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

The proposed reform of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority is not the first, nor should it be the last. It will however leave its mark on this country for the next few years. Perit Vincent Magri gives a practical approach on how to extend the period between such reforms.

People that care about Planning are all hyped up about what is happening at the moment. Rightly so, since MEPA is one of the top organizations in Malta, and it affects the daily lives of every one of us.

Proposing a reform to the Planning System is a huge task. Whatever will be proposed will surely have its positive and negative sides. However, at this stage, we should not be focusing on the detail, but on the strategic issues related to Planning. Let's be clear about this - today, MEPA equals Planning. But this should not be the case. Planning should go beyond MEPA, and should have a focused Act solely dedicated to it which addresses the functioning of the system as a whole, including the role of Government, the regulatory bodies involved and the diffusion of the Planning culture among the different policy making organizations. Most importantly, it should promote and regulate a new Planning Profession and as transparent, fair and counter checked decision making and taking process as is humanly possible.

The second issue is the amalgamation of the Environment with Planning. These two sectors are both extremely important. We must realize, however, that they are different sectors. Whereas it is very obvious that Planning decisions directly affect the Environment, it is many times forgotten that Environmental considerations directly affect Planning decisions. And since we all know that Planning decisions should be taken after proper analysis of Environmental, Social and Economic considerations, then, a direct fusion between Planning and Environment is bound to reduce the importance of the other two aspects in Planning decisions.

Once we can focus on Planning, it is then an exercise in seeing the relationships between the stakeholders and devising ways of interactions between them. The following is a possible way how the system can function.

There are four main actors/functions -

• National Government
• Technical Planning Decision Making Function
• Technical Planning Decision Taking Function
• Clients

National Government can have the role of integrating National policy and its formulation. This should include all the sectors, such as Housing, Transport, Tourism etc. In terms of Planning, this is equivalent to the Strategic Planning function currently handled by MEPA. Proper Planning necessitates that this covers all the sectors, for which integrated strategic planning should take place and carried out using established planning techniques. Government's role would be to give strategic direction through such strategic plans, which would then be translated into land use documents equivalent to the Structure Plan for the Maltese Islands. No precise land specification should be included at this level.

Then there is the Technical Planning Decision Making Function. This would be carried out by the equivalent of today's MEPA Planning Directorate. They should be the ones that go into the detailed planning policy in line with the strategic direction given by National Government. At this level, Planning professionals would have the job of giving flesh to the strategic policies formulated at National Government level. This does not only mean policy writing for forward planning, but should also cover the other aspect of development control.

Thirdly, a Technical Planning Decision Taking Function. It is important that this is a separate entity, as one cannot have the equivalent of the Attorney General also being the Judge. At the moment, MEPA does it all. It formulates policy (albeit with the Minister's approval), assesses applications, and decides on them too. Decision taking should be separated from the decision making function as otherwise there will be bias in decision taking. A feedback loop needs however to be established. Again, at this stage, experienced professional planners who have also been involved within the private sector are crucial.

Finally, but certainly not the least important of the actors are the Clients, who tend to be very much forgotten in reality. Any organization is there to serve its clients and give them the best service possible within its financial and human resource capability. In terms of the Planning system being advocated here, the three main subdivisions are the General Public, proposers of Major Impact Projects, and Local Councils/NGOs. There are obviously other client types which in one form or another can be classified with the above three. The needs of these three groups should be addressed specifically throughout the system, without giving any one of them any particular advantage but while fully addressing their own specific needs.

The proposed reform will need to address all these issues.

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.