[ANALYSIS] DB’s high-rise on St George’s exposes sore point for Delia and Muscat

Adrian Delia and Joseph Muscat are not keen on taking a stance over the 38-storey tower set to dominate the St George’s Bay skyline: Muscat augured for a “compromise” on the project which involves land that was transferred by his government to the DB Group, while Delia says he’ll only support the project if it is in line with planning policies. But since their representatives on the PA board – MPs Clayton Bartolo (PL) and Marthese Portelli (PN) – will eventually have to vote on the project, both parties will have to choose which side to take.

The PN’s quandary

Delia has inherited a party which under Simon Busuttil was tilting towards environmental concerns. So, it’s no surprise that with a pro-development Muscat, Delia is expected by a segment of vocal PN activists to be critical of projects like the DB’s ‘City Centre’.

Both Busuttil and Karol Aquilina – perceived as internal critics of Delia – were present in a residents’ protest against the project. Yet even under Busuttil the party sent its own mixed messages.

The PN’s own environmental conversion was itself contradictory in view of the party’s past baggage which included a massive extension of building boundaries carried out in 2006. Busuttil himself experienced cold feet on the Sliema Townsquare project proposed by the Gasan family, although the Opposition’s representative on the PA board did finally vote against the project along with the PN-led Sliema council. And Busuttil’s firmer stance against the way the ITS land was
sold to DB only exposed the party to collateral damage after the developers themselves revealed that they were financing the Nationalist Party.

Muscat may also have underestimated opposition to mega-projects which impinge on people’s daily life in terms of traffic, infrastructure and visual impact

This proved to be one of the greatest pre-electoral blunders as the donation scandal ended up obscuring the land grab under Muscat’s government.

One can understand Delia’s caution on this matter. Delia said on TVM that every project should be determined on the basis of planning rules. “If a project falls within the rules then the answer is yes, if not, the answer is no,” he said when asked whether he was in favour of the City Centre project, giving the impression that this is simply another planning issue.

But in contrast, the PN’s own spokesperson for planning, Marthese Portelli, has called on the government to suspend the project pending an ongoing NAO investigation. Delia could well have replied to Reno Bugeja’s question on Dissett by saying the same thing. He did not.

Under its previous leader the PN had called on the Auditor General to investigate the land transfer. The least the PN can do now is to call on the PA not to decide on this issue before the NAO completes the report.

The pros of the ‘new way’

Delia may have chosen a way of staying out of the fray as Muscat effectively did before the 2013 general election when he rarely opposed pending planning applications, avoiding burning bridges with the business class. This left a leeway for the party’s representative on the PA board to vote against the project.

Indeed, when speaking in parliament Marthese Portelli has already hinted that the DB project was in breach of the Floor Area Ratio policy and of the local plan. She had previously voted against the Sliema Fortina development citing the fact that the project was not surrounded by four roads as required by the policy. This indicates that Portelli will be voting against the project.

But in this way the party leader does not need to position himself against major developers, while Portelli can still cite technical reasons to oppose the approval of individual projects. Delia has also avoided taking premature stands, considering that the Prime Minister hinted at a compromise which may see the development scaled down.

By taking a detached stance, Delia may also be mending bridges with business groups without supporting all their expectations. Hotelier Silvio Debono himself was close to previous PN administrations. Understandably, a government-in-waiting cannot be reduced to the status of an NGO objecting to any development: this could send the message that the party cannot be trusted with keeping with current rates of economic growth.

Delia’s Pandora’s box

By committing himself in favour of any development conforming to policy, Delia has still opened a Pandora’s box for his party. What if local plans are revised to change the designation of land for controversial projects like the proposed university campus at Zonqor point? What if the local plan for Paceville is changed to accommodate the DB project?

He has also put his party representative on the PA board in a quandary: how is Marthese Portelli to vote on projects according to policies which the party has opposed, like that facilitating the approval of ODZ petrol stations? Portelli’s predecessor on the PA board, Ryan Callus, had, in fact, justified his change of heart in favour of ODZ petrol station in Maghtab citing “existing planning policies”.   

The other major problem for Delia is that his silence may be seen as further evidence that he is as compromised with powerful lobbies as Muscat is. Polls show that over-development is one of the emerging concerns of the Maltese people. Along with concern on the increasing number of foreign workers, it is one of the few negatively perceived aspects of Muscat’s model of economic growth.

Naturally enough, local communities look for political leadership. Will he delegate this role to local councils and individual MPs and candidates in his own party?

Muscat’s grassroots problem

Muscat may also have underestimated opposition to mega-projects which impinge on people’s daily life in terms of traffic, infrastructure and visual impact.

Muscat’s second term in office has seen Labour-led councils becoming more assertive in taking a stance against development backed by the central government. Muscat already had to back off from a factory extension at Bulebel. The strong opposition to the project by the Labour-led Pembroke council must have weighed on Muscat’s attempt to skirt the issue.

Asked whether he agreed with the planned development, Muscat told MaltaToday that it was not a matter of being for or against it, but what was important was to ensure it was done in a sensible manner. Like Delia, he also has thrown the ball back to the PA.

Asked whether – considering that the government had an interest in the project, since it had already issued the land transfer contract for the area proposed for developed – a consideration of the impact on residents should have happened before the land was transferred, Muscat said that while the State agreed that a project should take place, the effect on residents would be something within the Planning Authority’s remit.

The other major problem for Delia is that his silence may be seen as further evidence that he is as compromised with powerful lobbies as Muscat is

Muscat may still have space for manoeuvre on this issue. His hint that a “good compromise” could be possible, has to be seen in view of previous compromises like the decision to scale down the development on ODZ land proposed at Zonqor Point. Muscat may well position himself as the monarch who intervenes on behalf of the people to persuade developers to scale down their plans.

Yet this time round it is difficult to envisage how a compromise can be struck at such an advanced point of the project. One major constraint is the presence of an underground cave whose preservation has conditioned the design of the project.

Scaling down the development could also impact the developers’ financial projections as they have paid out a €15 million premium on the land. It remains questionable whether the government could reduce any due payments on the land in return for a scale-down.

Ultimately what the DB saga shows is the importance of having representatives of government and the Opposition on the PA board: only in this way can they be accountable for their party’s position on important issues impacting on local communities. And that means neither Delia nor Muscat can skirt these issues indefinitely.