At a press conference attended by Sliema Local Councillors, members of FAA and residents, Astrid Vella of FAA said that the case of the permit issued this week to demolish six fine Sliema townhouses is outrageous in several aspects. Yesterday Lija Council members were complaining of the fact that an area of heritage value was not included in the Local Plan. How much worse is it when an area originally included in the Urban Conservation Area (UCA), is subsequently pulled out of the UCA with no consultation with either residents or Local Council, and this coinciding with an application for a major project on that site?

The application was first submitted in February 2006, by May 2006 the MEPA Directorate in charge of Urban Conservation issues had already recommended refusal which was confirmed by the DCC C (Urban Conservation Area Committee) on July 17th 2006.

This process coincided with the finalisation of the Local Plans, which were ratified around the 6th of August 2006. At this point the border of the Sliema Urban Conservation Area was shifted to exactly skirt the outline of this site. No consultation with the Sliema residents or Local Council was made on areas which were left out of the Sliema Urban Conservation in the 2006 update.

This meant that when the application was re-submitted in October 9th 2006, it was processed under regulations which ignore urban core values. Significantly, the DCC A Chairman initially agreed with our submissions that the Heritage Act applies to these buildings, irrespective of area:

Grade 2: Buildings of some architectural or historical interest or which contribute to the visual image of an Urban Conservation Area. Permission to demolish such buildings will not normally be given. Alterations to the interior will be allowed if proposed to be carried out sensitively and causing the least detriment to the character and architectural homogeneity of the building. However, in a strange volte-face, the Chairman of DCC A who had initially agreed that a heritage building need not be in the UCA to be protected, subsequently overlooked this fact in permitting their demolition.

The shift out of the UCA is being challenged not only by FAA and Sliema Council, but also by MEPA's own Heritage Advisory Committee: PA6269/06 - CHAC mtg 319 bid-data 5/05/08 Il-kumitat qed jikkonferma il-minuta precedenti fil-PA1218/06 Black 11, u il-kumitat jaraha haga stramba li z-zona fejn hemm dan il-bini tnehhiet mil-UCA. And yet, in spite of our calls to start reviewing specific areas of the Local Plans, where lack of public consultation has yielded very anomalous results, we are being ignored by the Authority although the Local Plan revision can start as of August 2008.

As a result of this move, the project was adjudicated by the MEPA Major Projects Unit, which is known for pushing through even irregular and unacceptable applications which violate MEPA regulations such as this. In fact it immediately recommended approval of the permit, irrespective of non-conformity to EU Minimum Energy Efficiency Regulations which especially apply to Major Projects. The Minimum Energy Efficiency Regulations (MEER) came into force in January 2007 and are supposed to be applied to every new permit being issued by MEPA and even more so to major projects. Although this week it was widely announced that the second phase of the MEER came into force, MEPA is steadfastly refusing to impose the first parameters, and in fact when we brought this up with the DCC A Chairman, she replied "We shall assess the building once it's constructed". Since these measures include façade design, thickness of wall, size of windows, central heating and cooling and wells in relation to the size of the block, such an answer makes a mockery of the whole process.

We therefore ask:

- Why is MEPA breaking not only its own policies but even Malta's Code of Laws on this and similar projects?

- With the rate of damaging projects that are still being passed, what will be left to save by the time MEPA is reformed?

- Why is there a total refusal on the part of the Authorities to consider a limited review of the Local Plans, which is due to open in August 2008, especially in cases where the Local Plan changes are highly irregular and tailored to accommodate specific development projects, as confirmed not only by several Local Councils but even by MEPA's Heritage Advisory Committee.

- How can Government authorities make such a fuss of Malta's Climate Change initiatives in foreign fora, and then flatly refuse to implement the Climate Change provisions in Malta, exposing the Maltese taxpayer to massive EU Infringement fines?

- How can MEPA claim to uphold transparency if it keeps on operating with people on its Boards who are involved in court cases regarding planning irregularities, as well as clear cases of potential conflict of interest as in the case of a DCC Chairman who is not only a practicing architect, but also the wife of another practicing architect and daughter of a prominent developer?

FAA concluded by stating that it is not against all development, but against the breaking of MEPA regulations for certain parties. Insisting that regulations are fully upheld in certain even minor cases, and then grossly violated in others is resulting in the ruination of our towns and villages and the undermining of residents' quality of life.

Sliema Councilors then continued to say that Sliema Local Council is not against development in Sliema, but was against the those that were unsustainable as this one patently is.

Mike Briguglio, AD, stated that Sliema was becoming unlivable for residents, with developers constantly infringing residents' rights and affecting whole communities. Mr. Briguglio added that the Council was in favour of appealing MEPA's decision.

Martin Debono, MLP, deplored the lack of climate change assessments and mentioned the traffic issue, stating that with the thousands of extra cars that new developments were bringing into Sliema each year, MEPA was choking Sliema's roads and undermining the health of its residents, which was confirmed by Margaret Azzopardi who commented on the deteriorating quality of Sliema's air.

Marina Arrigo, Sliema Mayor, was abroad at the time of the Press Conference but sent a message to say that the Council had been unanimous in its decision to oppose this application and maintained its stand against any development that violates MEPA policies.

In a separate statement, Alternattiva Demokratika has expressed its support to Sliema Local Council, NGO Flimkien ghall-Ambjent Ahjar and Sliema residents in their objection against the demolition of six houses in Milner and Howard Street. Pointing out that MEPA's DCC board did not take up the the advice of MEPA's own Heritage Advisory Committee against the proposed demolition.

AD's Sliema Local Councillor Michael Briguglio, who originally proposed that Sliema Local Council objects against the proposed development and who was supported by all councillors, has formally asked Sliema Local Council to appeal against MEPA's decision.