u dak dwar il-Port il-Kbir fl-2002.

Meta l-pjani lokali kienu mfassla, oriġinalment għall-konsultazzjoni pubblika, kienu meqjusa bħala restrittivi għax ftit kienu jħallu lok għal diskrezzjoni. Sa dakinnhar ħadd ma kien għadu fassal il-politika dwar l-użu tal-art b’mod hekk ċar, b’mod li jnaqqas il-lok għall-abbuż kif ukoll il-poter assolut vestit f’persuna waħda:il-politku. Dakinnhar kien hemm resistenza konsiderevoli li l-affarijiet isiru b’dan il-mod. Dan jispjega għaliex dawn il-pjani lokali damu ħafna ma saru. Hija ukoll ir-raġuni li wasslet għal dak li nirreferu għalih bħala l-eżerċizzju ta’ razzjonalizzazzjoni li bħala riżultat tiegħu meded kbar ta’ art, madwar żewġ miljun metru kwadru, fil-parti l-kbira art agrikola, fl-2006, kienu ddikjarati mill-Parlament bħala li tajbin għall-iżvilupp.

Il-pjani lokali huma essenzjalment dokumenti miktuba li fihom hemm spjegata l-politika lokali dwar l-użu tal-art flimkien ma mapep li jillustraw din il-politika. Tul is-snin dawn il-pjani lokali ġew ikkumplimentati b’dokumenti oħra dwar materji speċifiċi. Kważi kollha b’ċertu ammont ta’ kontroversja marbuta magħhom. Dwar dawn ktibt diversi drabi f’dawn il-paġni.

F’Jannar 2013, wara perjodu ta’ konsultazzjoni kif trid il-liġi, l-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar kellha f’idejha dokument ieħor li kien approvat: nirreferu għalih bħala l-politka tal-flessibilità. Huwa intitolat : Partial Review of Subsidiary Plans: General Policy relating to Regeneration/Consolidation initiatives. L-iżviluppaturi (u l-periti tagħhom) flimkien mal-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar jinterpretaw dan id-dokument bħala li jagħtihom mano libera biex jiddeċiedu dwar liema huma dawk il-partijiet tal-Pjani Lokali li għandhom jinjoraw.
Sfortunatament uffiċjali tal-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar, spiss wisq, jaġixxu qieshom għandhom xi dritt divin li jiddeċiedu dwar liema huma dawk ir-regoli tal-ippjanar li għandhom japplikaw u liema huma dawk li għandhom jinjoraw.

Kaz speċifiku qam quddiem il-Bord tal-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar iktar kmieni din il-ġimgħa dwar żvilupp propost fuq biċċa art kbira fil-Mellieħa. Il-Pjan Lokali tal-Majjistral jipprovdi li ma jistgħux jinbnew lukandi fiż-żona residenzjali fejn hemm din l-art. Imma l-uffiċjali tad-Direttorat tal-Ippjanar, friski daqs ħassa, jirreferu għall-politika dwar il-flessibilità bl-addoċċ u jirrakkomandaw li l-lukanda proposta hi aċċettabbli. .

L-applikazzjoni tal-politika dwar il-flessibilità fl-ippjanar hi limitata mill-kundizzjonijiet fid-dokument imsemmi iktar il-fuq. Il-limitazzjoni prinċipali hi li l-flessibilità ma tistax tmur kontra l-linja ġenerali stabilita fil-Pjani Lokali. Għax il-politika dwar l-ippjanar għandha tkun flessibli imma mhux tkun tal-lastku!

Numru ta’ deċiżjonijiet li ħadet l-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar ibbażati fuq din l-interpretazzjoni skorretta tal-politika tal-flessibilità kienu kkontestati fit-Tribunal ta’ Reviżjoni għall-Ambjent u l-Ippjanar u fil-Qrati u kienu mħassra. Fid-dawl ta’ dawn id-deċiżjonijiet, jiena ma nistax nifhem kif l-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar ma tikkoreġix il-posizzjoni tagħha.

Inizzjalment l-applikazzjoni inkorretta tal-politika tal-flessibilità fl-ippjanar tal-użu tal-art setgħet titqies bħala żball. Imma meta dan l-iżball jibqa’ jkun repetut ma jibqax żball iżda jsir abbuż ta’ poter li għandu jkun indirizzat immedjatament.

Ippubblikat fuq Illum : il-Ħadd 3 ta’ Marzu 2019

The elasticity of the Local Plans

The Local Plans currently in force, when they were approved, were a first serious attempt in these islands to regulate development at a local level. The need had been felt for far too long. Professional land use planning in Malta started in earnest in 1989 with the process leading to the setting up of the Planning Authority.

Originally, as clearly explained in the Structure Plan, it was planned to have 24 local plans for the Maltese Islands, but we ended up with just seven. Five local plans were approved in 2006, with the other two having been approved earlier: the Marsaxlokk Bay Local Plan in 1995 and the Grand Harbour Local Plan in 2002.

When the local plans were originally drafted for public consultation they were considered as highly restrictive. It was then unheard of to clearly define policy, reducing loopholes and absolute power vested in one person, the politician. There was then considerable resistance to such a course of action. This is the major reason for the long gestation period of these plans. It is also the reason which led to what is known as the rationalisation exercise as a result of which large stretches of land, around two million square metres, mostly agricultural land, was in 2006 declared by Parliament as suitable for development.

Local plans are essentially written statements containing local land use policies and policy maps illustrating the said policies. Over the years the local plans have been buttressed by supplementary guidance with specific policy documents containing a varying degree of controversy, about which I have written extensively in these columns over the years.

In January 2013, after the statutory consultation period, planning policy acquired an additional document, commonly referred to as the flexibility policy. It is entitled: Partial Review of Subsidiary Plans: General Policy relating to Regeneration/Consolidation initiatives. Developers (and their architects) as well as the Planning Authority tend to interpret this policy document as giving them a free hand in determining the extent to which they may depart from provisions of the Local Plans.

Unfortunately, Planning Authority officials tend to assume too often that they have some God-given right to decide which planning policies to apply and which to ignore.

A specific case came before the Planning Authority Board earlier this week relative to a large site in Mellieħa. The North West Local Plan provides that no new hotels can be developed in the residential area of which this site forms part. Yet, invoking the above-quoted flexibility policy officials at the Planning Directorate did not bat an eyelid and recommended that the proposed hotel was acceptable development.

Application of the planning flexibility policy is limited by the conditions set out in the policy, primarily that the general thrust or direction given by specific policies in the Local Plan is not to be superseded. Planning policy may be flexible but it should certainly not be elastic!

A number of decisions taken by the Planning Authority based on such an incorrect interpretation of the flexibility policy have been contested in the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal as well as in Court and were reversed. Faced with such decisions I fail to understand why the Planning Authority does not correct its ways.

Initially the incorrect application of the planning flexibility policy could have been considered as a case of wrongful interpretation of policy. Repetition can only be construed as an abuse of authority and should be dealt with accordingly.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday – 3 March 2019

Bejn il-Berġa ta’ Kastilja u l-Berġa tal-Baviera

Il-liġi tal-esproprijazzjoni tagħti l-poter lill-Gvern biex fejn ikun hemm interess pubbliku jieħu art jew propjetà u jagħti kumpens għalihom.

L-Awditur Ġenerali fir-rapport tiegħu dwar il-binja f’36 Triq iz-Zekka l-Qadima l-Belt Valletta jenfasizza li ma kien hemm l-ebda interess pubbliku fil-kaz. Allura l-Gvern ma kellu l-ebda awtorità li jixtri ż-żewġ ishma li xtara.

Il-fatt li xtara meta ma kellu l-ebda awtorità jfisser li abbuża mill-poter li tagħtih il-liġi. Għalhekk il-proċess kollu, mill-bidu sal-aħħar, li permezz tiegħu il-Gvern xtara total ta’ nofs il-binja 36 fi Triq iz-Zekka l-Qadima hu abbuż ta’ poter.

Min gawda minn dan l-abbuż?

Kien ikun għaldaqstant ferm iktar korrett kieku Joseph Muscat il-membru parlamentari ħarrek lil Joseph Muscat il-Ministru responsabbli mill-artijiet u jakkużah li l-Gvern tiegħu wettaq abbuż ta’ poter. Abbuż ta’ poter li seħħ bejn il-Berġa ta’ Kastilja, l-uffiċċju tal-Prim Ministru u l-Berġa tal-Baviera fejn hi amministrata l-propjetà tal-Gvern.

Min ser jiddefendina mill-Pulizija li jabbuża?

DARIO FO

 

Qiegħed naqra u nisma’ dwar id-deċiżjoni tal-Information and Data Protection Commissioner dwar kif informazzjoni kunfidenzjali mill-files tal-Pulizija spiċċat f’idejn il-gazzetti.  Dario Fo kien ikollu xalata b’din l-informazzjoni, dwar kif il-Pulizija titfa’ l-ġebla u taħbi idha.

Għax l-iktar punt interessanti li qed joħroġ, għalija, hu: kif il-protezzjoni tas-sorsi jispiċċa protezzjoni tal-abbuż tal-poter.

L-istorja dwar il-pubblikazzjoni tar-records kunfidenzjali tal-Pulizja dwar l-Ispettur Elton Taliana hi tat-tkexkix.

L-Independent illum tgħidilna li kien il-Kummissarju tal-Pulizija (Peter Paul Zammit) innifsu li għadda l-informazzjoni lill-Malta Today. It-Times min-naħa l-oħra hi iktar kawta u tgħidilna li meta ħarġet l-informazzjoni l-file in kwistjoni kien fl-uffiċċju tal-Kummissarju Peter Paul Zammit.

Il-gazzetti huma protetti milli jikxfu s-sors tal-informazzjoni li jirċievu. Dan hu tajjeb għax hu neċessarju li l-ġurnaliżmu serju u investigattiv ikun protett.

Dak li jippubblikaw il-gazzetti jirrifletti l-valuri li jħaddnu dawk li jmexxuhom. F’dan il-każ il-Malta Today iktar tat piz lill-aħbar dwar x’għamel jew m’għamilx l-Ispettur Elton Talana mill-aħbar ikbar li xi ħadd imlaħħaq fil-Korp tal-Pulizija bla skrupli ta’ xejn dehrlu li kellu jikxef informazzjoni kunfidenzjali li l-Korp kellu f’idejh.

Jekk anke l-Pulizija huma fl-ixkora, min ser jiddefendi liċ-ċittadin mill-abbuż meta l-gazzetta, biex tipproteġi s-sors tal-informazzjoni  tagħha tostor lil min jabbuża?