Mangion Mangion & Partners, Malta Architects, Civil Engineers and Planning Consultants

What are Planning Agreements?

Planning Agreements are reached between the planning authority, which in our case is the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA), and the proposers of major impact developments as part of the process of granting planning permission. Planning Agreements have a long history, especially in the UK, and are usually viewed as a form of taxation by developers but seen as a social gain by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

In theory, the concept is based on the fact that whereas ownership rights belong to the individual, development rights do not. They belong to the State, hence the need, among others, for an institution such as the MEPA. In issuing development permission, the authorities are giving "their permission" to the individual or company submitting such proposals. The concept then extends to the philosophy that since the action of the authority, on behalf of the community, results in a benefit to the individual, then, through that permission, the individual needs to give something back to the community. The concept is also referred to as Planning Gain, and should it not take place, it can be argued that the community is undergoing a Planning Loss.

Throughout the years, an essential part of the Planning Agreement has always been that such Gain needs to have a Public Purpose. It can hence result in the developer agreeing to carry out certain works in the locality, improve roads, upgrade heritage buildings, or even financially support certain community projects.

Local legislation

In Malta, the Development Planning Act makes provision for such Gain. The MEPA has been very proactive in this respect. It has introduced schemes such as the CPPS (Commuted Parking Payment Scheme) and the UIF (Urban Improvement Fund) aimed at having finance collected from development permit applicants. The aim is to introduce or support schemes which result in improvements to the community in general. One has to say that these schemes have extended the concept in a direction which really makes it look like an extra form of taxation. Abroad, one important aspect of the concept, albeit sometimes debated, is that the actual localities that are being affected by the development will directly benefit from the funds. In Malta, the MEPA is acting as a middle man, administrating the funds as it deems fit and giving the scheme a "national" context rather than a local one.

Sustainability as a Public Purpose

At this stage, one might question what sustainability has to do with all this. In this day and age, it can be argued that environmental considerations relating to the carbon footprint of the proposed development is not solely related to the individual project. They also affect the community in general. Any developer, especially for major projects, has the option of either going for an increased capital outlay with lower maintenance costs when choosing environment friendly technologies or else going for a lower capital outlay with higher maintenance costs when choosing the older technologies. This all depends on the project, but many times, developers would choose the second option. This is simply because it does away with the externalities of the costs related to a high carbon footprint. It also leaves more finance available to the developer in the shorter term.

Hence, this is where we can combine Planning Gain with Sustainability. Since the market for alternative technologies is not yet fully developed, and given the ongoing research and the high costs of the products, would an agreement between the authority and the developer to choose the new alternative technologies qualify as a public purpose and hence a Planning Gain?

The MEPA Reform

Given the pending MEPA reform, this is an occasion to introduce such a system into the local legislation. It obviously needs to be studied by Planning experts, economists, sociologists and environmentalists. It should be an addition to the provisions of the current legislation, and the direct result would be that it can be used as a tool to promote the use of sustainable technologies at the local level. The present system whereby a developer either pays a certain amount or else the permit is refused is seen to be too authoritarian by the development lobby, especially when developers in general have doubts about the proper administration of such funds. We must return back to the concept whereby funds from a development need to be used at the local level. This will be a very visible showcase of the benefits of Planning to the Local Community.



Perit Vincent Magri is specialized in Land Use Planning, having graduated from the University of Malta and the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He has worked in Planning since 1988, both as part of the Planning Directorate in the early days of Planning in Malta and in the Private sector. He currently forms part of the team at Mangion, Mangion and Partners (Architects, Civil Engineers and Planning Consultants) - and can be contacted on vmagri@mmp.com.mt or 21336704