Religious buildings singled out for policy revision

The public was invited to send its submissions on the policy revision over the past weeks.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority wants to change a planning policy approved in 2013 which allows it to deviate from local plan plans when assessing permits related to places dedicated for “public worship”.

The public was invited to send its submissions on the policy revision over the past weeks.

But the present policy does not directly refer to places of public worship, but to  “social and community facilities for the locality”.

Other instances where flexibility is encouraged with regards to issues like zoning concerns cases involving the rehabilitation of old buildings, properties with a façade on main squares, and properties with a legitimate operating license aiming for expansion.

The policy does not allow MEPA to deviate from height limitations established in local plans.

Religious buildings are only mentioned as an example of community facilities alongside “local clubs and post offices”.

But the objective of the policy revision is restricted to the exclusion of places in connection with public worship from the list of instances in the 2013 ‘General Policy relating to Regeneration/Consolidation Initiatives’, when MEPA may consider departures from local plan policies. 

A MEPA spkesperson failed to answer MaltaToday’s questions on what prompted this policy revision and whether other facilities apart from places of public worship – such as local clubs – will be affected by the revision.

The present policy is intended to give MEPA a degree of flexibility in identified situations where a justified departure may be deemed sensible or desirable from a planning point of view.  But the policy does not allow any departure from height limitations established in the local plan and was mostly aimed at encouraging the rehabilitation of old buildiings and the opening of offices in towns and villages.

In all cases where MEPA resorts to this policy it is obliged to indicate in writing the planning grounds upon which the specific departures from policies are based upon.