A year ago, the “one small woman” from Sliema galvanised civil society to take to the streets in defence of the environment in 2006, was unknown to the public.

What finally spurred Astrid Vella to action was the demolition of Sliema’s oldest house, in High Street, waging a relentless campaign against its pulling down. “If MEPA had not issued that permit, I think this civil society movement would not have started. This case was indicative: when developers have enough leverage, things are done their way,” Vella says. The uproar against MEPA’s decision to allow the demolition, in breach of ten MEPA regulations and two laws, helped to spur the new movement Flimkien ghall-Ambjent Ahjar, into action.

Until then, many were still afraid of involving themselves in civil action. “Unfortunately many people hold back because they are apprehensive of reprisal or ridicule. Fear of reprisal is an overused hangover of Mintoffian days we still cling to. I think this government does not indulge in such reprisal against its critics, but it does indulge in ridiculing them, a very effective tool used to silence critics.”
One of the media spins levelled against Astrid Vella was that she is involved in property development. “The authorities claimed that I am a property developer because when I was four years old my mother’s aunt’s husband demolished the house in which my family lives. This only goes to show the lengths to which the authorities are ready to go to in trying to silence civil society.”
Another criticism levelled at the new movement is that it rides on the crest of the Nimby (Not In my Back Yard) syndrome. “That is another media spin used by the government in order to discredit local communities. We feel that no one knows better about the needs of their community than its residents and in fact we are presently forming area sub-committees. In other European countries, local communities are encouraged and even subsidised by the central government. We organised the protest that way intentionally to shift the focus from partisan politics and to address the concerns of local communities.”
But during the first FAA public gathering in May there were even people protesting against the Sant Antnin plant alongside people protesting on other local issues. Isn’t the Sant Antnin plant beneficial to the environment?
“There is no doubt the Sant Antnin project is necessary for waste management but it is a question of location. What has emerged is that the siting of the project was manipulated.”
Astrid Vella insists that different regions in Malta face different problems. “It is necessary to go local as each area in Malta has its specific problems and you can’t treat every area in the same way.” She describes the south of Malta as an environmental black spot going all the way from the St Luke’s incinerator down to the Marsa power station, the industrial estates, the sewage treatment plant, the Delimara power station, the Freeport and the Sant Antnin Plant. “While the location of some of these is unavoidably dictated by the geography of the harbours, other issues like air pollution should have been addressed years ago. These people are not getting any environmental justice... how much more can they take?”
Astrid Vella explains the problems facing the other two hotspots in Malta – namely the North Harbour area threatened by the development of apartments, and Gozo and Mellieha threatened by unsustainable tourism development. “In the north harbour area from Sliema to Madliena, the level of redevelopment has reached unbearable proportions.”
The Building Industry Consultative Council’s State of the Construction Industry Report points to the growing trend in favour of the replacement of big old houses with smaller and higher units. While in 2001 only 645 new units were developed through conversion, in 2005, 4,577 new units were converted or redeveloped. Does this trend not alleviate pressures on the countryside?
Vella disputes the official view that contractors are moving to the urban core because of government discouragement of development outside development zones. She contends that a lot of the development that is now taking place in village cores is the result of the planning changes of 2003 and 2005 which allowed higher floors in urban conservation areas (UCAs). “Houses which were previously not commercially viable are being snapped up as goldmines once one can build up to four and six floors. In the past few months, applications have been submitted for 70 new apartments in Sir Arturo Mercieca street in Sliema which presently contains only 80 houses. In Sliema and St Julians, UCA buildings can go up to six floors, unthinkable for a village core.”
Astrid Vella refers to the intolerable living conditions of people residing in once-tranquil residential areas which have been turned into construction sites. “Old people don’t dare leave their homes, while residents have to put up with unbearable noise levels from 6am to 7pm, 7 days a week, plus dust and ill-health.”
She also cites a report prepared by leading medical consultants showing that Malta has the highest rate of childhood asthma in the Mediterranean, stating clearly that the amount of stone dust in the air clearly contributes to this. “Why was nothing done about it? What’s more, tall buildings lining narrow streets trap cancer-causing toxic fumes, and a report we are looking into indicates higher-than-average rates of cancer in certain UCA areas.”
According to Vella, aggressive demolition techniques, unsuited to old buildings, have caused deaths from collapsing buildings and untold damage to neighbouring houses. “In spite of the fact that our law states that the Minister can issue regulations on safety matters, victims are told they can only go to court, with its high costs and long delays. What justice is this?”
She also contends that most of the building development taking place in village cores is unnecessary. “The ex-Nationalist Minister, Michael Falzon, recently calculated that we need about 800 new dwellings annually but in 2005 MEPA approved permits for 9,500. So people have died and we are undermining our health just for speculation and to provide those with undeclared money with an investment outlet before the introduction of the Euro.”
Vella also criticises MEPA for not surveying some of the social and safety impacts of higher buildings. “We are promoting the building of blocks taller than 15 floors while our fire engines barely go up to half that. Some of the lifts being installed are too narrow for wheelchairs. One finds stairways in flats where you cannot even carry down a coffin – the dead have to be dressed in public in the communal stairwell.”
Astrid Vella welcomes Minister George Pullicino’s announcement that the government intends introducing new regulations to regulate construction sites. “Obviously there is always the question of enforcement. We hope that with the presence of green wardens at building sites, these conditions will be respected.”
The North of Malta and Gozo are the other environmental hot spots singled out by Astrid Vella. “As for Mellieha and Gozo, they are being raped. The big property developers are all eyeing Gozo as the next place which can be successfully exploited.”
She is very sceptical on the sustainability of more hotels in Gozo. “Hotels are closing down and their average occupancy rate of 35 per cent drops to 10 per cent in the lean months. In view of this, how can Giovanna Debono justify her statement that a new hotel and 200 villas in Hondoq ir-Rummien is the best thing that could happen to Gozo?” She contends that what Gozo needs is to protect its character, which attracts tourists, and not drive them away with more buildings.
FAA has been a vociferous critic of MEPA but Astrid Vella is a firm believer that the planning authority is a vital institution. “The creation of the Planning Authority by Minister Michael Falzon was a very courageous step forward. Had the PA remained true to its mission, we would have had an excellent body to protect the environment.”
Although many of its regulations are very sound on paper, according to the FAA spokesperson, MEPA applies them inconsistently. She also highlights MEPA’s many ethical grey areas like the conflict of interest arising from having several practising architects on the Development Control Commission Boards. Vella contends that DCC board members who decide on permits should never be practicing architects presenting their cases before the same boards. She also maintains that this is a clear case of conflict of interest that could lead to the influencing of verdicts on applications. “It is unthinkable for magistrates to take on cases as lawyers in Court, so why is it acceptable in an adjudicating board like MEPA? Especially now that there are enough retired architects or qualified personnel to fill the DCC boards.”
Vella was shocked when she read that an ODZ application by Charles Polidano was submitted by architect Catherine Galea, MEPA’s deputy chairman. “This is obscene! The deputy chairman is effectively on the payroll of Malta’s biggest developer who has a track record of 82 environmental infringements. This is outrageous.”
According to Vella the lax attitude taken by Maltese authorities to official abuse is light years away from what happens in the EU. “Abroad ministers resign simply for speeding up a legal work permit. Here we have ministries like the one for Resources and Infrastructure which conduct works without a permit as they did in Mixtla ta’ Bormla, and Wied Babu. We have the Chief Executive Transport Authority which applies for road permits on a weekly basis – claiming that he did not know that he had to apply to extend a road to his ODZ farmhouse. We have a member of the judiciary whose building violations are finally blessed by MEPA. Instead of a culture of resignations we are fostering a culture of abuse – how can we expect Joe Citizen to observe regulations when those who should lead by example get away with it?”
Vella also calls for greater transparency in MEPA. She claims that MEPA is in gross violation of the Aarhus Convention on access to information – which she considers crucial to environmental justice. She also claims that public consultation carried out on the rationalisation of boundaries and the local plans was not satisfactory. “The plans that were legally ratified differed considerably from what was originally proposed to the public in the public consultations.”
At an EU conference in Bergamo, Astrid Vella raised this issue with the chairman of the legal committee that drew up the Aarhus Convention. “He confirmed that the process of public consultation is supposed to continue until every major issue is addressed. This did not take place in the rationalisation process nor the local plans. Furthermore he confirmed that citizens have a right to view all the files connected to development applications. Even Case Officer reports which are available against payment on the MEPA website, are often withheld at MEPA’s desk, let alone other reports. MEPA’s website is a major offender with all its missing and misplaced information – like the Zebbug application page where out of 50 applications, a full 23 are for Birzebbugia, Ghaxaq, St Julians, and Ghasri, applications which are well hidden from potential objectors.”
Another MEPA shortcoming is that it does not represent the interests of civil society, a situation that would improve if civil society representatives were appointed to every MEPA board including the DCC boards. But she does not see any role for political appointees. “It is very convenient for the government to say that it is not taking decisions as happened in the bad old days of Lorry Sant. But effectively the high representation of political appointees within MEPA structures ensures that the official line is adhered to on key issues.”
Before FAA was launched, Malta already had a number of environmental NGOs like Din l-Art Helwa, Nature Trust and Friends of the Earth, so why create yet another group? “FAA does not intend to duplicate the work of other NGOs. Although interested in the conservation of the country’s heritage FAA does not seek to emulate Din l-Art Helwa in restoring monuments.”
FAA has found a niche for itself – that of defending common mortals’ right to a healthy environment. “Our starting point was the preservation of village cores. In the process we discovered that the quality of life of the people living in village cores is at stake. We concentrate on the people’s needs.”
Now FAA is mainly focused on what Astrid Vella refers to as the ‘fundamental issue of environmental justice’. “Environmental justice is everyone’s right to a good and healthy environment. In the Western world most governments are saying that social and economic development march hand in hand with environmental justice.”
But when justifying the rationalisation of boundaries, the government contended that the environment had to be sacrificed to the economy and social justice. “That was their battlecry when they proposed the extension of building boundaries. The building of the countryside by commercial developers was touted as social justice.”
She also points to the gap between Malta and the EU when it comes to forward-looking environmental planning. “Nominally Malta is a member of the European Union. It was this government that took the courageous step of taking this country into the EU. But in certain matters we are still light years away from the EU. While the EU is planning for 2050, in Malta the track record of both parties is that many policies are dictated by votes and we rarely plan past the next elections.”
George Pullicino had attributed a political agenda to environmental NGOs like the FAA. “Unlike George Pullicino I don’t indulge in mudslinging. This government has produced good results in many areas like social policy and we have given Dolores Christina a lot of backing on rent reform, which should have been implemented years ago. We have also praised certain environmental initiatives. We have made it very clear that our only agenda is the environment.”
Strangely she fails to mention that there is no time-table for rent reform and that the government was responding to calls by Alternattiva to reform the rent laws.
Despite the confrontation between the government and environmental NGOs following the decision to extend the development zones, FAA still has some contact with government circles. “We know for a fact that many top people within government privately view our crusade favourably. However, our straitjacket political structures make it impossible for them to stray from the official party line.”
Astrid Vella faces the New Year with confidence. She has also seen a slight improvement in the attitude of the authorities especially in the introduction of building site regulations and MEPA’s refusal to allow the demolition of a block of old houses in Sliema. “The pendulum is definitely swinging with more people coming on board.”
Whether the pendulum will continue to shift in favour of civil society in a year of electioneering will be the movement’s next challenge.

James Debono
24th December 2006 - The Malta Today