Watch: Is Malta Ugly? New Planning Minister Says ‘It Depends’ And Pledges Focus On Aesthetics
Is Malta ugly?
According to new Planning Minister Clint Camilleri, it all depends on your point of view and the buildings you are casting your eye at.
“I think some parts of Malta could have been developed much better than they were and I think that some parts were developed well,” Camilleri told Lovin Malta.
He pointed at particular buildings in village cores that were constructed out of the Maltese tal-franka limestone and built through proper stonemasonry as examples of the latter.
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“Ultimately buildings must be pleasing to the eye and I think that is the target,” Camilleri said.
The minister, who is also the minister of Gozo, referred to the recent launch of a strategy for Gozo that pledges policies to retain its charm as an “island of villages”.
“I believe several measures can be introduced and if you look at the Gozo strategy, you can get a bit of an idea. I believe Gozo can be used as a pilot project in this regard. I believe there is a way development can be sustainable, and that development is pleasing to the eye and doesn’t bother you when you walk past it.”
The particular strategy pledges to prioritise the preservation of Gozo’s village heritage, which it noted makes the island stand out from Malta as a tourism and investment destination.
“Gozo needs to apply specific policies that don’t necessarily replicate what is already being implemented on the main island. Being different is a source of added value,” the strategy reads.
Specific policies include more “context-derived” planning policies, more walkable family parks, a feasibility study on the concept of underground waste collection units, the pedestrianisation of certain streets, the regeneration of Gozitan village squares as cultural spaces, and a re-examination of the government’s longstanding promise to build a tunnel to Malta.
Has Malta become uglier in recent years?
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