STRUCTURE PLAN
FOR THE MALTESE ISLANDS
HOUSING TOPIC PAPER
Final Draft
February 2002
1
Contents
1
INTRODUCTION
10
1.1
1.2
1.3
Purpose of the Topic Paper
Context of the Study
Methodology
10
10
12
2
THE HOUSING SECTOR IN THE MALTESE ISLANDS
15
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
Historical Overview (1950-2000)
The Maltese Housing Context
Gozo
Principal issues in Malta’s housing sector
15
17
80
82
3
THE WIDER CONTEXT: INTERNATIONAL ISSUES AND SUSTAINABILITY83
3.1
3.2
International context
Sustainability in Land-Use Planning for Housing in Malta
83
89
4
QUANTITATIVE HOUSING REQUIREMENTS
96
4.1
4.2
Quantitative Housing Requirements
Housing Requirements and Supply in the Local Plan Areas
96
109
5
THE WAY FORWARD: A LAND-USE STRATEGY FOR HOUSING
118
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
Key Issues for the Review
Assessment of existing housing policy in the Structure Plan
Scenarios for the distribution of new housing
A land-use strategy for housing in Malta
Measures for Implementation
118
121
124
129
131
Maps
137
Appendices
139
Bibliography
189
2
List of Appendices
Appendix 1.1
Housing Policy in the Structure Plan
141
Appendix 1.2
Methodologies for Surveys, Databases and Studies
Appendix 1.3
Housing Indicators
Appendix 1.4
Members of the Housing Working Group
Appendix 1.5
Interviews and Meetings
Appendix 2.1
Historical Perspective on Housing Policy in Malta
159
Appendix 2.2
Changing Charactersistics of Settlements
163
Appendix 2.3
Residential Densities by Locality
Appendix 2.4
Social Housing Provision: the 1980s and 1990s
Appendix 3.1
Checklist for Assessing Sustainable Property Development
Appendix 4.1
Housing Requirements and Supply in the Structure Plan
Appendix 4.2
‘Slack’ and the ‘Q Factor’
Appendix 4.3
Methodologies used in Previous Structure Plan
143
151
155
157
173
175
179
181
185
187
3
List of Tables
Table 2.1
Population Projections
17
Table 2.2
Percentage Distribution of Population
18
Table 2.3
Population Changes by Local Plan Area
19
Table 2.4
Migratory Movements by Local Plan Area
20
Table 2.5
Household Projections by Local Plan Area
21
Table 2.6
Homeplaces and Workplaces
27
Table 2.7
Dwelling Stock by Type Of Residence
30
Table 2.8
Changes to Dwelling Stock by Local Plan Area
32
Table 2.9
Land Allocated for Development in the TPS
33
Table 2.10
Approved Dwellings and Increase In Dwelling Stock
34
Table 2.11
Dwelling Permissions by Type
35
Table 2.12
Residential Units Permitted Outside the Development Zone
36
Table 2.13
Dwelling Conversions by Type
37
Table 2.14
Residential Conversions by Planning Designations
38
Table 2.15
Residential Conversions by Local Plan Area
38
Table 2.16
Dwelling Units Gained through Redevelopment
39
Table 2.17
Residential Gains through Redevelopment, by Local Plan Area
39
Table 2.18
Permanently Vacant Homes by Type and Area
43
Table 2.19
All Vacant Dwellings by Type And State of Repair
43
Table 2.20
Vacant Dwellings by Type of Vacancy and State of Repair
44
Table 2.21
Home Owner Occupation in EU Member States and Malta
45
Table 2.22
Number Of Persons in Rental Accommodation
48
Table 2.23
Housing Authority Schemes
49
Table 2.24
Average Property Prices by Type of Residence
51
Table 2.25
Average Property Prices by Type of Residence
51
Table 2.26
Average Achieved Property Prices by Type of Residence
52
Table 2.27
Plot Price as Percentage of House Price
53
Table 2.28
Property Sales to Foreigners
53
Table 2.29
Maximum Loans Obtainable per Category of Borrowing Couple
56
Table 2.30
Housing Affordability
57
Table 2.31
Social Housing Beneficiaries
62
Table 2.32
Housing Authority Schemes
63
Table 2.33
Social Housing Waiting List
64
4
Table 2.34
Social Housing Applications
64
Table 2.35
Social Housing Applicants By Income Group
65
Table 2.36
Satisfaction With Dwellings
68
Table 2.37
Residential Densities Classified by Density Ranges
74
Table 2.38
The Density Of Character Areas
75
Table 3.1
Sustainability Issues for the Property Sector
93
Table 3.2
Sustainability Issues for the Maltese Housing Sector
93
Table 4.1
Second Homes: Low, Medium and High Scenarios
99
Table 4.2
Housing Requirements Calculation
100
Table 4.3
Land Supply in Temporary Provisions Schemes
102
Table 4.4
Capacity of the TPS : Low and High Scenarios
103
Table 4.5
Capacity of the TPS : Medium Scenarios
103
Table 4.6
Residential Capacity of Existing Urban Areas
104
Table 4.7
Dwelling Units Gained through Conversion
105
Table 4.8
Dwelling Units Gained through Redevelopment
106
Table 4.9
Windfall Gains Proposed in the North Harbours Local Plan
107
Table 4.10
Housing Supply Calculation
108
Table 4.11
Housing Supply Calculation
109
Table 4.12
Household Projections by Local Plan Area
110
Table 4.13
Distribution of Second Homes by Local Plan Area
110
Table 4.14
Distribution of ‘Scrap’ Dwellings by Local Plan Area
111
Table 4.15
Housing Requirements by Local Plan Area
111
Table 4.16
Undeveloped Land Area in The TPS by Local Plan Area
115
Table 4.17
Land Area For Development in the TPS by Type of Residence
113
Table 4.18
Residential Capacity of the TPS by Local Plan Area
113
Table 4.19
Capacity Of Existing Urban Areas by Local Plan Area
114
Table 4.20
Dwellings Gained through Conversions and Redevelopment
114
Table 4.21
Windfall Gains by Local Plan Area
115
Table 4.22
Local Plan Scheme Rationalisations
115
Table 4.23
Housing Development in the Countryside, by Local Plan Area
115
Table 4.24
Housing Gains outside the Development Zone
116
Table 4.25
Housing Provision by Local Plan Area
116
Table 4.26
Comparison of Housing Requirements and Supply
117
Table 5.1
Comparison of Housing Requirements and Supply
121
Table 5.2
Scenarios for Housing Development
126
5
Table 5.3:
Housing Provision – Scenario One
130
Table 5.4:
Housing Provision – Scenario Two
127
6
List of Charts
Chart 2.1
Reasons For Internal Migration
21
Chart 2.2
Household Sizes
22
Chart 2.3
Single Households By Local Plan Area
23
Chart 2.4
Changes To Age At First Marriage
23
Chart 2.5
Elderly Persons Living Alone
24
Chart 2.6
Population, Households, Dwellings and Settlement Area
25
Chart 2.7
Age Of Dwelling Stock
31
Chart 2.8
Dwelling Permissions Granted
33
Chart 2.9
Dwelling Permissions Granted by Planning Designation
35
Chart 2.10
Residential Gains through Redevelopment
40
Chart 2.11
Residential Vacancy Rates (Permanent and Temporary)
41
Chart 2.12
Permanently Vacant Dwellings by Local Plan Area
42
Chart 2.13
Vacant Homes By Local Plan Area and State of Repair
44
Chart 2.14
History of the Rental Sector
45
Chart 2.15
Percentage of Owner-Occupied Dwellings
46
Chart 2.16
Trends in Rental Values
47
Chart 2.17
Rental Values
47
Chart 2.18
Average Property Prices
50
Chart 2.19
Average Wages by Local Plan Area and Nationally
55
Chart 2.20
Trends in Average Loans Given for Housing Purposes
58
Chart 2.21
Total Value Of Loans For Housing Purposes
58
Chart 2.22
Social Housing Units Constructed
61
Chart 2.23
Social Housing Provision and Rent Subsidy
62
Chart 4.1
Second Homes, by Type and Geographical Distribution
98
7
List of Maps
Map 1
Local Plan Areas and Major Settlements
Map 2
Designated Areas
Map 3
1995 Dwelling Stock and Residential Vacancy
Map 4
Residential Permissions Granted 1994-2000
Map 5
Property Prices
Map 6
Urban Dwelling Density
8
9
1
Introduction
1.1
Purpose of the Topic Paper
1.1.1
The objective of the Housing Topic Paper is to assess Malta’s housing
requirements for the period from 2000 to 2020 in the context of the available
supply of housing and housing land in the Maltese Islands, and to suggest
key issues and strategic direction for the Review of the Structure Plan. The
Paper forms part of a series on a range of topics that have been compiled in
preparation for the Structure Plan Review.
1.1.2
It is the remit of the planning system to ensure wide access to quality housing
across the Islands. Housing is one of Malta’s most significant land uses, and
its social significance derives from the fact that decent housing is a basic
human need, while housing affects the quality of life of all the Maltese
population. Further, for many residents, their dwelling also provides financial
security. The approach taken in this Paper is to consider housing as
involving the characteristics of human settlements as places of residence, as
well as those of individual dwellings.
1.1.3
The Paper is divided into five chapters; this introductory chapter presents the
scope and context of the paper, and sets out the methodological approach.
The second chapter provides a detailed examination of the main
characteristics of the Maltese housing sector, concluding with a set of issues.
The third chapter situates this examination of Malta’s housing sector in an
international context, and explores the implications of the principle of
sustainable development for this sector. In the fourth chapter, a quantitative
assessment of housing requirements and supply is presented. The
concluding chapter draws together the principal findings of the paper in the
form of key issues, including housing land requirements, an assessment of
existing policy and strategic recommendations and scenarios for the Review.
The contact persons for this Paper are Marguerite Camilleri and Suzanne
Ellul, who may be reached on [email protected] and
[email protected].
1.2
Context of the Study
1.2.1
This section positions the Topic Paper in the context of the Structure Plan,
and provides a brief summary of existing land-use policy on housing.
10
The Structure Plan
1.2.2
The Structure Plan was adopted in 1992 to provide strategic guidance on
land use in the Maltese Islands. It contains 320 policies on settlements, the
built environment, housing, social and community facilities, commerce and
industry, agriculture, minerals, tourism and recreation, transport, urban and
rural conservation and public utilities. The Plan has three main goals, and the
first is to encourage the further social and economic development of the
Maltese Islands, ensuring that sufficient land and support infrastructure are
available to accommodate it. The second goal of the Structure Plan is to use
land and buildings efficiently; it calls for the channelling of urban development
into existing and planned development areas, particularly through
rehabilitation and upgrading of the existing fabric and infrastructure, thus
constraining further inroads into undeveloped land, and generally resulting in
development at higher densities than previously. The third goal of the Plan is
to radically improve all aspects of the environment.
Housing Planning Policy in the Structure Plan
1.2.3
While many of the Structure Plan policies relate indirectly to housing issues,
such as those that protect settlement quality and amenity (SET and BEN
policies) a set of ten policies relate directly to housing (HOU 1 to HOU 10),
and a list of these policies may be found in Appendix 1.1. These policies are
briefly reviewed below.
1.2.4
The Structure Plan proposes that 22,000 new households will be formed
during the period 1990 to 2010, and that 60,000 new dwelling units (including
units lost and not replaced, second homes and self-catering tourist
accommodation) will be required. The Plan further envisages that 50,000 of
the dwellings will be gained in the Temporary Provision Schemes, 8,000 in
existing urban areas, and 2,000 in Primary Development Areas, including
Pembroke.
1.2.5
The Housing policies in the Structure Plan fall under four principal themes:
the distribution and type of housing development; rental legislation; the
Pembroke primary development area; and, social housing. Structure Plan
policies HOU 1, HOU 2, HOU 3, HOU 4 and HOU 5 provide the strategic
context for the provision of housing in existing urban areas, Urban
Conservation Areas, the Temporary Provisions Schemes and the Primary
Development Area of Pembroke, in accordance with the first goal of the
Structure Plan, which is to encourage the social and economic development
of the Islands. The second goal of the Structure Plan, which is to use land and
buildings efficiently, is addressed in: HOU 1 on increasing the housing stock
through development and redevelopment in existing urban areas; HOU 2 on
re-use of vacant properties in UCAs; HOU 3, in which land banking is
discouraged in areas ripe for development; HOU 7, on the phased
establishment of an equitable rental market; HOU 8, on encouraging low-cost
dwellings that match household sizes, and HOU 10 on the sale or rent of
11
lower standard tourism accommodation for housing purposes. Finally, the
third goal of the Structure Plan, which encourages a radical upgrading of the
environment, is addressed in HOU 2 on environmental improvements in
UCAs. It is also taken up in HOU 3, on preparation of local plans for all builtup areas, which are to include quality standards for each local plan area.
1.2.6
The current Structure Plan envisages a new approach to social housing that
includes the progressive phasing out of new development, a liberalised
private rental market, provision of low cost housing by the private and
voluntary sector, and appropriate locations for any new build social housing
units.
1.3
Methodology
1.3.1
The methodological approach taken in this Topic Paper is based on an
extensive programme of data gathering and consultation. There are five
strands to this approach:
• Findings from the Demography Topic Paper;
• Planning Authority Databases, Surveys and Census 1995 Datasets;
• A modular approach to data gathering based on 80 housing indicators;
• Literature review and press monitoring;
• On-going consultation and contributions from within the Planning
Directorate, the Structure Plan Review Core Team, the Housing Working
Group, Planning Authority Board and key actors in the Housing Sector.
1.3.2
These five strands are examined in greater detail below.
Demographic forecasts
1.3.3
The Demography Topic Paper presents population and household
projections for the Maltese Islands for the period from 1995 to 2020. The
1995 Population and Housing Census is used as a basis for the projections,
which are devised using the cohort component method, a standard
methodology for projecting population changes. Regional population
projections are provided, based on the seven Local Plan areas defined by
the Planning Authority.
1.3.4
These population projections were based on trends in life expectancy (males
and females), the gender gap, total fertility rate, internal migration, births,
deaths and international migration. The projections were then translated into
12
the household projections that are used in the assessment of housing
requirements in Chapter 4.
Planning Authority Databases, Studies and Surveys
1.3.5
The Planning Authority databases on Dwellings and on Conversions and
Redevelopment are based on its development applications records. The
Dwellings Database contains data on the number of additional dwelling units
approved between 1994 and 2000, while the Conversions and
Redevelopment Database records the number of residential units gained
through conversion or redevelopment since 1990. Both databases are in
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) format. A geographical information
system is a group of procedures that provide data input, storage and
retrieval, mapping and spatial and attribute data to support the decisionmaking of the organisation (Grimshaw 1994).
1.3.6
The Property Price Database monitors trends in residential property prices
from the Sunday Times of Malta and related property magazines. Price
trends for three-bedroomed apartments, maisonettes, terraced houses, and
semi-detached and detached properties are available by local plan area for
the period from 1996 to 1999.
1.3.7
Other Planning Authority data sets are based on its own surveys; the
Schemes Monitoring Database is based on a survey that was carried out
during 1998 to assess the extent of built development in the land allocated
for development in the 1988 Temporary Provisions Schemes. The
Completions Survey used data from the Dwellings Database to assess the
extent to which dwelling permissions had been taken up by applicants. The
objective of the Densities Study is to provide insights into the range of urban
residential and population densities to be found in the Islands, while the Plot
Size Study confirms that the standard 150 square metre plot size used by the
Planning Authority is in fact being used on the ground. Finally, the 2001
Urban Capacity Study involved extensive survey work in urban areas that
were already in existence in 1988, and were not part of the unbuilt land
schemed for development in the 1988 Temporary Provision Schemes. In this
survey, the potential for increased residential development in existing urban
areas (through building on infill sites, and above maisonettes and
apartments) was assessed.
1.3.8
The Planning Authority Census 1995 datasets enable it to analyse the results
of the last Census by local plan and local council area. This was achieved by
computerizing the Census results at a local council level and the local plan
area based data is now available on the internet for query purposes (see
http://way.to/CensusofMalta1995).
1.3.9
As part of the preparation for the Housing Topic Paper, four surveys were
commissioned, and these sought to update some of the survey work that
underlies the housing policy in the 1992 Structure Plan. To this end, surveys
13
were carried on Housing Quality, Landlords (Rental Issues), Rehabilitation
and Regeneration and Household Migration. More details about all these
data sets may be found in Appendix 1.2.
Indicator Approach
1.3.10
Information from these data sources have been compiled into a set of 80
indicators that cover a wide range of housing issues. This method ensured a
modular approach to the drafting of the Topic Paper, which permitted an
informed discussion on the issues to take place before the full text of the
Paper had been drafted. A list of these indicators is provided in Appendix
1.3.
Literature Review and Press Monitoring
1.3.11
Since housing issues are increasingly topical in Malta, particularly those
issues relating to affordability and social housing, the extensive local
literature is an important information source. Similarly, the local press
provides wide coverage for housing and property issues, and this source
was carefully monitored and analysed. At the same time, international
literature on planning for housing and on sustainable settlements also forms
part of the wider context of this Paper.
Consultation
1.3.12
The final but highly significant strand of the methodological approach taken in
this Paper relates to the wide consultation process undertaken in its
preparation. In order to formalize this process and involve key players from
the outset, a Housing Working Group has been set up, with representatives
from the Housing Authority, the Housing Construction and Maintenance
Department, the Chamber of Architects, the Association of Estate Agents,
the Local Councils Association, the Ministry for Gozo, and the relevant
environmental non-governmental organisations. The Working Group met
three times during the compilation of the Topic Paper, to agree on key
issues, provide inputs into the process, and provide feedback on the
emerging strategy. It is also expected that the Group is to meet for the last
time after the public consultation phase. Individual meetings and site visits
have also been held with some of the members of the Working Group. A list
of participants in the Housing Working Group may be found in Appendix 1.4.
1.3.13
In addition to the Housing Working Group, interviews have been held with key
individuals in the sector, such as the Opposition Spokesperson on Housing,
the Director of the Joint Office, the Executive Coordinator of the
Rehabilitation Projects Office, a small number of property developers and the
General Manager of the Bank of Valletta Home Loans Section (see
Appendix 1.5).
14
2
The Housing Sector in the Maltese
Islands
2.0.1
This chapter positions the Structure Plan’s housing policy within the context
of Malta’s housing sector. It begins with a historical review of housing issues
in Malta, continuing with an examination of the major trends that have
relevance for the Topic Paper, and of international good practice in planning
for housing and sustainable housing policy. The chapter concludes with a set
of key issues for the Review.
2.1
Historical Overview (1950-2000)
2.1.1
This discussion provides a brief historical overview of Malta’s housing
sector, although fuller detail on this subject is provided in Appendix 2.1.
Housing has long been an important issue in Malta, but modern housing
policy began to take shape after the Second World War. In this period, the
reconstruction of Valletta and the Three Cities, along with housing the war
homeless, became important national priorities. Until then, housing provision
was private sector based, and conditions were poor. In 1943, the Housing
(Requisition) Act was passed, which allowed Government to requisition
private properties for state use, a measure designed to be temporary, and
which lasted four decades.
2.1.2
Perhaps one of the most significant legislative steps in the history of housing
in Malta, was taken in 1949, when Ordinance XVI of 1944 on Rent
Restriction (Dwelling Houses) was passed in the Housing Act. This was a
significant if radical method for promoting housing affordability, since rents
were thus frozen at 1939 levels. It was evident within a few years of the
passing of this legislation that it had discouraged the development of new
units for rental, and the ensuing slack had to be taken up by the then Housing
Secretariat. Remedial action was attempted in 1959, in the form of the
Housing (Decontrol) Act, whereby buildings constructed after March of that
year were exempted from rent control and requisition, but this Act was
repealed in 1979. It was clear, however, that a significant housing problem
remained.
2.1.3
The 1950s gave rise to Government’s first large-scale physical intervention:
the 1955 slum clearance of Il-Mandragg in Valletta. In 1958 a new town was
created at Santa Lucia, and the concept was extended in the 1960s to the
creation of new housing estates at the edge of settlements. In 1969, a Town
and Country Planning Act was passed after extensive parliamentary debate,
but the legislation never became operative, and it was eventually repealed in
1981. Malta’s first planning schemes were drawn up under the 1962 revision
of the Code of Police Laws, within the context of a development plan drawn
up in 1969 by a UN consultant named Sieczkowski. This Plan had catered
15
for phased development in three stages, which if implemented would have
ameliorated the situation where, in some cases, urban areas took over 10
years to be developed. However, the Plan was never legalised, and
development continued to be regulated in a piecemeal fashion. Despite the
1960s building boom, which involved the urbanization of large areas, the new
private sector developments were unable to affordably accommodate the
sector of the Maltese population that was in need of housing, and this
situation set the scene for the extensive programme of social housing
construction that was to follow.
2.1.4
Direct Government intervention in housing peaked in the 1970s and 1980s
(A. Camilleri 2000). By the late 1970s, almost all towns and villages had
newly-built housing estates on their periphery. This period also witnessed the
launch of the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), through which plots of land
for terraced houses were distributed to prospective home owners on
temporary emphyteusis (A. Camilleri 2000) and relatively cheap finance was
made available through the Lohombus Corporation. An autonomous Housing
Authority was set up in 1976, and it was charged with improving the housing
condition of very low income groups and promoting home ownership.
2.1.5
In 1983 the Building Development Areas (BDA) Act was passed, repealing
the 1962 schemes. This legislation aimed both at improving control over land
development, which had by now moved outside the 1962 schemes, and at
countervailing land speculation by selling land bought at cost price to
prospective home owners (Gauci 1996, MDI 1988). The written policy that
accompanied the BDA Act also allowed for development outside the BDA
areas, on the condition that basic stipulations regarding proximity to other
buildings were satisfied. Yet the large-scale urbanisation of the 1970s and
1980s sparked wide environmental disquiet, and in 1988, the Building
Permits (Temporary Provisions) Act (Act X of 1988) was passed. This
legislation reinstated a reduced version of the 1962 development schemes,
which are now known as the 1988 Temporary Provisions Schemes (TPS).
An integrated approach to land development, which viewed economic
matters in their social and environmental context, came into force in 1992
with the passing of the Development Planning Act. This Act called for the
setting up of the Planning Authority, which was entrusted with implementing
the 1990 Structure Plan.
2.1.6
The approach to social housing was also revised during the 1990s: although
public sector house building continued, it was largely aimed at existing urban
areas rather than greenfield sites (land that is in a natural state or used for
agriculture, which has not been developed - brownfield land, on the other
hand is built upon or is covered by cement or tarmac, but does not include
urban parks and gardens). The BDA Act was abolished, and the Home
Ownership Scheme was reduced until it died a natural death in the early
1990s (A. Camilleri 2000). In 1995, requisition provisions were removed
from the Housing Act and post-1995 rental agreements were freed from rent
control. The housing debate remains topical, however, particularly the issue
of affordability, where sharp rises in property prices and rising residential
16
vacancy rates are putting pressure on Government to find new solutions to
housing problems.
2.2
The Maltese Housing Context
2.2.1
This section provides a review of current trends with regard to housing in
Malta. It begins with an assessment of demographic trends, moving on to
discuss settlements, and the location, size and development rates for
dwellings on the Islands. House prices, affordability, social housing, housing
quality, sustainable housing and issues relating particularly to Gozo are then
discussed.
Demographic trends
2.2.2
Population projections are based on a set of assumptions regarding social
factors such as life expectancy and internal and international migration
patterns. Household projections follow from population projections, and these
are dependent on trends in single person households, marriage ages and
pensioner households. After presenting the main findings of the Demography
Topic Paper, this discussion moves on to examine the factors affecting
population and household change in more depth.
TABLE 2.1 POPULATION PROJECTIONS (1995 TO 2020)
LOCAL PLAN AREA
1995
2000
2020
CHANGE
2000 – 2020
CMLP
102,900
110,600
137,400
26,800
GCLP
28,900
29,400
31,900
2,500
GHLP
30,700
26,800
13,800
-13,000
MBLP
10,100
10,800
13,300
2,500
NHLP
61,800
62,000
64,100
2,100
NWLP
32,300
33,800
39,100
5,300
SMLP
110,000
115,200
134,700
19,500
TOTAL
376,700
388,600
434,300
45,700
Source: Demography Topic Paper
2.2.3
Population projections by local plan area are provided in the Demography
Paper. This Paper predicts that the Maltese population will grow by 45,700
persons from 388,600 in 2000 to 434,300 in 2020 (see Table 2.1). This is an
increase over the estimated population change of 38,700 persons for the
similar 20-year time period between 1990 and 2010 that was proposed by
the Structure Plan Report of Survey. The principal reason for this population
increase is higher life expectancy. The Paper also indicates that the ratio of
17
males to females during the forecast period is to become more balanced,
from 97:100 in 1995 to 100:100 in 2020.
2.2.4
The population projections in the Demography Paper are based on four sets
of assumptions regarding mortality and fertility (Baseline, High, Medium and
Low variants), and the Medium variant is adopted since it represents the
most likely scenario. At a local scale, two sets of assumptions regarding
internal migration have been developed (Constant and Moderate), but the
Moderate Variant, which assumes more favourable socio-economic
conditions within the Grand Harbour Local Plan area is considered most
appropriate. The reason for this is that if current conditions prevail,
population in the Grand Harbour Local Plan area will fall drastically to
approximately 6,700 persons in the year 2020. This would have devastating
consequences on the urban and social fabric and needs restraining, the
Paper argues, through appropriate policy measures. The Moderate variant
assumes that such measures will be implemented, that these will slow down
population loss, and that the resulting population in the Grand Harbours Local
Plan area at 2020 will be approximately 13,800.
TABLE 2.2: PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION (1995 AND 2020)
Local Plan Area
Percentage of population in
1995
Percentage of Population in
2020
CMLP
27
31
GCLP
8
7
GHLP
8
3
MBLP
3
3
NHLP
16
15
NWLP
9
9
SMLP
29
31
Source: Demography Topic Paper
2.2.5
All local plan areas are expected to experience an increase in population,
except for the Grand Harbour Local Plan area, as noted above. Furthermore,
the study predicts that the area covered by the Central Malta Local Plan area
will be the most populated at 2020, and will overtake the position held in this
regard by the South Malta Local Plan area, which was the most populated
region in 1995. In terms of the percentage of total population, the
Demography Paper indicates that percentages will increase in the Central
and South Local Plan areas, will remain constant in the Marsaxlokk Bay and
North West Local Plan areas, and fall in the North Harbours, Gozo and
Comino and most radically, the Grand Harbours Local Plan areas (from 8
percent to 3 percent) (see Table 2.2).
18
2.2.6
In what follows, the trends with regard to population and households are
examined in greater depth, and it is indicated how the Demography Topic
Paper expects these trends to develop over the Review period.
2.2.7
Among the primary factors affecting population change are birth and death
rates, both of which have both dropped significantly, resulting in a slow
increase in life expectancy. Demographic pressures on housing will therefore
increase in the Review period, particularly in the old age category, since the
proportion of persons over 60 is predicted to rise from 16 percent in 1995 to
25 percent in 2020. It is expected that current pressures for sheltered and
affordable housing will continue to increase, with the growing elderly
population, many of whom are in low income brackets. Another important
determinant of demographic change is international migration, and the
current trend is for in-migration to exceed emigration, although this source of
population growth is declining. The migration patterns of non-Maltese
nationals are also relevant to housing debates, since foreign nationals
influence local perceptions of neighbourhood quality and contribute to urban
processes such as gentrification. Nevertheless, the number of foreign
residents settling in Malta between 1995 and 1999 has declined slightly.
Significantly, foreign nationals favour the North and Gozo as places of
residence, and then the Inner and Outer Harbour (Census) regions. The
Demography Topic Paper predicts that there will be an average annual
international in-migration of 775 until 2020.
TABLE 2.3 POPULATION CHANGES BY LOCAL PLAN AREA (1994-1995)
LOCAL PLAN AREA
Population In
Population Out
Net Change
CMLP
3,861
3,080
781
GCLP
763
760
3
GHLP
497
1,413
-916
MBLP
270
239
31
NHLP
2,645
2,958
-313
NWLP
1,175
1,080
95
SMLP
2,896
2,577
319
TOTAL
12,107
12,107
0
Source: Census 1995; Demography Topic Paper; Planning Authority data sets
2.2.8
A third important factor for demographic change is internal migration, and
this factor is particularly relevant for this land-use study. This type of migration
occurs when a household moves to another dwelling, whether or not it is in a
same locality or local plan area. Healthy levels of internal migration free up
the property market, allowing households to move to dwellings that fit their
incomes and size. Migration is also important for a from a land-use
perspective, because it results in an efficient use of land. However household
mobility is related to inflation in house prices, to income levels and to the
availability of credit.
19
2.2.9
Drawing on the 1995 Census, the Demography Topic Paper notes that
12,107 households changed address during the year 1994-1995 (see Table
2.3). In addition, the 1995 Census indicates that 76,304 households changed
address during the period between 1990 and 1995 (see Table 2.4). This
data also indicates that a large part of household movements are within the
same local plan area. However the most significant trend, from a land-use
perspective, that emerges from these internal migration figures concerns the
movement of population out of the Harbour areas (the Grand Harbour and
North Harbours Local Plan areas). The Grand Harbour Local Plan area
experienced the greatest population loss of all regions, losing 916 people or
3 percent of its population in one year. A small loss of 313 was also
experienced in the North Harbours Local Plan area. At the same time, two
local plan areas on the periphery of Malta’s principal urban area continue to
be the main recipients of in-migration - the South and Central Local Plan
areas. This data suggests that the outflow of population may be related to
perceptions about low quality of life in older urban areas, coupled with the
availability in the past of new and relatively affordable suburban land and
property (property prices reflect this – see Table 2.25). This type of
population movement away from the city centre and towards suburban
lifestyles is similar to what has been experienced in industrialised countries
for some time, and is a major issue for the Review.
TABLE 2.4 MIGRATORY MOVEMENTS BY LOCAL PLAN AREA (1994-1995)
Total To:
Total From:
CMLP
GCLP
GHLP
MBLP
NHLP
NWLP
CMLP
1,332
24
87
33
658
400
546
3,080
GCLP
37
643
16
1
33
10
20
760
GHLP
420
18
156
40
175
89
515
1,413
MBLP
42
0
12
10
23
13
139
239
NHLP
980
22
73
17
1427
162
277
2,958
NWLP
425
18
32
9
118
345
133
1,080
SMLP
625
38
121
160
211
156
1,266
2,577
3,861
763
497
270
2,645
1,175
2,896
12,107
TOTAL
SMLP TOTAL
Source: 1995 Census, Planning Authority data sets
2.2.10
Further information on internal migration is provided by the Planning
Authority’s Household Migration Survey, which was carried out among 500
migrant households. This survey indicates that two principal factors affect
whether families choose to re-locate: marriage (33 percent) and changing
family sizes (26 percent). Chart 2.1 indicates that a second set of reasons for
moving, each at approximately ten percent of the total, included people
wanting greater amenity, such as the six percent of respondents who claimed
that their neighbourhood had deteriorated, and the nine percent who wanted
smaller homes or homes without stairs. The survey indicates that few
households relocate to be closer to their places of work, as may be the case
20
in larger countries, or because of house prices (0.6 were concerned about
price). Neither is marital breakdown an important cause of migration, since
this only accounted for only two percent of reasons for migration. The survey
also indicated that household movements are expensive: 59 percent of
survey respondents said that haulage services, stamp duties and legal fees
discouraged them from moving house. In general, respondents were not
keen to move house, and 81 percent of the respondents expressed a
disinclination to move again. The 1995 Census finding that only five percent
of households moved between 1994 and 1995 supports this observation.
Further, the Planning Authority’s analysis of 1995 Water Services data
indicates that households are most eager to move to the same town, and
then the same local plan area.
CHART 2.1 REASONS FOR INTERNAL MIGRATION
Marriage
35
Changing Household size
Percentage
30
Neighbourhood/Amenity
25
Different type of home
20
To improve home
15
Tenancy changes
10
To become a home owner
5
To be near family
0
Separation/Annulment
1
Reasons
Other
Source: Planning Authority Household Migration Survey, 1998
Household formation
2.2.11
Household formation depends on a set of factors that include formation of
single person households, age at first marriage, and number of pensioner
households. On the basis of a set of assumptions regarding these trends, the
Demography Paper provides estimates on the number and distribution of
households in the year 2020 (see Table 2.5).
TABLE 2.5 HOUSEHOLD PROJECTIONS BY LOCAL PLAN AREA (1995-2020)
LPA
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020 Diff 20-95 Diff 20-00
CMLP
31,718
33,253
36,246
38,595
40,715
42,380
10,662
9,127
GCLP
9,188
10,232
10,942
11,651
12,291
12,794
3,606
2,562
21
GHLP
10,852
9,592
8,207
8,738
9,219
9,596
-1,256
4
MBLP
3,239
4,477
4,787
5,097
5,377
5,597
2,358
1,120
NHLP
20,820
22,382
24,620
26,215
27,656
28,787
7,967
6,405
NWLP
10,279
12,150
13,678
14,564
15,364
15,993
5,714
3,843
SMLP
33,383
35,811
38,297
40,779
43,020
44,779
11,396
8,968
119,479 127,897 136,777 145,639 153,642 159,926
40,447
32,029
TOTAL
Source: Demography Topic Paper
2.2.12
The current trend is for household sizes to continue to fall, as Chart 2.2
indicates. While the four-person household has strengthened its position (26
percent) as the modal size of the Maltese family, overall household sizes in
the Maltese Islands are on the decline. The three factors affecting falling
household sizes are now examined in more depth.
CHART 2.2 HOUSEHOLD SIZES (1957-1995)
Percentage of private
households
30
25
1957
20
1967
1985
1995
15
10
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
5+
Persons per household
Source: Census 1995
2.2.13
Perhaps the most significant determinant of household size is single person
households. Census data indicates that the number of such households is on
the increase: in 1985, 13.4 percent of total were single person households,
while in 1995 this percentage rose to 14.8 percent. This is because the
number of young married couples remaining childless, mature persons living
independently, single parent households, and returned migrants have all
increased. Chart 2.3 provides spatial information as to where single
households predominate, indicating that they are most common in the Grand
Harbour Local Plan area, where they number 25 percent of households,
probably due to the ageing population there. The Demography Topic Paper
indicates that the number of single person households is expected to
increase by 2020. It is hypothesised that the main increase in this population
category will arise from the growing number of such households between the
ages of 20 and of 40, as well as a rise of 10 percent per year in single male
22
(aged between 25 and 29) households. In addition, there will be more
separated or divorced persons, and single parenthood.
40000
30
35000
30000
25
20
25000
20000
15
15000
10000
10
5
5000
0
Percentage Single
Households of total
Number of Households
CHART 2.3: SINGLE HOUSEHOLDS BY LOCAL PLAN AREA (1995)
0
CMLP
GCLP
GHLP
SMLP
MBLP
NHLP
NWLP
Local Plan Area
Single Households
Households with more than one occupant
Percent of total
Source: Census 1995, Planning Authority data sets
2.2.14
Age at first marriage is also a determinant of household formation. It is on the
rise in Malta, although the rate of increase is gradual. While this does affect
household formation, it is not as influential a factor as single household
formation (see Chart 2.4).
2.2.15
The population category that is increasing most drastically in Malta concerns
persons over the age of 60. The Social and Community Facilities Topic
Paper indicates that longer life expectancy and a decline in birth rates have
led to 17 percent of the total population now being aged over 60. It is
estimated that by 2020 the number of persons aged 60 and over will
constitute approximately one fourth of the population, of whom 42 percent will
be aged 75 and over. This is already the case in Gozo. An average of 43
percent of elderly people live alone, with slightly more (47 to 49 percent) in all
local plan areas except Central Malta and South Malta, where population is
rising, and where young couples prefer to set up home (see Chart 2.5). The
Demography Topic Paper predicts that more elderly people aged 75 will be
living alone as institutionalisation decreases. The Demography Topic Paper
thus predicts a smaller household size, falling from 3.1 in 1995 to 2.7 in
2020, which points to the increased need for smaller sized dwellings over the
Review period.
CHART 2.4 CHANGES TO AGE AT FIRST MARRIAGE (1965 – 1995)
23
Percentage change
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1965
1975
1985
1995
1996
Year
Males
Females
Source: Demographic Review 1965, 1975, 1985 and 1996
2.2.16
This discussion has described the principal demographic changes
anticipated for the Review period, and has shown how these changes will
result in a rise of 32,000 households over the Structure Plan Review period
of 2000-2020. In the next section, these demographic changes are situated
in the context of changes to Malta’s settlement pattern and housing stock
during the last decades.
CHART 2.5: ELDERLY PERSONS LIVING ALONE
Number of persons
18000
15000
12000
9000
6000
3000
0
CMLP GCLP GHLP MBLP NHLP NWLP SMLP
Local Plan Area
Persons aged 60 and over
Persons aged 60 and over and living alone
Source: Census 1995
Urbanisation and settlement patterns
2.2.17
The Maltese Islands have witnessed rapid urbanisation over the last 40
years, and this has resulted in changes to settlement patterns. This rapid
urbanisation is evident in the fact that increases in the number of dwellings
24
and settlement area have not followed the trends in population and
household growth, but have increased at a faster rate. Through this process,
development has become increasingly dispersed in comparison with the
compact and physically distinct settlements of the past. In the following
discussion, these issues are explored in the context of findings from the
1995 Census and Planning Authority datasets.
Urbanisation
2.2.18
The 1988 Structure Plan Brief indicated that urbanisation rates rose sharply
in the post-war period, and it reproduced data showing that between 1957
and 1985, the amount of built-up land in the Islands increased by 348
percent, the number of new dwellings increased by 71 percent, while new
households increased by 42 percent and population only increased by 9.5
percent (see Chart 2.6). This data effectively suggests that although
population and household growth grew only slowly in this period, growth in
the number of dwelling units being provided, as well as the land area taken
up for development, grew at a pace quite unrelated to demographic change
(see more detailed discussion in the Rural Topic Paper).
CHART 2.6 POPULATION, HOUSEHOLDS, DWELLINGS AND SETTLEMENT
AREA (1957-2020)
700
Percentage Increase
600
500
Population
400
Households
300
Dwellings
200
Built-up
areas
100
0
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Year
Source: Schemes Monitoring Database, Dwellings Database, Demography Topic
Paper
2.2.19
It is instructive to update these estimates for the 1990s, although data is not
available up to the year 2000 for all variables. Chart 2.6 provides a
quantitative summary of land use change between 1955 and 2000, drawing
on the 1995 Census, the population and household forecasts from the
Demography Topic Paper and the Demographic Review, the Dwellings
25
Database and the Schemes Monitoring Database (for settlement area as of
1998). The year 2000 figure for household size, which is 3.0, has been used
to calculate the number of households in 1998, from the 1998 population
estimates in the Demographic Review. The figure for households in 1988 is
therefore likely to be slightly on the higher end of the range. The Chart
indicates that the trends identified by the 1988 Structure Plan Brief have
continued. Over the past 50 years, built-up area and dwelling stock have
continued to increase at rates that are not linked directly to demographic
growth in terms of population and households. The large amount of green
field land allocated for development in 1988 is partly responsible for the
continuation of this trend over the last decade, although this development has
been controlled within well-defined boundaries. However, the Chart also
indicates that while the general trend towards faster growth in settlement
area and dwelling stock compared to population and households has not
been halted, the rates of change have slowed down since 1995. This slowing
down in the growth of built-up areas and dwelling stock is positive, and
indicates progress towards achieving the second goal of the Structure Plan,
which is to use land and buildings efficiently.
Settlement patterns
2.2.20
As indicated in the Structure Plan Technical Report 1.1, Malta’s settlement
pattern prior to the 20th Century was in the main organised around a system
of (larger and smaller) rural villages and walled cities. In the period just
before World War II, there was rapid growth in a few settlements around
Valletta, such as Sliema, Hamrun and Paola, due to overspill from the
harbour area. While growth in the villages was essentially radial (such as
Mosta and Siggiewi), growth around Valletta tended to be more linear,
occurring along the main roads that linked cities and villages, such as at
Hamrun and Birkirkara. After the War, growth continued largely along a linear
pattern, but development also occurred in the land envelopes created by
village bypasses and Government sponsored housing development areas.
As noted earlier, new purpose-built Government housing estates were
located on the periphery of almost every town and village during these
decades. Some larger villages such as Birkirkara, Mosta, Rabat and Zabbar
took on the role of regional centres. At the same time, coastal areas that
were previously largely devoted to summer residences became popular as
permanent residential settlements, as the popularity of Sliema, St. Paul’s
Bay and Marsascala today still indicates (see paragraph 2.2.38 on dwelling
permissions granted). Development here took place along the coastal in a
linear fashion.
2.2.21
Population statistics, as well as the data on internal migration in paragraph
2.2.8, suggest that demographic change has not been uniform over the
Islands. Population is increasing in all localities except the Grand Harbour
Local Plan area (with the exception of Kalkara), and the South Malta Local
Plan area experienced the greatest increase in population between 1985
and 1995. There is a clear pattern as population continue to leave the Grand
Harbour Local Plan area (and some parts of the North Harbours, such as
26
Sliema and Gzira, and Central Malta, such as Hamrun, Qormi and Santa
Venera) in favour of the quieter and less dense areas such as Attard, Mosta,
Marsaskala and Birzebbuga (see discussion on residential vacancy in
paragraph 2.2.54). These changes have a direct relationship with commuting
patterns, as Table 2.6 indicates.
2.2.22
Data originating from the Employment Training Corporation (ETC) that
relates employees’ place of work to their home Local Plan area confirms that
40 percent of Maltese persons work in the Grand Harbour area. However this
figure must be viewed in the context of the fact that all teachers, government
employees and bank employees are registered as working at their head
offices in this data set. Nevertheless, the data does indicate that while most
Maltese live in the Central and Sourth Local Plan areas, their workplaces are
more likely to be in the Grand Harbour, and to a lesser but still significant
extent in the South, North Harbours or Central Local Plan areas (see Table
2.). A general finding, however, is that while residents do travel outside their
home local plan area to go to work, this is generally in the same part of the
archipelago, with few residents from the Central area working in the South,
for example. This data is corroborated by the results from the Travel Survey
as reported in the Transport and Employment Topic Papers.
TABLE 2.6 HOMEPLACES AND WORKPLACES
HOMEPLACE
WORKPLACE
CMLP
GCLP
GHLP
MBLP
NHLP
NWLP
SMLP
TOTAL
CMLP
12,012
147
1,416
275
2,702
1,996
3,740
22,288
GCLP
28
4,803
6
2
29
15
43
4,926
GHLP
14,223
3,709
6,334
1,445
7,310
4,877
17,043
54,941
MBLP
256
3
98
691
138
79
617
1,882
NHLP
5,815
439
1,627
340
9,115
1,722
3,747
22,805
NWLP
1,936
102
266
43
672
4,687
642
8,348
SMLP
3,926
339
2,064
954
2,107
1,865
12,732
23,987
TOTAL
38,196
9,542
11,811
3,750
22,073
15,241
38,564 139,177
Source: Employment Training Corporation 1999
2.2.23
The Transport Planning Unit has used a TRIPS transport model to study
commuting patterns in the Maltese Islands. Confirming the findings from the
ETC data described above, it results that at most junctions, morning traffic
flows are towards the area of the Grand Harbour Local Plan, while evening
flows are out of the centre towards the urban periphery, where most Maltese
live. At the same time, overall traffic flows are increasing at six percent per
annum, while traffic flows on newer roads are increasing at 12 percent per
annum. The TRIPS model indicates that Malta’s modal split increasingly
favours car trips over other modes of transport; the Household Travel Survey
of 1999 indicated that while approximately 70.6 percent of trips are made by
car, under 11.5 percent were made by bus and 11 percent by foot. This
27
situation points to the relationship between the rise in private personal
mobility and settlement patterns, as people who live in suburban locations
need to travel to work (or school) along routes that are not served by an
efficient public transport system. At the same time, planning and fiscal policy
that does not discourage development in peripheral areas also exacerbates
this trend.
Changing settlements patterns in the various local plan areas
2.2.24
It is worth reviewing at this point the way settlement patterns have changed
over the last decades on a local plan areas basis (detail of such changes on
a more detailed, settlement basis is provided in Appendix 2.1). Map 1
provides a visual key to Malta’s Local Plan Areas and major settlements.
Overall, the Central Malta Local Plan area gained a population of 6,000 in
the intercensal period, and the share of Malta’s total dwelling stock in this
area increased during this period from 20 to 23 percent. The largest
settlement here remains Birkirkara, followed by Qormi and Mosta.
Residential densities (see Appendix 2.2 and the section on density under
Housing Quality) are highest in Hamrun, which is losing population, and
lowest in Lija and Attard, where populations are on the rise. The low
densities and vacancy rates in some of this Area suggest that most dwellings
here are lived in rather than purchased as second homes or investments.
Most permissions for new dwellings between 1994 and 2000 in this region
were granted in Birkirkara.
2.2.25
Gozo is characterised by the fact that each settlement remains
geographically distinct and this contributes to the rural quality of the Gozitan
landscape. Both dwelling and urban population densities in the Island are
particularly low. Nevertheless, population has once more begun to rise, with
3,000 more persons (approximately 1000 new households) residing here in
1995 than in 1985. Although the large part of population growth was in
Rabat, most of the close to 3,000 residential permissions were granted in
Xaghra and Zebbug, which are popular with non-residents. The above
indicates that there is a discrepancy between household growth and dwelling
permissions in Gozo, which may be related to residential vacancy (39
percent) and the purchase of second homes, which amount to 20 percent of
total vacancy.
2.2.26
Population in the Grand Harbour Local Plan area fell by 13,200 in the intercensal period; this level of population decline represents a higher rate of loss
than in the previous census period. A number of factors are responsible for
this trend, ranging from declining work forces in the dockyards to social
preferences for quieter suburban locations. Vacancy rates are also high
here; 19 percent of residences are vacant although only 0.3 percent are
second homes. At the same time, and perhaps relatedly, residential
densities are high; Isla is well known as the locality with the highest
population density on the Islands, largely due to post-war reconstruction in
28
the form of low-cost apartments. In this area, only 234 residential
permissions were granted between 1994 and 2000.
2.2.27
The Marsaxlokk Bay Local Plan area experienced a population growth of 25
percent between 1985 and 1995, the majority of which took place in
Birzebbuga. Residential and population densities are low in this local plan
area, and so are vacancy rates. Most of the dwelling stock and new
residential development in this area is to be found in Birzebbuga, which grew
rapidly through the allocation of TPS land in this locality. While Marsaxlokk
originated as a fishing village, its villa area at Tas-Silg is now a desirable
and expensive residential area.
2.2.28
The North Harbours Local Plan area (NHLP) gained 8,000 persons in the
inter-censal period, equivalent to a population gain of 16 percent, although
some individual settlements lost population. Significantly, density figures
reflect trends in population: in general, areas that have lost population such
as Sliema, Gzira and Pieta, have high densities. Conversely, areas where
population is growing (but not necessarily number of residential permissions)
such as Pembroke, Swieqi and San Gwann, have lower densities. The whole
Local Plan area has a higher than average vacancy rate, although Sliema is
particularly high. Interestingly, Sliema had the highest number of residential
permissions in the Local Plan Area between 1994 and 2000, amounting to
over 900. As in 1985, the NHLP Area contains 17 percent of Malta’s dwelling
stock.
2.2.29
The population of the North West Local Plan area (NWLP) grew by 22
percent between 1985 and 1995, significantly more than the 10 percent
growth in the same region between 1967 and 1985. At the same time, the
Plan Area’s percentage of Malta’s dwelling stock remained constant at 12
percent. The greatest population increases occurred in St. Paul’s Bay and
dwelling permissions granted here between 1994 and 2000 (1764) reflect
these population changes. The largest settlement in the NWLP Area remains
Rabat, although Mellieha and St. Paul’s Bay are now each almost half its
size. While Rabat and Mellieha have their roots as agricultural settlements,
St. Paul’s Bay started out as a fishing village and summer resort, but like
Mellieha is now dominated by tourism. Vacancy rates in the North West, at
47 percent for the whole area, are definitely the highest on the Islands, and
are partially explained by the large number of second homes in the area,
most of which are in St. Paul’s Bay. Densities (but not dwelling densities) are
generally low in the North West, and the low urban population density in St.
Paul’s Bay supports the finding that many of its dwellings are vacant.
2.2.30
The South Malta Local Plan area contains a number of rural settlements that
are still focused on the village church and town piazza, while larger towns that
are closer to the Harbour area have now become part of the larger
conurbation alongside some newer settlements, including the planned town
of Santa Lucija. Of all the Local Plan areas, the South gained most
population in the intercensal period, and although its share in Malta’s total
dwelling stock fell by four percent, it retains the largest dwelling stock in the
29
Islands. Yet there are few high density settlements in this local plan area. The
fastest growing settlements in the South since 1985 are generally far from
the Harbour area, and their fast growth rates contrast with those between
1967 and 1985, when most of these rural localities were experiencing growth
rates of plus or minus one percent. High population growth in this Plan Area
and losses in the Grand Harbour Local Plan area support the internal
migration findings that reveal strong in-migration to the South from the Grand
Harbours Area. Vacancy rates are generally medium to low in the South,
although the seaside town of Marsaskala displayed impressive population
growth since 1985, approximately 50 percent of its dwellings were vacant in
1995. Yet permits in this locality amounted to almost 1,200 between 1994
and 2000, suggesting that new development is not necessarily being
directed to areas of need, similar to the situation in the North Harbours Local
Plan area.
2.2.31
These regional trends confirm the broad picture of settlement change in
Malta, indicating a general preference among residents for newer, less
dense accommodation over that in older settlements. The next section
provides details of housing development rates over the last decades, based
on Census dwelling stock data and the Planning Authority’s development
application records.
Housing development 1988-2000
Dwelling Stock
2.2.32
The 1995 Census indicates that there were 155,202 dwelling units in the
Maltese Islands on Census day, 90 percent of which are located in the island
of Malta (see Table 2.7). Most of these (two-thirds) are located in the South,
Central and North Harbours Local Plan areas. The most common type of
dwelling is the house, which accounts for 42 percent of the total, and this
includes terraced, semi-detached and fully detached residences. The
second most common type of residence is the apartment. The Census
indicates that houses are prevalent in the South and Central Local Plan
areas, while the North Harbours Local Plan area has the highest number of
apartments. The Grand Harbour area is the one local plan area that has
more apartments than houses, while Gozo has the lowest ratio of apartments
to houses.
TABLE 2.7 DWELLING STOCK BY TYPE OF RESIDENCE (1995)
LOCAL PLAN AREA
Apartment
House
Maisonette
Others*
TOTAL
CMLP
7,551
17,468
6,155
5,108
36,282
GCLP
1,089
7,830
152
6,377
15,448
GHLP
5,151
4,025
1,400
2,741
13,317
30
MBLP
1,002
1,751
407
1,529
4,689
NHLP
9,083
9,052
2,529
5,903
26,567
NWLP
3,015
5,680
918
9,740
19,353
SMLP
7,662
19,939
5,034
6,911
39,546
TOTAL
34,553
65,745
16,595
38,309
155,202
*Converted farmhouses kerrejja, farmhouses, yachts, cellars , basement flats
Source: Census 1995, Planning Authority Datasets
2.2.33
The number of dwellings in Malta rose sharply after 1961; while 15,000
homes were built between 1946 and 1960, the decade of the 1960s
witnessed the construction of 13,000 dwelling units. Even more sharp was
the rise after 1970; 19,000 units were built during the 1970s, 25,000 during
the 1980s, while the five years from 1991 to 1995 witnessed the construction
of 11,000 dwellings units. Chart 2.7 presents these changes graphically,
showing that 31 percent of all Maltese homes were built before 1946 (this
includes all buildings built before 1946, including historic ones), 23 percent
between 1946 and 1970, and a hefty 46 percent between 1971 and 1995.
CHART 2.7 AGE OF DWELLING STOCK
Percentage
50
40
30
20
10
0
pre - 1946
1946 - 1970 1971 - 1995
Year of construction
Source: Census 1995.
2.2.34
A regional comparison of the dwelling stock at 1985 and at 1995 is possible
by means of an analysis of Planning Authority Census data sets (see Table
2.8). These indicate that almost 40 percent of the new dwellings built during
the intercensal period are located in Central Local Plan area, and that
between 3,000 and 5,500 homes were constructed in each of the four local
plan areas of Gozo, the North Harbours, the North West and the South.
Interestingly, the Grand Harbour Local Plan area lost 114 dwelling units. This
could have been through residential conversions or the ‘scrapping’ of
substandand units (see discussion on ‘scrap’ in Chapter 4).
2.2.35
The next section provides an overview of residential development over the
last decade. It reviews residential development in the Temporary Provisions
31
Schemes between 1988 and 1998 and then turns to dwelling permissions,
providing details of the location and type of residential development
approved between 1994 and 2000.
2.2.36
The Structure Plan identified the 1988 Temporary Provision Schemes (TPS)
as the primary location for new housing development (see Structure Plan
section 6.6, SET 8) (see Map 2). Although the TPS provided land for a
variety of uses, including industry and tourism, land zoned for housing
(approximately 800 ha) makes up 87 percent of the total land schemed
(excluding roads, public open space, etc.). In addition, although this large
amount of land is zoned for housing development, the Structure Plan urges
review of the TPS layouts as part of the Local Plan process, to improve
provision of social and community facilities within schemed areas (section
6.7, SET 7 and SET 9).
TABLE 2.8 CHANGES TO DWELLING STOCK BY LOCAL PLAN AREA (1985
AND 1995)
Local
Plan
Area
Number of Percentage
Dwellings distribution
1985
1985
Number of Percentage Increase in Percentage
Dwellings distribution
Dwellings
Increase
1995
1995
85-95
85-95
CMLP
24,825
20
36,282
23
11,457
39
GCLP
11,538
9
15,448
10
3,910
13
GHLP
13,431
11
13,317
9
-114
0
MBLP
3,518
3
4,689
3
1,171
4
NHLP
21,076
17
26,567
17
5,491
19
NWLP
14,719
12
19,353
12
4,634
16
SMLP
36,459
29
39,546
25
3,087
10
TOTAL
125,566
100
155,202
100
29,636
100
Source: Census 1985, 1995 Planning Authority data sets
Development in the Temporary Provisions Schemes
2.2.37
Table 2.9 reveals that 66.5 ha have been developed in the Temporary
Provision Schemes during the four years between 1994 and 1998, and that
39 percent of the TPS land has been built up in the 10 years after 1988.
Regional disparities in development rates are largely associated with the
scale of land allocations. Indeed, residential development has been
particularly intense in the South and Central local plan areas, where there
were extensive TPS land allocations. The Table also indicates how
development slowed down between 1994 and 1998 (66.5 ha developed), in
comparison with the period between 1988 and 1994, when 247 ha were
developed.
32
TABLE 2.9: LAND ALLOCATED FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE TEMPORARY
PROVISIONS SCHEMES, BY LOCAL PLAN AREA
LOCAL
PLAN
AREA
Area
Area
Area
Area Area of land
% of total
schemed for developed developed developed allocated for
area
housing for housing for housing for housing housing that
schemed
development 1988 - 1994 1994 -1998
during
is vacant for housing
in 1988 (ha)*
(ha)
(ha) 1988-1998
(ha) in 1988 that
(ha)
is vacant
(ha)
CMLP
187.05
68.20
19.74
87.94
99.11
53
GCLP
136.11
30.69
5.69
36.38
99.73
73
GHLP
5.94
1.96
0.83
2.79
3.15
53
MBLP
23.07
9.11
2.97
12.08
10.99
48
NHLP
102.49
36.99
5.03
42.01
60.47
59
NWLP
108.02
26.03
8.03
34.06
73.96
68
SMLP
237.55
74.35
21.80
96.14
141.40
60
TOTAL
800.24
247.33
64.08
311.41
488.82
61
Source: 1995 Census, Temporary Provisions Schemes (1988); Schemes Monitoring
Database 1998
*Note that this figure refers only to the sum of the area of the sites zoned for housing and does not include
streets, public open space, etc.
Dwellings approved
2.2.38
A second important indicator of residential development trends is available
from the Planning Authority’s Dwellings Database, which covers the years
from 1994 to 2000. The Planning Authority monitors the permissions it grants
for residential development, and the data includes newly built units as well as
conversions and redevelopments. This may not necessarily represent the
actual rate of dwelling construction, since, as the Planning Authority’s
completion survey indicates, seven percent of all dwelling permissions are
never taken up. In addition, the number of permissions granted each year is
also a measure of the Planning Authority’s efficiency in processing
development applications, given that there is a time lag between submission
and approval. However the Database provides some indication of
development trends in the housing sector. The data confirms the trend noted
above, that residential development rates in the late nineties fell relative to
those in the mid-1990s (see Chart 2.8 and Map 4).
CHART 2.8 DWELLING PERMISSIONS GRANTED (1994 – 2000)
33
Number of dwelling units
approved
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
Year
Source: Dwellings Database
2.2.39
Table 2.10 below provides an analysis of dwelling permissions by local plan
area. The bulk of permissions were granted for development in the South
and Central Local Plan areas, in particular in Marsascala (1,171
permissions), Birkirkara (930), Mosta (779) and Zebbug (515). Development
rates are increasing in the Marsaxlokk Bay area, and have remained
relatively constant in the North Harbours area. In terms of particular localities,
most permissions for residential development were in St. Paul’s Bay (1,797)
and Sliema (930). The Table also reveals that the pattern of dwelling stock
from the inter-censal period (see Table 2.8) has not been kept up, although
dwelling stock growth in the Grand Harbours Local Plan area remains low
and the North Harbours remains high. While most growth (39% increase)
was registered in the Central Malta Local Plan area between 1985 and
1995, it was Gozo and Comino that grew most since 1995, flowed by the
North West, Marsaxlokk Bay, and the South Local Plan areas.
2.2.40
This data also lends itself to analysis by type of residence, as shown in Table
2.11. The balance between apartments, houses and maisonettes has shifted
between 1994 and 2000, with almost 50 percent more apartments being
granted permission in 2000, relative to 1994. This is a positive result in the
context of the Structure Plan’s second goal, which concerns the efficient use
of land. At the same time, the number of terraced houses being built has
decreased, with this market segment falling from 23 percent to 10 percent in
this period.
TABLE 2.10 TOTAL APPROVED DWELLINGS (1994–2000) AND PERCENTAGE
INCREASE IN DWELLING STOCK (1995)
34
LPA
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
Total
Stock
1994-2000 1995
% Change
1995-2000
CMLP
292
717
850
652
629
407
475
4,022
36,282
8
GCLP
201
560
516
529
428
185
357
2,776
15,448
13
GHLP
46
42
14
68
25
24
15
234
13,317
1
MBLP
50
137
91
91
117
72
160
718
4,689
11
NHLP
583
516
361
466
298
802
391
3,417
26,567
9
NWLP
224
942
501
516
483
327
386
3,379
19,353
11
SMLP
766
1159
922
1084
904
424
563
5,822
39,546
10
2,162 4,073 3,255 3,406 2,884 2,241 2,347
20,368
155,202
9
TOTAL
Source: Dwellings Database
TABLE 2.11 DWELLING PERMISSIONS BY TYPE (1994- 2000)
Year
Apartments
Maisonettes
Terraced
Houses
Villas
Amount
% Amount
% Amount
% Amount
1994
1,088
51
469
22
552
26
1995
1,849
45
1,038
25
1,110
1996
1,594
48
1,149
35
1997
1,606
47
1,129
1998
1,651
57
1999
1,453
2000
1,456
TOTAL 10,697
TOTAL
%
Amount
17
1
2,126
27
76
2
4,073
481
15
67
2
3,291
33
575
17
96
3
3,406
755
26
406
14
72
2
2,884
65
468
21
301
13
19
1
2,241
62
580
25
289
12
22
1
2,347
53
5,588
27
3,714
18
369
2
20,368
Source: Dwellings Database
2.2.41
The location of residential permissions with respect to planning designations
(Urban Conservation Areas [UCAs], Temporary Provisions Schemes [TPS],
Existing Urban Areas [EUAs] and the land falling outside the development
zone [ODZ]) reveals that the majority of permissions for development fall in
the TPS (see Map 2 for development designations). However the fact that
approximately half the permissions are not in the TPS indicates that the
planning system has been more successful at encouraging brownfield (on
already developed land) development that was envisaged by the Structure
Plan, when it estimated that only 13 percent of development would take place
in such areas.
CHART 2.9 DWELLING PERMISSIONS
DESIGNATION (1994 – 2000)
GRANTED
BY
PLANNING
35
Number of Dwelling
Permissions
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
UCA
TPS
EUA
ODZ
Planning Designations
Source: Dwellings Database
Residential Development outside Scheme
2.2.42
A small proportion of residential permissions (three percent) have been
granted outside the development boundary, as defined in the Temporary
Provisions Schemes (see Chart 2.9). This is despite policy guidance
prohibiting this in SET 11, paragraph 8.3 and HOU 1-4 of the Structure Plan,
except for in cases where a countryside location is essential. The Dwellings
Database indicates that there has been a provision of 627 dwelling units
outside the development zone in seven years, which amounts to
approximately 90 units per year (see Table 2.12). However, the trend
indicates that the number of dwelling units approved in this area is
decreasing, indeed the highest number of such approvals occurred in 1995.
It is important to note that approximately one third of these permissions for
development outside the permitted zone are located very close to or slightly
overlapping with the development boundary. This is a matter of serious
concern and the issue is discussed in more detail in the Rural Strategy Topic
Paper.
2.2.43
Most of the residential units constructed outside the development zone were
located in the Gozo and Comino and the South Malta Local Plan areas. In the
Gozo and Comino Local Plan area, for example, the highest number of units
in 1996 and 1997 consisted of major projects involving the erection of
apartments and garages mostly in Rabat, Zebbug and Xaghra. In the South
Local Plan area most of the projects consisted of the erection of new
apartments in Luqa and terraced houses in Zabbar.
TABLE 2.12 RESIDENTIAL UNITS PERMITTED OUTSIDE THE DEVELOPMENT
ZONE (1994-2000)
LOCAL PLAN AREA
CMLP
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
3
4
0
8
2
6
2000 TOTAL
2
25
36
GCLP
5
24
29
19
3
11
19
110
GHLP
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
MBLP
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
NHLP
0
0
0
0
4
1
1
6
NWLP
65
20
35
11
3
3
6
143
SMLP
76
9
17
85
23
1
0
211
TOTAL
149
57
81
123
35
22
28
495
Source: Dwellings Database
Conversions
2.2.44
An important element of residential development occurs through conversion
of properties from other uses. In Malta’s case, however, there has been a net
loss of 550 residential units through conversion over the past decade, since
most conversions were from residential to other uses. This data indicates
that the planning policy encouraging conversions (see HOU 2) has been
largely unsuccessful. Loss of dwelling units increased in the period between
1991 and 1998, after which there was a temporary decrease in 1999, so that
in 1999 there was a loss of only 34 dwelling units compared to 101 in 1998
(see Table 2.13).
TABLE 2.13 DWELLING CONVERSIONS BY TYPE (1991- 2000)
Type of conversion
‘91
‘92
‘93
‘94
‘95
‘96
‘97
‘98
‘99
‘00
TOTAL
Dwelling to dwelling
0
1
7
10
11
23
7
-15
3
14
61
Dwelling to other
0
-2
-61
-96
-84 -107 -109 -101
-40
-79
-679
Other to dwelling
1
2
8
11
31
11
12
13
4
8
101
Mixed
0
0
-1
-23
-11
-4
1
2
-1
0
-37
TOTAL
1
1
-47
-98
-53
-77
-89 -101
-34
-57
-554
Source: Conversions and Redevelopment Database
2.2.45
Most of the residential conversions were changes to retail uses (45 percent),
and then offices and garages. Despite the overall loss of dwelling units
through conversion, a net gain of 61 dwelling units resulted out of
conversions of dwellings to larger or smaller residential units, for example
from a villa into a maisonette or from a terraced house into apartments.
2.2.46
Table 2.14 provides details of residential conversions between 1994 and
1999 in terms of planning designations (see Map 2). It indicates that most
conversions took place in Existing Urban Areas. In Urban Conservation
Areas, there were few residential conversions, most of which relate to
changes of use from dwellings to non-residential, mainly retail, uses. This
indicates a trend towards increasing non-residential uses in Urban
Conservation Areas.
37
TABLE 2.14 RESIDENTIAL CONVERSIONS BY PLANNING DESIGNATIONS
(1994 - 2000)
Planning Designation
Net Change Through Conversions
Urban Conservation Areas
-137
Existing Urban Areas
-358
Temporary Provision Schemes
-13
Outside Development Zone
-1
TOTAL
-509
Source: Conversions and Redevelopment Database
2.2.47
Further geographical analysis is possible by local plan area, and this
indicates that the trend towards loss of dwelling units is not evenly distributed
across the Maltese Islands (see Table 2.15). The highest loss of dwelling
units through conversions occurred in the North Harbours Local Plan area (a
loss of 175 units). The South and Central Local Plan area also experienced
relatively high net losses of 127 and 146 residential units respectively, while
the remaining local plan areas (Gozo and Comino, Grand Harbour, North
West and Marsaxlokk Bay) witnessed relatively smaller losses. Mixed
conversions occurred mostly in the Gozo and Comino Local Plan area, and
this type of conversion contributed to a loss of 37 units between 1991 and
2000.
TABLE 2.15 RESIDENTIAL CONVERSIONS BY LOCAL PLAN AREA (1991- 2000)
LPA
Dwelling to
Dwelling
Dwelling to Other use
Mixed Units Lost
Other Use to Dwelling Development
% Loss
CMLP
15
-180
20
-1
-146
26
GCLP
27
-49
19
-20
-23
4
GHLP
-2
-37
5
-2
-36
6
MBLP
2
-7
1
0
-4
1
NHLP
11
-197
13
-2
-175
32
NWLP
10
-68
16
-1
-43
8
SMLP
-2
-141
27
-11
-127
23
TOTAL
61
-679
101
-37
-554
100
Source: Conversions and Redevelopment Database
Redevelopment
2.2.48
A second significant source of housing gains is the redevelopment process.
The Planning Authority’s Conversions and Redevelopment Database, which
is based on development application records, provides insight into the
38
dwelling units gained through redevelopment between 1991 and 2000. The
Database indicates that redevelopment contributed a net gain of 3,156
dwelling units in this period (see Table 2.16). Between 1991 and 1997 there
was a constant increase in the amount of redeveloped units, which was
temporarily reversed in 1998 and 1999, similar to the trend observed with
residential conversions. Most of the redeveloped units were gained through
the demolition of residential units and construction of new dwellings (81
percent of all redevelopment cases). The Database also indicates that in the
case where redevelopment involves replacement of dwellings by new
dwellings, redeveloped units have a relatively smaller floor space area than
the residences they replace.
TABLE 2.16 DWELLING UNITS GAINED THROUGH REDEVELOPMENT (19912000)
YEAR
‘91
‘92
‘93
‘94
‘95
‘96
‘97
‘98
‘99
‘00 TOTA
L
Original units
2
22
127
191
186
262
252
272
109
269
1,692
Redeveloped
units
7
67
321
495
568
670
721
712
324
963
4,848
5
45
194
304
382
408
469
440
215
694
3,156
Net gain in
housing units
Source: Conversions and Redevelopment Database
2.2.49
A regional analysis of redevelopment projects indicates that 36 percent of all
residential gains through redevelopment occurred in the North Harbours
Local Plan area, followed by the North West at 22 percent (see Table 2.17).
In both these areas, although more markedly in the North Harbours, property
prices are relatively high and provide substantial returns for home owners
redeveloping or selling their homes. By comparing redevelopment gains with
existing dwelling stock, Table 2.17 indicates that the spatial distribution of
Malta’s new dwellings gained through redevelopment is disproportionate to
the dwelling stock, except in the Gozo and Comino area. The Table thus
reveals that two local plan areas (the North Harbours and the North West) are
preferred locations for residential redevelopments. When Table 2.17 is
viewed alongside dwelling permissions data (see Table 2.10) it emerges
that over the period from 1994 to 2000, 14 percent of new dwellings were
gained through redevelopment. For the year 2000, however, the
redevelopment process provided a much higher percentage of units: 29
percent. It is evident that redevelopment is becoming increasingly frequent,
and that developers are seizing such opportunities wherever they arise.
TABLE 2.17 RESIDENTIAL GAINS THROUGH REDEVELOPMENT, BY LOCAL
PLAN AREA (1991- 2000)
39
LOCAL PLAN
AREA
Net Gain in Dwelling
Units (1991-2000)
% Gain of Total
Dwelling
Stock (1995)
Percentage
Distribution of Stock
(1995)
CMLP
390
12
36,282
23
GCLP
339
11
15,448
10
GHLP
134
4
13,317
9
MBLP
59
2
4,689
3
NHLP
1,130
36
26,567
17
NWLP
683
22
19,353
12
SMLP
421
13
39,546
25
3,156
100
155,202
100
TOTAL
Source: Conversions and Redevelopment Database
2.2.50
Analysis by planning designation for the years 1994 to 1999 reveals that
most residential redevelopment occurs in Existing Urban Areas (EUAs)
(2,150 net dwelling gain). A large number of redevelopments also occur in
Urban Conservation Areas (UCAs), pointing to the need to investigate the
effect of these changes on the character of UCAs (see Chart 2.10).
CHART 2.10 RESIDENTIAL GAINS THROUGH REDEVELOPMENT, BY TYPE OF
PLANNING DESIGNATION (1994- 1999)
Number ofunits
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
UCA
TPS
EUA
ODZ
Planning Designations
Source: Conversions and Redevelopment Database
2.2.51
Before closing this section on housing development, it is worth noting that the
type of properties being built do not always reflect housing needs. In
particular, as household sizes decline, Malta’s residential properties are
increasingly too large for the households they contain. In the Planning
Authority’s Housing Quality Survey most of the respondents who expressed
dissatisfaction with their dwellings (13 percent), claimed that their dwellings
were of the wrong size. Of these 173 respondents, 26 percent declared that
their homes were too small, and 10 percent that they were too large. Chart
2.2 indicates that single-person households have increased steadily
between 1957 and 1995, while households consisting of more than five
40
persons have declined, and household sizes are expected to decrease
further (see paragraph 2.2.12).
2.2.52
Despite falling household sizes, most households (23 percent) live in
dwellings containing five rooms, of which three are bedrooms. Furthermore,
21 percent of houses have six rooms. The 1995 Census indicates that most
households of up to five members occupy homes that are larger than their
needs, while families of seven persons or more tend to occupy dwellings
smaller than their needs. At the same time, given the lack of propensity to
move house mentioned earlier, and the fact that some households purchase
homes that are larger than their present needs because they expect to
increase their household size, these figures are to be expected. It is also
important to consider that other factors besides size continue to make a
home attractive after it no longer meets the size requirements of the
household: these factors include position, emotional/sentimental attachment
to the dwelling, presence of garden, etc. In this regard the main issue here is
the effect on occupants of the dwelling/household size mismatch, and
overcrowding for larger households is probably the most serious aspect of
the mismatch. Although few families are now made up of more than six
persons (1.3 percent), there is nevertheless a need for housing policy to be
sensitive to the needs of the households in such categories.
2.2.53
This Census data also highlights the need for a greater availability of smaller
sized dwellings. With a view to partially addressing this, new planning
guidance (DC 2000) provides standards for two- and one-bedroomed
dwellings, although the Dwellings Database indicates that the majority of new
development provides for three-bedroomed apartments.
Residential vacancy and the rental sector
2.2.54
As the Structure Plan identified, Malta’s housing stock includes a large
number of vacant properties, which in 1995 amounted to 23 percent of total.
The problem is growing: between 1985 and 1995, there was an increase of
11,668 vacant units (see Chart 2.11 below). Vacancy in Malta is of two kinds;
the 1995 Census indicates that 36 percent of all vacant dwellings, or
approximately 13,000 units, are used as summer residences, and this type
of vacancy is termed ‘temporary vacancy’, while the vacant premises that are
not used as second or holiday homes, are termed ‘permanently vacant’.
CHART 2.11 RESIDENTIAL VACANCY RATES (PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY
VACANCY) (1967 – 1995)
41
Percentage of
vacant dwellings
25
20
15
10
5
0
1967
1985
1995
Year
Source: Census 1967–1995
2.2.55
Permanently vacant dwellings are spread in all local plan areas, but the
highest number is found in the Grand Harbour Local Plan area (see Chart
2.17 below). An analysis of the spatial distribution of permanently vacant
dwellings by type of residence is shown below.
CHART 2.12 PERMANENTLY VACANT DWELLINGS BY LOCAL PLAN AREA
Number of vacant
dwelllings
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
CMLP GCLP GHLP MBLP NHLP NWLP SMLP
Local Plan Area
Source: Census 1995
2.2.56
Table 2.18 indicates that the large part of Malta’s 22,756 permanently vacant
homes are houses and flats, and while houses predominate in the Central,
Gozo and Comino and South Local Plan areas, flats predominate in the
Grand Harbour Local Plan area. The Grand Harbour Local Plan area has the
highest amount of vacant dwellings, and this is likely to be due to the fact that
people are moving out of this area in search of better quality accommodation
elsewhere, and legal problems are greater here due to the age of the
properties. At the same time, the fact that almost half of the vacant properties
42
in Valletta are government owned, suggests that the vacancy problem might
be more straightforward to address in this area.
TABLE 2.18 PERMANENTLY VACANT HOMES BY TYPE AND AREA
LPA
House
Apartment Maisonette
Other Total vacant
% vacant
CMLP
2,109
1,382
705
233
4,429
12.2
GCLP
2,258
464
27
226
2,975
19.3
GHLP
1,295
3,280
402
45
5,022
37.7
MBLP
189
241
39
25
494
10.5
NHLP
878
958
404
210
2,450
9.2
NWLP
768
1,557
149
126
2,600
13.4
SMLP
2,338
1,522
705
224
4,786
12.1
TOTA
L
9,835
9,404
2,431
1,089
22,756
14.6
Source: Census 1995
2.2.57
The geographical distribution of vacant dwellings indicates that residential
vacancy occurs not only in older settlements, but also in newer expanding
settlements such as St.Julian’s (22 percent permanently vacant) and
Marsaskala (15 percent permanently vacant).
TABLE 2.19 ALL VACANT DWELLINGS BY TYPE AND STATE OF REPAIR (1995)
House Apartment Maisonette
Other
Total
%
Newly Constructed
1,691
5,657
984
88
8,420
24
Good State of
Repair
5,553
10,172
1,684
480
17,889
50
Needs
Maintenance
3,642
2,287
709
480
7,118
20
956
771
253
316
2,296
6
11,842
18,887
3,630
1,364
35,723
100
Dilapidated
Condition
National Total
Source: Census 1995, Planning Authority Data Sets
2.2.58
Table 2.19 indicates that almost 75 percent of vacant properties are newly
constructed or in a good state of repair. Indeed, the dilapidated stock
amounts to only 6 percent of total. Of the 26,309 habitable vacant properties,
a full 15,000 are flats. In land use terms, this represents a considerable
waste of usable land and building resources. The following table compares
the condition of permanently and temporarily vacant properties, and confirms
that second homes are generally in a better state of repair than permanently
vacant properties. The figure of almost 14,000 permanently vacant dwellings
43
that are new or in a good state of repair is also an issue of concern, since it
points to inefficient use of quality housing resources.
TABLE 2.20 VACANT DWELLINGS BY TYPE OF VACANCY AND STATE OF
REPAIR
Temporary Vacancy
Permanent Vacancy
12,345
13,964
622
8,792
12,967
22,756
New or Good state of repair
Dilapidated or Needs
Maintenance
National Total
Source: Census 1995, Planning Authority Data Sets
2.2.59
The following chart presents data on the state of vacant properties by local
plan area. Most of the newly constructed vacant dwellings and summer
residences are in the North West Local Plan area, where St. Paul’s Bay has
also experienced the heaviest concentration of flat development in recent
years. At the same time, all local plan areas except the Grand Harbour have
a high proportion of vacant properties that are new or in a good state of
repair. The Grand Harbour Local Plan area has the least amount of newly
constructed vacant dwellings; indeed this area has received the smallest
amount of dwelling development permits (see Table 2.13). The highest
number of dwellings in either a dilapidated condition or in need of
maintenance is found in the Grand Harbour and South Malta Local Plan
areas.
CHART 2.13 VACANT HOMES BY LOCAL PLAN AREA AND STATE OF REPAIR
Number of Dwellings
10000
Dilapidated
condition
7500
Needs
maintenance
5000
Good state of
repair
2500
Newly
constructed
0
CMLP
GCLP
GHLP
MBLP
NHLP
NWLP
SMLP
Local Plan Area
Source: Census 1995, Planning Authority data sets
2.2.60
The high quality of many vacant dwellings suggests that new provision is
contributing to the vacant stock. This may be due to rent control policy,
44
tenancy protection laws or it may be a reflection of the public’s interest to
speculating in the housing market.
2.2.61
The residential vacancy issue in Malta is directly related to Malta’s tightly
controlled rental market, following the extensive rent control over the years
but specifically since the introduction of the Housing Act in 1949, which
allowed Government to fix rents as they would have averaged in 1939 (see
paragraph 2.1.2). The Act allowed for extensive tenant protection and
includes the inheritance of leases amongst family members living in the
same house. This Act was only repealed in 1995, although rental
agreements made previous to this year are still governed by the old law.
Pre-1995 rental agreements may be revised after 15 years, but only after
substantial improvements to the property, and the changes must not result in
more than a doubling of the existing rents.
2.2.62
As a consequence to the institution of rent control, the proportions of the
housing sector in rental and owner occupation have undergone an inversion
since 1948 (see Chart 2.14).
Percentage of dwellings
CHART 2.14 HISTORY OF THE RENTAL SECTOR (1948 – 1995)
100
80
60
40
20
0
1948
1957
1967
1985
1995
Census date
Owner occupied
Rented
Source: Census 1985 and 1995
2.2.63
The 1995 Census confirms that the rental sector has declined considerably
in the Islands; it has fallen from 77 percent of the housing market in 1948 to
28 percent in 1995. This finding is supported by evidence from the Planning
Authority’s Housing Quality Survey, which indicates that 73 percent of the
respondents were owner-occupiers. This situation has resulted in a rate of
home owner occupancy that is high compared to other countries, as Table
2.21 indicates, albeit for the year 1990.
TABLE 2.21 HOME OWNER OCCUPATION IN EU MEMBER STATES AND IN
MALTA, 1990
45
Country
Percentage in Owner- Country
occupation
Percentage in Owneroccupation
Ireland
81 Belgium
65
Greece
79 Portugal
58
Spain
76 France
54
Luxembourg
68 Denmark
51
Maltese Islands
68 Austria
50
Italy
67 Netherlands
45
United Kingdom
65 Germany
38
Source: Statistics on Housing in the European Community
2.2.64
The percentage of owner occupied dwellings per local plan area is
presented in Chart 2.15. This Chart indicates that owner occupation is
relatively high in Gozo (92.7 percent); this is likely to be related to land
ownership patterns on this Island. Owner-occupation is lowest in the Grand
Harbour Local Plan area, where the rental sector, including the social rented
sector remains significant. In this area, average incomes are low, and less
residents are able to afford home purchases. Owner-occupation in the North
Harbours Local Plan area is slightly lower than the 73 percent national
average, but this is more likely to be due to the attractiveness of this area
with foreign nationals as a rental location.
Occupation
Percentage of Owner-
CHART 2.15 PERCENTAGE OF OWNER-OCCUPIED DWELLINGS (1957 – 1995)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
CMLP
GCLP
GHLP
MBLP
NHLP
NWLP
SMLP
Local Plan Area
Source: Census 1995
2.2.65
A large proportion of rental accommodation is still rented out at very low
values; in 1995, more than half the rental dwelling stock was rented out at
less than Lm 50 per year. At the same time, dwellings with a rental cost of
less than Lm 30 decreased between 1948 and 1985, while those rented at
more than Lm 60 have increased sharply (see Chart 2.16).
46
CHART 2.16 TRENDS IN RENTAL VALUES (1948-1985)
Percentage of total
100
90
80
1948
1957
1967
1985
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
<Lm30
Lm30 - 59
Lm60+
Rental values
Source: Census 1985
2.2.66
Data for the year 1995 is not included in Chart 2.16 since reporting
standards changed in the 1995 Census. However, Chart 2.17 presents data
for 1995, indicating that rental values are increasing slowly.
Percentage of total
CHART 2.17 RENTAL VALUES (1995)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Lm 1 - 50
Lm 51 - 100
Lm 101 - 150
Lm 151 - 200
Lm 200+
Rental Values
Source: Census 1995
2.2.67
Low rental values affect the quality of certain settlements; they discourage
owners from maintaining their property in good condition, as the cost of
repairs is frequently greater than their rental income. This results in
increasing decrepitude of the housing stock, particularly in certain older
settlements. Further, tenants are not motivated to look for better quality
accommodation, as this would be more expensive. At the same time, the
lack of properties for rent generally affects those who are unable to buy
properties, and serves to swell the list of homeless persons and those who
apply for social assistance (see section on social housing).
47
TABLE 2.22 NUMBER OF PERSONS IN RENTAL ACCOMMODATION,
CLASSIFIED BY ANNUAL INCOME EARNED AND RENT PAID AT 1995
ANNUAL
RENT
(Lm)
INCOME (Lm)
0 - 2,499 2,500-3,999 4,000-5,999 6,000-7,999 8,000-9,999
10,000+
TOTAL
0-50
7,428
3,996
2,955
1,543
711
512
17,145
51-100
2,365
2,594
2,157
1,313
663
481
9,573
101-150
449
609
458
322
176
142
2,156
151-200
186
283
248
176
89
91
1,073
201+
587
651
470
334
179
235
2456
Total
11,015
8,133
6,288
3,688
1,818
1,461
32,403
Source: Census 1995
2.2.68
Yet if this 1995 rental value data is compared with the level of income of
tenant households, as in the table below, it emerges that some of the tenants
on low rents have relatively high incomes. One third of the total households
that earn more than Lm 10,000 a year and rent their homes spend between
Lm 0 and Lm 50 on rent each year. Of those who pay an annual rent of more
than Lm 201, one fifth earn less than Lm 3,000 a year. This indicates that low
rents are often paid by wealthier households, and vice versa, suggesting that
the rent to income ratio is not well-balanced.
2.2.69
In the light of this discussion, it is interesting to note the popularity of the
Housing Authority housing assistance Schemes 5 and Z, which assist
owners and tenants (including those in the private sector) to carry out home
improvements. Scheme 5 is a scheme for grants payable to low income
tenants for the upgrading and improvements to private dwellings, and
Scheme Z is a grant for improvement and upgrading works in private
dwellings that are occupied by their owners and provides also for benefits
from subsidised loans. These two schemes are by far the most popular of
those administered by the Housing Authority, and the following table presents
the number of applications received and approved for Schemes 5
(previously L) and Z (previously N) for the years 1996 to 2000. At the same
time, the Housing Authority’s scheme to assist owners in renovating vacant
property with a view to renting it (Scheme T) has not met with much
enthusiasm, confirming that the major constraint in the rental property market
is related to landowners’ fears that tenants will remain in their properties
rather than the financial cost of renovation.
48
TABLE 2.23 HOUSING AUTHORITY SCHEMES FOR ASSISTANCE WITH
RESIDENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS (1996 – 2000)
YEAR
Scheme 5 (tenants)
Scheme Z (owners)
Applicants
Beneficiaries
Applicants
Beneficiaries
1996
126
0
162
0
1997
98
80
125
129
1998
117
85
185
166
1999
149
160
186
146
2000
213
182
194
270
Total
703
507
852
711
Source: Housing Authority
2.2.70
With a view to addressing the vacancy issue, Structure Plan policy HOU 7
encourages the phased introduction of an equitable rental market, coupled
with financial assistance for home purchase and those who cannot afford
higher rentals. Although the 1995 amendments to Malta’s rental legislation
were a firm step forward, the large majority of rental agreements remain
governed by the 1949 legislation. It is also likely that more education is
required for the public to be made aware of the full scope of these
amendments.
2.2. 71
The Structure Plan further recommends, by way of recuperating from the
private sector some of the costs associated with public sector provision of
development supporting services, that a land hoarding tax is applied on
undeveloped, derelict or abandoned sites that are ready to be developed,
and on derelict buildings and building shells. This measure has not been
implemented. A related measure would be a fiscal disincentive for leaving
properties vacant (levied according to certain criteria including length of
vacancy, financial status of owner, or where vacancy is identified to be an
important issue). Both of these measures have met with criticism (see
Bonnici [2001]). In the main, this criticism holds that individuals respond
better to incentives such as the waiving of Capital Gains Tax on the sale of
vacant properties, rather than new taxes related to under-utilisation, and
additional taxes should only be considered as a last resort. The vacant
property issue is not unique to Malta; in the UK, Government has initiated an
approved letting scheme that provides a benchmark of good practice
standards for lettings and management, which is to be achieved by means of
a system of professional agents and a client money protection scheme. More
information on this is available on www.nalscheme.co.uk. Whatever the
measure chosen to encourage the revival of the property market, the high
cost of building new property suggests that it is likely to be older properties
that will be the first to come onto the rental market at affordable rates.
49
Residential property prices
2.2.72
After vacancy, the second important characteristic of the Maltese housing
sector is the high cost of property compared to average wages. There have
been a number of research exercises that have noted changing property
prices, and the research that covers the longest time span is that carried out
by Mifsud (1999). Drawing on Mifsud’s work, which records prices
advertised in the Sunday Times of Malta, Chart 2.18 presents the change in
dwelling prices by type of dwelling between 1970 and 1995. The Chart
indicates that prices rose between four and eight times in this period,
depending on the type of property, with larger properties commanding higher
prices.
CHART 2.18 AVERAGE PROPERTY PRICES (1970-1995)
45
40
Terraced
Houses
Lm (000s)
35
30
25
Flats
20
15
Maisonettes
10
5
0
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
Year
Source: Mifsud 1999
2.2.73
The 25-year property price data above is corroborated by estate agent
records (see Bonnici [1999]), which covers the 1990s and is reproduced in
Table 2.24. This data confirms that prices rose particularly steeply at the
higher end of the market, particularly where large dwellings such as villas are
concerned. The average price for terraced houses also rose steeply, then
stabilised somewhat towards the end of the 1990s.
50
TABLE 2.24 AVERAGE PROPERTY PRICES BY TYPE OF RESIDENCE
(1992/1996/2000)
1992 (Lm)
1996 (Lm)
2000 (Lm)
Apartments
18,870
28,578
40,000
Maisonettes
19,090
30,076
42,000
Terraced houses
28,457
50,401
67,000
Villas
52,186
94,303
120,000
Source: Bonnici, 1999 from estate agent records
2.2.74
The Planning Authority’s Property Price Database examines changes to
prices by type of residence and local plan area. Full detail of the property
price changes by type of property and local plan area is provided in Table
2.25 (see Map 5). This data confirms the finding that while the general trend
is towards increasing property prices, each segment of the property market
exhibits particular characteristics. The data also indicates that property
prices have not changed uniformly over the Islands: the most significant price
increases between 1996 and 1999 occurred in the Grand Harbours, Central,
Marsaxlokk Bay and South Malta Local Plan areas. Prices in the North
Harbours, Gozo and the Central Local Plan areas rose slowly between 1996
and 1999. Residential property prices within the Grand Harbour Local Plan
area rose sharply between 1996 and 1999, which is likely to be due to a
revival of the property market there, particularly in Valletta. In the Marsaxlokk
Bay Local Plan area, prices continued to rise on a sharp upward curve. This
could be due to a strong demand for properties in this area, as it is
particularly attractive for those wishing to purchase semi-detached or
detached properties in a rural yet coastal setting.
TABLE 2.25 AVERAGE PROPERTY PRICES BY TYPE OF RESIDENCE AND
LOCAL PLAN AREA (1996-1999)
Apartments
LPA
Maisonettes
Terraced houses
1996
1999
1996
1999
1996
CMLP
23,530
31,333
30,767
40,324
GCLP
20,468
28,758
28,500
GHLP
24,333
30,833
MBLP
19,192
NHLP
1999
Villas
1996
1999
59,370
65,118 118,698
127,393
35,300
58,250
45,419
65,000
75,568
25,800
38,214
28,833
36,269
-
136,833
36,938
35,000
45,783
48,933
67,000
-
180,714
42,097
52,860
32,478
42,776
56,525
59,781 115,612
140,029
NWLP
25,336
37,365
34,584
37,730
51,109
54,831 132,750
161,290
SMLP
26,134
24,749
30,116
30,810
46,139
63,614 142,750
158,889
Source Planning Authority Property Price Database
2.2.75
The average price of the upper end of the residential property market has
increased at a higher rate than that of apartments: the average price ratio of
51
villas relative to flats has changed from 2.48 in 1989 to 3.43 in 1999 (BICC
2000). Further, some types of property exhibited a decrease in average
price between 1996 and 1999, although this may be due to the fact that
certain properties were included in the figures that were priced for easy sale.
Nevertheless, the data indicates that process for terraced houses in Gozo
dropped by Lm 12,831, and apartments in the South Local Plan area
dropped by Lm 1,385 in this period. Prices of other types of property such as
maisonettes in the South and terraced houses in the North Harbours have
experienced a slowdown in price rises during the late 1990s, possibly due to
a combination of high prices, high availability and political change.
2.2.76
Public Registry records (see Bonnici [2001]) have been examined for details
of achieved sale prices by local plan area, for the period between January
and August 2000. The findings indicate that achieved prices fall below
advertised prices by a large margin. This might be for the following reasons:
first, it is property of higher value that generally goes through the printed
media; secondly, while buyers expect high prices for properties, the market
is often unable to realize such prices. Thirdly, the lower averages in the
Public Registry data may also be due to under-declaration, or could indicate
that many buyers are actually purchasing older and cheaper properties than
those advertised in the press or estate agents’ records. It is also important to
note with respect to this data that sample sizes for smaller residential
categories such as villas are small in certain local plan areas, such as the
two villas sold in the South Malta Local Plan area in this period.
TABLE 2.26 AVERAGE ACHIEVED PROPERTY PRICES BY TYPE OF
RESIDENCE AND LOCAL PLAN AREA (2000)
LPA
Apartments
Maisonettes Terraced houses
Villas
CMLP
18,150
23,890
42,720
96,780
GCLP
16,000
30,000
36,000
-
GHLP
14,500
10,000
15,000
-
MBLP
18,400
19,800
26,100
-
NHLP
42,000
24,900
41,200
161,570
NWLP
19,265
21250
22,000
89,000
SMLP
18,670
22,150
27,800
70,000
Source: Bonnici (2001) from Public Registry records
Note: the data covers the period from January to August 2000 and covers only half the transactions of that
period.
2.2.77
The most significant cost element in Maltese property prices is land, and this
element that has risen sharply since 1970. D. Camilleri (2000) compares the
ratio of land prices to property prices in Malta and abroad:
52
TABLE 2.27 PLOT PRICE AS PERCENTAGE OF HOUSE PRICE (1970-1995)
Year
UK
Malta
1970
18.7
7.0
1975
15.0
17.0
1980
16.0
18.0
1985
22.5
14.0
1990
16.1
25.0
1995
19.8
50.0
Source: D. Camilleri 2000
2.2.78
The cost of residential property to Maltese households remains an issue of
pressing concern. Government is acutely aware that many households are
unable to afford even small apartments at current prices, and also that they
are not able to find suitable premises for rent (see section on affordability
below). In some cases, critics point to planning policy, saying that prices are
high because the planning system has restricted the supply of new land for
development. A similar argument holds that if building heights were to rise,
prices would decline. However research has shown that property prices are
not solely dependent on land supply. In the UK, where similar arguments on
the allocation of new land have been made in the South by housebuilders,
research to this effect has been carried out by Adair, Berry and McGreal
(1991) and Cheshire and Sheppard (1989). Experience with property prices
in the Grand Harbour Local Plan area is a good example; although supply of
new land is almost non-existent, prices have not risen sharply compared with
other locations. Further, the steep rise in property prices in the years
following the extensive allocation of 800 ha of greenfield land for housing in
1988 (the Temporary Provisions Schemes) indicates that increasing the
supply of new land will not lead to price stabilization. The price of newly
allocated land will depend on its location, and prices of residential properties
in an area will eventually tend to reflect the prevailing prices of property in that
area. For example, newly allocated residential land at Swieqi will sell at the
prevailing price, which will be higher than residential allocations at Zabbar.
TABLE 2.28 PROPERTY SALES TO FOREIGNERS (1990 –2000)
Date
Number of sales Total value of sales
(Lm)
Average price of
sales (Lm)
1990
717
11,600,340
16,180
1993
283
6,981,890
24,670
1997
163
5,650,720
34,670
2000
293
21,129,700
72,115
Source: Bonnici (2001)
2.2.79
The high cost of Maltese housing is sometimes associated with purchase of
property by foreign nationals. Estate agent data on property sales to
53
foreigners (see Bonnici [2001]), indicates that this type of property sale is
once more on the increase (see Table 2.28). This is likely to be due to
changes in legislation in 2000 concerning sale of property to foreigners in
certain large-scale property developments such as the Hilton Redevelopment
Project.
2.2.80
During the early 1990s, foreigners buying property on the Islands contributed
to six percent of total property sales and 18 percent of total turnover. The
following years saw a downward trend, with a contribution of only 3.4 percent
of turnover in 1997, although performance improved in the year 2000, when
the foreign segment contributed 3.5 percent of sales and 10 percent of
turnover. The data indicates that at present foreigners seem to be going
more for apartments than houses of character or villas, as in the past. Some
48 of the 141 contracts for apartments related to property in the designated
area of St. Julian’s, contributing a turnover of Lm 6,707,200, and an average
price of Lm 139,700. Interestingly, the year 2000 only saw eight contracts
relating to the farmhouses or houses of character category. The data suggest
that the total number of foreigners buying affordable apartments may be
relatively low, although the joint data for luxury and affordable properties may
be masking the purchase of some low-cost apartments.
2.2.81
The effects of EU accession on house prices are also relevant to this
discussion. These impacts could be two:
•
there could be an increase in the number of non-resident persons buying
secondary residences in Malta, which could push up requirements in
certain categories of properties.
•
it is also conceivable that requirements, in particular for rental property,
might be pushed up by the immigration of persons that take up
employment in Malta.
In either case, it is unlikely that EU accession in the wake of the successful
negotiations in this area will markedly affect the housing sector on the
Islands. A permanent derogation with respect to the purchase of second
properties by non-Maltese nationals (before they have resided in Malta for
five years) has been negotiated with the EU, and the Planning Authority
endorses the Government’s view that EU Membership will not now open up
flood gates for foreigners to buy property on the Islands. This Paper has not
therefore made provision for population changes after EU accession in its
housing requirement forecasts. At the same time, quite apart from this
debate, there is a wider and more intense national debate running on current
housing costs and housing affordability, and these issues are taken up in the
next section.
54
Affordability
2.2.82
The crux of the housing affordability issue is the comparison of property
prices with household income. This points immediately to an issue that
makes discussing the scale of the housing affordability problem in Malta very
difficult: the problem of obtaining data on incomes that is not affected by
under-declaration during official surveys. Chart 2.19 provides data on
average wages by local plan area, from the 2000 Economic Survey.
2.2.83
While the Economic Survey reports Malta’s average annual wage as Lm
4,237, wages in the South, Marsaxlokk and North West Local Plan areas are
slightly lower than this average. In the Grand Harbour, South and Gozo Local
Plan areas average wages are considerably lower. Only in the North
Harbours Local Plan area does the average wage exceed the national
average, at Lm 4,400. Local plan areas also contain dissimilar
neighbourboods: within areas of relative prosperity, there are often lowincome groups that find it difficult to purchase new property in their locality.
The resulting exodus of population, by means of which families that have a
long history in the area move out, contributes to a process whereby ‘social
capital’ at the local level is reduced.
Lm
CHART 2.19 AVERAGE WAGES BY LOCAL PLAN AREA AND NATIONALLY
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
ALL
MALTA
CMLP
GCLP
GHLP
MBLP
NHLP
NWLP
SMLP
Local Plan Area
Source: Economic Survey 2000
2.2.84
Despite the difficulties associated with income data, an assessment of the
scale of the housing affordability problem in the Islands has been attempted,
based on data published in the 2000 Economic Survey and figures provided
by the Bank of Valletta Housing Finance Division (see Table 2.29). This
information, which is based on a 30 year loan repayable at annual interest
rate of 6.5 percent, indicates that couples in the lower income brackets may
find it difficult to find decent accommodation in their price range. The data is
based on certain assumptions: that a couple earns one and a half times the
income of the main wage earner; that both members of the couple have the
same occupation and income category, that both members have no other
55
financial commitments, and that interest rates remains constant over the loan
period. The Table indicates that few households can afford prices above Lm
23,000. If this data is compared with that on house prices in Table 2.24, it
becomes evident that no households in these income brackets can afford
more than an apartment. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the current
competitive environment in the banking sector often results in loans being
offered that exceed the ‘affordability margin’ (of 25 percent of monthly wage
payable in mortgage payments). A certain amount of caution must also be
applied to the income figures, because it is likely that part-time employment,
family support and non-financial contributions may augment a couple’s ability
to purchase a property that in theory may not seem affordable.
2.2.85
Additional detail on housing affordability is provided by D. Camilleri (2001),
who draws on the 2000 Household Budgetary Survey (HBS), to provide an
indication of the type of property that wage earners can afford. Table 2.30 is
adapted from D. Camilleri (2001), and the property prices affordable in each
income group is calculated on the basis of a Household Earning Ratio of 3.5,
which is proposed for Malta by Wayne (1999). A Household Earning Ratio is
the ratio between the value of an affordable residence and a household’s
annual income.
TABLE 2.29 MAXIMUM LOANS OBTAINABLE PER CATEGORY OF BORROWING
COUPLE (2000)
Borrowing couple’s
occupation
Combined Annual
Income (Lm)
Combined Combined Loan
Monthly
(Lm)
payment (Lm)
Labourer
5,445
113
17,452
Skilled Tradesman
6,493
135
20,811
Clerical/Executive
7,143
149
22,894
Managerial
9,039
188
28,971
Source: Bank of Valletta, Housing Finance Division, Economic Survey 2000
2.2.86
A number of conclusions may be drawn from Table 2.30: first, on the basis of
income data from the Household Budgetary Survey, the scale of the housing
affordability problem seems large. The Table provides insight into the
number of persons whose declared income does not permit them to
purchase any property (10.3 percent of households or approximately 11,000
households) and those who would have difficulties if purchasing on the basis
of their income alone (41 percent). Clearly, this does not translate directly
into the number of persons who are in need of housing, as is discussed
below, since a proportion of these households could already be benefiting
from housing assistance, or may own their own homes despite their low
incomes. Second, the number of persons living in dwellings that they cannot
afford to buy (see second and fifth columns of the Table) suggests that either
many people live in homes they can no longer afford to buy, based on their
current income or that many households are under-declaring their incomes.
This does indicate that there is a significant affordability problem, although
56
the extent of it is difficult to establish, as one would have to take into account
other sources of income, and any gain made when selling the existing
property. This could indicate that housing affordability issues could become
more acute in the future.
2.2.87
The approximate scale of the affordability problem may also be examined
through this data, if one accepts that the income of new households is
distributed in a similar manner to that of existing households. As noted
above, the data indicates that 41 percent of respondent households cannot
afford a two-bedroomed apartment and 10 percent cannot afford a onebedroomed one, suggesting that the range of households with affordability
problems lies between 10 and 40 percent. If this percentage is translated
into numbers of new households, then the number of households with
affordability problems is likely to be between 150 and 650 households per
annum (10 percent and 40 percent of the average annual change of 1600 –
see Table 2.5 for 20 year estimates). It is therefore likely that the current
Housing Authority provision of 200 properties per year may be meeting
approximately one quarter of the need, if they are actually being targeted at
lower income groups. A percentage of this 40 percent of households may be
expected to opt to rent in such circumstances, but they also face difficulties
since the number of affordable rental properties on the market is small, and
rents are likely to rise with increasing liberalisation.
TABLE 2.30 HOUSING AFFORDABILITY (2000)
Household Earning as per
HBS 2000
% of Price Range (based
Type of %
of
each
households
on house earning
Dwelling that dwelling Type as
ratio of 3.5) can be afforded per 1995 Census
>Lm 20,000
0.6
>70000
Semi-detached
>Lm 18,000 and < Lm 19,999
0.4
63,000-70,000
Terraced houses
>Lm 16,000 and < Lm 17,999
0.5
56,000 - 63,000
Terraced houses
>Lm 14,000 and < Lm 15,999
1.1
49,000 - 56,000
Terraced houses
>Lm 12,000 and < Lm 13,999
2.0
42,000 - 49,000
Maisonette
>Lm 10,000 and < Lm 11,999
5.5
35,000 - 42,000
Maisonette
>Lm 8,000 and < Lm 9,999
8.3
28,000 - 35,000
3-bed apartment
>Lm 6,000 and < Lm 7,999
14.0
21,000 - 28,000
3-bed apartment
>Lm 4,000 and < Lm 5,999
27.1
14,000 - 21,000
2-bed apartment
>Lm 2,000 and < Lm 3,999
30.4
7000 - 10500
1-bed apartment
<Lm 2,000
10.3
7000
>5.85
>46.6
>24.68
> 18%
Source: Denis Camilleri (2000), Household Budgetary Survey 2000, Wayne (1999)
2.2.88
Before ending this discussion on housing affordability, it is worth noting that
during the last two decades, the amount of loans made for housing
purchases has risen substantially. Chart 2.25 demonstrates that increases in
house prices have been matched by a corresponding rise in the average
value of home loans.
57
2.2.89
In addition, in recent years, though the Housing Authority has continued
subsidizing home loans, both HSBC and the Bank of Valletta have provided
similar loan facilities at reduced interest rates, as evidenced in Chart 2.21,
with respect to the lending trends of HSBC Home Loans (previously
Lohombus Corporation). The Chart indicates that 60 percent of HSBC
lendings in 2000 were not associated with the Housing Authority or
Department of Social Housing interest subsidy schemes. This is because
they are for properties that are too expensive to qualify for social assistance,
or have been purchased by households that are not eligible for subsidy.
While in the past the Lohombus Corporation was a non-profit-making
organization aimed at reducing housing affordability problems, market
conditions are currently highly competitive, and further loans are being issued
for clients buying property as an investment rather than a home. Indeed,
some financial products are targeted at the second homes market, and other
at high value properties (worth more than Lm 35,000).
CHART 2.20 TRENDS IN AVERAGE LOANS GIVEN FOR HOUSING PURPOSES
(BANK OF VALLETTA)
25000
Lm
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
1980
1990
2000
Year
Source: BOV Home Link
2.2.90
Due to the significance of the housing affordability issue in the Maltese
Islands, and the significant amount of new households (between 10 and 40
percent) affected, a large part of state funding for housing is targeted at
alleviating this problem. Yet international good practice is increasingly calling
on the private sector to provide affordable housing (see Section 3,
paragraph 3.1.12). It is conceivable that this could be achieved in Malta
through planning gain on large development schemes. In the next section on
social housing, the work of the Housing Authority on this issue is reviewed.
CHART 2.21 TOTAL VALUE OF LOANS FOR HOUSING PURPOSES (HSBC)
58
Lm millions
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1989
1994
2000
Year
Loans lent under HA and social housing interest subsidy schemes
Other home loans
Source: Lohombus Corporation, HSBC Home Loans 2000
Social housing
Definition of Social Housing
2.2.91
The term social housing is normally applied to dwellings provided by
Government that are either rented or sold, and the objective behind the
provision of social housing is to ensure that access to good quality housing
is increasingly made available to all households irrespective of their level of
income. In Malta’s case, social housing provision has been made available
in various forms, ranging from the provision of housing land and dwellings at
subsidised prices, allocation of apartments at low rent, subsidies on private
rental agreements, subsidies on interest rates given on commercial home
loans, and grants for improvements to properties in the private sector. Since
1987, these programmes have been channelled through the Housing
Authority, which is the national body responsible for housing policy in Malta.
A summary of social housing policy over the last two decades is provided in
Appendix 2.4.
2.2.92
Within the group of persons requiring housing assistance are those with
special needs, many of whom occupy residential institutions. These include
children in boarding schools, victims of domestic violence, ex-prisoners,
disabled persons, the elderly, and victims of drug abuse. In the latter three
cases, the advantages of offering care in the community, rather than in large
institutions, are increasingly being acknowledged (see the Social Facilities
and Community Care Topic Paper). This has resulted in the increased
provision of small-scale sheltered housing. Homeless people are also
require special assistance: while overall homelessness is not common in
Malta 1, the issue of homelessness is of particular concern given the lack of
1
The number of homeless people is not large, due most likely to the traditional strength of the
Maltese family, and the Social Welfare Department indicates that there were 357 registered
59
affordable property for rent. Agencies involved in this sector, such as the
YMCA, also point to the relationship between drug abuse, homelessness
and prostitution, indicating that persons with drug abuse problems are not
eligible for emergency assistance in finding a place to sleep. The matter is
complicated by the fact that some of these persons have children. A related
issue of concern is the development of areas of low quality housing
associated with particular ethnic communities. While the specific needs of
these groups are addressed in the Social and Community Facilities Topic
Paper, this Topic Paper includes all such households within its housing
requirements calculation.
2.2.93
A distinction is increasingly being drawn between the provision of dwellings
for rent at affordable rates (or an associated scheme to assist tenants) and
the provision of newly built properties for sale at affordable prices. For the
purposes of this discussion, social housing refers to the provision of housing
and housing assistance to households that are in particularly severe need,
usually on a rental basis, while affordable housing refers to the general
affordability of property for sale to middle- to low- income groups. The
following discussion provides an analysis of provision and need for social
housing, followed by a brief discussion of the main factors that have a
bearing on future policy in this field.
Current stock
2.2.94
It was estimated by the Structure Plan team in 1990 that ten percent of
Malta’s housing stock was in the social housing sector. Given that the
dwelling stock reported in the 1985 Census was 125,500 dwellings (see
Table 2.8), this amounted to 12,500 dwellings in the public sector. However it
is not clear whether this includes dwellings that were built using public funds
and then sold to the occupants, although Schembri Adami (2001) notes that
ten percent of the Government social housing stock has been sold off during
the past “several years”. The Estates Management Department has provided
a rough estimate of a stock of 7,800 units (in November 2001) currently
owned by Government and leased as social housing. This figure only
represents five percent of the Islands’ total dwelling stock. The Joint Office
has confirmed that as of November 2001, a further 2,053 dwellings are
currently rented out at affordable rents by the Joint Office (ex-Church
property).
Social Housing Provision
2.2.95
The Housing Authority provides applicants with new housing units for sale
and lease, as indicated in the chart below. On average, 200 housing units
cases of homelessness between 1988 and 2001. Most of these involve persons aged between
18 and 26, who are unable to live with their parents. This may be related to teenage pregnancy:
during a September 2001 survey, the YMCA found that of the 250 persons living in homeless
shelters, 64 were children.
60
are constructed each year, and scheduling of construction work and issue of
premises are coordinated in such a way that premises are largely allocated
as soon as they are finished. The issue of notices for application for new
rental units has now been discontinued, and new beneficiaries are currently
being allocated from the Housing Department’s waiting list (see paragraph
2.2.101 below).
CHART 2.22 SOCIAL HOUSING UNITS CONSTRUCTED (1988 – 2000)
800
Number of units
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Year
Sale
Lease
Source: Housing Authority
2.2.96
Chart 2.22 presents the number of residential units constructed between
1988 and 2000, indicating that while almost 1,800 dwelling units were
provided for (subsidised) sale as affordable housing, only approximately 600
units were provided for rent (34 in 1990, 296 in 1991 and 262 in 1996). Most
housing provision therefore consists of units for sale, with only 25 percent of
the total 2,390 units for rent. In addition, most units for rent are provided in the
Grand Harbour Local Plan area, leading to a concentration of low-income
households in this area. More than 60 percent of all completed units are flats,
whilst the remaining units are maisonettes, or units gained through
reconstruction of existing units or rehabilitation (Miljanic Brinkworth 2000).
2.2.97
The number of housing units provided by Government has been on the
decline: while between 1980 and 1987, 1,219 units were provided each
year, the annual rate of provision declined to 607 between 1988 and 1994
(Demarco 1995) and 240 per year between 1995 and 2000. Figures for
actual beneficiaries rather than units constructed are provided in Table 2.31,
which indicates that between 1990 and 2000, 524 households were
allocated rental units while almost 600 applicants living in private rented
accommodation benefited from rental subsidies. As Chart 2.23 indicates,
61
these figures are low compared to the number of persons that benefit from
the subsidised sale of affordable housing.
TABLE 2.31 SOCIAL HOUSING BENEFICIARIES (1990 - 2000)
Year
Beneficiaries
Sale
1990 – 2000
1,679
Rent
1990 – 2000
524
Rental Subsidies
1987 – 2000
583
Source: Housing Authority
2.2.98
The Housing Authority also provides housing support through a wide range of
schemes, which are listed in the table below. Most assistance has been in
the form of home loan interest rate subsidies and the popular Schemes 5
(previously L) and Z (previously N), which provide close to full grants for
improvements to owner occupied and leased private dwellings, as noted
earlier. In addition to its schemes, the Housing authority has recently initiated
a Care and Repair scheme together with the Agency Appogg. This initiative
provides a fast track to the Authority’s schemes for people living in urgent
housing need who may not how to seek assistance. Cases are brought up
by social workers and inspected by the representatives of the Authority’s
technical section. When clients qualify for a repair scheme, they are advised
to apply for assistance and in some cases, the application forms are taken to
the clients by Housing Authority staff. The scheme aims to bring clients to the
Authority rather than waiting for them to apply for assistance themselves, with
the aim of reaching the most needy in society.
Number of
Beneficiaries
CHART 2.23 SOCIAL HOUSING PROVISION AND RENT SUBSIDY (1990 - 2000)
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Sale
Rent
Rental subsidies
Type of Provision
Source: Housing Authority
2.2.99
The Housing Construction and Maintenance Department estimates that the
following elements make up Malta’s social housing supply for the future: the
62
land lying within the development zone that was identified for housing
development by the Mifsud Bonnici Commission; the Pembroke site; and
housing gains through rehabilitation and redevelopment in older urban areas.
The Department estimates that these elements represent a supply of
approximately 3,000 residential units.
TABLE 2.32 HOUSING AUTHORITY SCHEMES
Year
Scheme
1996
Home purchase assistant grant and home
purchase interest subsidy on loan for the
purchase by tenants of privately owned
residences
M
31
20
1996
Subsidy on adaptation work in owner
occupied dwellings
N
625
436
1996
Subsidy on adaptation works in leased
private dwellings
L
454
308
1998
Financial aid for adaptation work in
residences occupied by persons with
disability
1
135
121
1999
Purchase and improvement of private
dwelling houses
X
9
0
1999
Subsidy on adaptation works in leased
private dwellings
5
199
175
1999
Subsidy on interest on house loans
Y
291
119
1999
Subsidy on adaptation work in private
owner occupied dwellings and subsidy on
loans
Z
227
175
1999
Purchase of government owned dwelling
houses
6
222
0
1999
Financial aid for adaptation work in
residences occupied by persons with
disability
7
155
23
1999
Rent subsidy on leased privately owned
property
R
354
176
1999
Refund of vat on first dwelling house
S
408
230
1999
Subsidy on adaptation works in vacant
privately owned residences which are
leased to Maltese citizens
T
6
3
1999
Subsidy on adaptation works in
government owned residences
W
218
68
2001
Lift installation in government owned
blocks
V
2001
Ground Redemption of plots of land under
the HOS Scheme 1977 - 1987
K
32
28
2001
Ground Redemption of plots of land under
the HOS Scheme prior to 1979
P
4
-
2001
Ground Redemption of plots of land under
the HOS Scheme 1977 - 1993
Q
43
43
3,214
1,501
TOTAL
Scheme Title Applicants
Beneficiaries
63
Source: Housing Authority
Social housing requirements
2.2.100
There are no generally agreed figures for the number of persons requiring
social housing assistance over the Review Period. Nevertheless, there are
two approaches through which an approximate figure for social housing need
may be determined. A first approximation may be arrived at from the number
of persons on the Social Housing Department’s waiting list. This is not the
same group of applicants that has applied for particular rental housing
allocations at the Housing Authority (although this practice has now been
discontinued, as noted earlier). The second approach focuses on the number
of persons in low income brackets, and is based on the premise that
households that cannot afford to purchase a home will need social
assistance.
2.2.101
The Social Housing Department receives applications from the public for
alternative housing. Details of the social housing waiting list are provided in
Table 2.33. The data indicates that on average, some 925 new applicants
join the list each year, and confirm that the average amount of people on the
list between 1990 and 2001 is 3,500. It is also worth noting that the year end
figure is on the decline.
TABLE 2.33 SOCIAL HOUSING WAITING LIST (1990 – 2001)
Year
New applications
Year end Cumulative figure
1990
1298
3886
1991
1221
3809
1992
1156
3744
1993
1019
3607
1994
902
3490
1995
834
3422
1996
951
3539
1997
983
3571
1998
926
3514
1999
646
3234
2000
445
3033
2001
710
3298
Source: Department of Social Housing 2002
2.2.103
The Social Housing Department waiting list lies in the region of between
3000 and 4000 applicant households annually, of which four to ten percent
are satisfied annually. Table 2.34 provides details of applications for social
housing between 1996 and 1999, and the percentage of applicants that were
64
accommodated as of November 1999 (Miljanic Brinkworth [2000] notes a
margin of error associated with these figures).
TABLE 2.34 SOCIAL HOUSING APPLICATIONS (1996 – 1999)
Year
Applications
Percentage of applicants allocated housing
1996
4,772
5.7
1997
5,091
4.7
1998
3,163
10.1
1999
3,330
4.7
Source: Miljanic Brinkworth 2000
2.2.103
There are nevertheless problems involved in equating the Social Housing
Department’s waiting list with social housing need. First, and importantly, a
percentage of applicant households report incomes higher than Lm 4,000
per annum. The Social Housing Department considers such households to
be of lower priority; Miljanic Brinkworth (2000) reports that their median
income is Lm 4,770, which is well above the poverty line, reported at Lm
2,516 in the 2000 Economic Survey, and could only be considered a poverty
income in particular situations such as the presence of a handicapped
person in the household. Miljanic Brinkworth (2000) indicates that of the
3,300 applicants on the Housing Department’s waiting list in 1999,
approximately 500 had incomes higher than Lm 4,000 (see Table 2.35). She
also shows that of the 2,815 low-income applicant households as of
November 1999, 572 were over 60 and 722 were single parents with a
median income of approximately Lm 2,000. The Housing Authority is now
also providing for the needs of these two groups; for example, a certain
percentage of new housing is being reserved for single parent households.
TABLE 2.35 SOCIAL HOUSING APPLICANTS BY INCOME GROUP (1999)
Number of
applicants
Income over
Lm 4,000
Income less
than Lm 4,001
3,309
494
2,815
Elderly under Single Parents
Lm 4,001 under Lm 4,001
572
722
Source: Miljanic Brinkworth 2000
2.2.104
A second problem relates to year of application; since only approximately
200 applications are addressed per year, some application on this waiting
list have been brought forward from previous years. More uncertainty is
introduced if one considers the low-income households that have not applied
for assistance, or those who apply for rental subsidy rather than new
dwellings (see Schembri Adami 2001). This suggests that while it is very
difficult to provide an estimate for housing need, the outstanding list of
persons needing assistance is likely to be in the region of 3,000 persons.
65
2.2.105
An alternative, but not much more accurate method for assessing housing
need focuses on income levels. The Household Budgetary Survey, reported
in Table 2.30, indicates that 10 percent of Maltese households (about 11,000
households) earn less than Lm 2,000 per annum. However this does not
indicate that ten percent of Maltese households are inadequately housed.
This is because a large part of these persons may be already adequately
housed, either in the approximately 8,000 dwellings currently rented out at
social rents by Government (see paragraph 2.2.93 below), in owneroccupied dwellings or in homes rented out at pre-war rental values. Although
this method involves an even greater range of uncertainty, when viewed in the
context of the approximately 8,000 persons currently occupying public sector
accommodation, it supports the estimate that 3,000 households are currently
in need of social assistance in order to fulfil their housing needs. This may
however represent the high end of the range given Governments’ stated
intention to focus efforts on assisting the most needy (see below). Given the
fat band of uncertainty associated with this figure, it is considered desirable
for the government to take a view about the scale of the problem in order to
enable a consideration of this issue in the long term context.
Future Directions
2.2.106
Government’s housing strategy for the future is based on, among other
elements, “a continuation of the policy initiated in the early nineties to
develop and update the rental market in Malta in conjunction with a
continuation of the policy of limiting the provision of social housing to the
most needy cases” (Government of Malta 2000). More detailed objectives
are provided in the Housing Authority’s Annual Report (Housing Authority
2001: 3):
•
“To communicate better to the public the role of the Housing Authority
and information regarding its services and schemes;
•
To introduce greater clarity and less bureaucracy in the presentation and
operation of our schemes
•
To improve the performance of our building programme through private
public partnership;
•
To introduce clearer lines of accountability as well as a panel to hear all
appeals from the public;
•
To review the points system for sale in order to have greater equity
between client groups as well as to match supply with demand;
•
To effectively produce and manage a building programme for rent, and to
budget properly for this;
•
To participate in the process of amalgamation with the Department of
Social Housing in order to provide a housing service for those in most
need;
•
To continue to support the voluntary sector in the provision of housing for
persons with special needs.”
66
2.2.107
Further observations may be made concerning social housing in the future
(see A. Camilleri 2001). Firstly, the provision of newly built social housing is
declining in most industrial countries as more market-oriented solutions to
housing are taken up, and this trend is likely to continue (see section 3.1 on
international context). The Malta Government has differed from practice
internationally in its commitment to building affordable housing for sale, on
the basis of using ‘free’ government-owned land. However as land prices
rise, this practice is likely to provide a smaller proportion of total social
housing supply. The second, and related issue concerns the drying up of
social housing land supply within the development zone. As the current
supply of approximately 3,000 units is depleted, government will increasingly
need to top its provision using measures such as rental subsidies rather than
newly built premises for rent or sale.
2.2.108
There remains another major issue that has yet to be resolved. This relates
to the value of the central Government subvention to the Housing Authority.
The annual value of the subvention has been set at Lm 1 million for a number
of years, despite the introduction of “acquisition costs” and inflationary
aspects (it costs 50 percent more to build a unit now than in 1994). The
situation to date has been partly resolved by the Housing Authority having
practically stopped developing any units for rent and by selling units on plan
before they are built.
2.2.109
As noted previously, it is estimated that the available land is sufficient for the
development for approximately 3,000 social housing units (A. Camilleri
2001). Given that the government has been constructing dwelling units at the
rate of approximately 200 units a year for the past 15 years, and assuming
there would be no acceleration or deceleration in this area, the available land
should suffice only for the next 10-15 years. In this context, there are two longterm options available:
• either to gradually phase out the building programme altogether, limiting it
only possibly to urban regeneration projects, and replacing it with a
strengthened rental subsidy/housing benefits scheme. From a land use
perspective, this option is preferred since (i) it would assist the nation in
making efficient use of land and buildings, and (ii) it allows low-income
households some locational choice, thereby reducing social segregation.
It would also ensure that Housing Authority efforts are targeted at the most
needy groups (see D. Camilleri 2001; Micallef-Leyson 1999a, b, 2001a).
• or to extend the availability of land either by re-introducing the extra
storeys scheme or by extending areas for development.
2.2.110
The figures indicate that (i) if policy changes move in the direction of subsidy
rather than new build or sale and (ii) if the limiting factor for new build is the
3,000 unit supply within the development boundary, existing supply should be
sufficient to continue to provide the same level of service. On the other hand,
if a move towards subsidy is not made and need increases, or Government
policies require that higher proportions of applicants be accommodated,
67
existing supply would be insufficient and other solutions would need to be
explored. In this regard, it is worth considering the role of the non-profit and
private sectors in provision of social housing, particularly with respect to
initiatives that address social housing needs in the context of urban
regeneration and residential vacancy in Malta’s historical areas. This points
to wider issues of quality in the provision of housing.
Housing quality
2.2.111
The internal quality of dwellings, as well as the quality of the immediate
residential environment, remain a challenge in certain dwellings and
settlements. While particular issues of urban design, streetscape, and
sustainability arise in the rapidly developing newer settlements, issues
related to dwelling size and state of repair are particularly acute in the older
residential areas. Evidence for these concerns may be found in the 1995
Census, and the Planning Authority Housing Quality Survey, which was
carried out in 1996.
2.2.112
The Census indicates that a fraction of Malta’s housing stock may still be
substandard. Some 400 homes consist of only one room and 4,000 homes
have no bathroom. Furthermore, 1.2 percent of total dwellings (1,667 units)
have no toilet, and 1.8 percent (2,116 dwellings) has shared toilets. The
problem is most acute in the Grand Harbours Local Plan area, where, for
example, 3.4 percent of households use shared toilets, as opposed to
between 1.2 and 1.9 percent in the other local plan areas.
TABLE 2.36 SATISFACTION WITH DWELLINGS
LOCAL PLAN AREA
Satisfied with dwelling
CMLP
90.4
GCLP
91.4
GHLP
73.4
MBLP
88.6
NHLP
86.9
NWLP
88.8
SMLP
87.7
MALTESE ISLANDS
87.1
Source: Housing Quality Survey 1996
2.2.113
The Planning Authority’s Housing Quality Survey demonstrates that most
residents were satisfied with their dwellings (see Table 2.36). The lowest
degree of satisfaction occurs in the Grand Harbour Local Plan area, and this
result is supported by the fact that the area has been losing population at
least since 1957. On a national level, most respondents were satisfied with
their dwellings because they were close to amenities, and were located in a
68
quiet and clean environment. On the other hand, those who were dissatisfied
stated that their house was either too large or too small for their family, that it
had too many stairs, or that the dwelling lacked a garden.
2.2.114
Similar to the 1990 Structure Plan Report of Survey, the Housing Quality
Survey reveals that the large majority of the homes visited were in good
condition, except that almost half had a humidity problem, mainly in the form
of damp walls. Yet while 84 percent of households visited indicated that they
had painted their houses in the last five years, a full 21 percent of households
said that their houses needed imminent repairs. Repair jobs were not
particularly common: 32 percent of the 4,008 respondents had undertaken
them in the last five years. Major repairs, including repairs to roofs, beams,
floors, drainage, plumbing, electricity and building extensions had been
undertaken by 23 percent of respondents, and minor repairs, including
repairs to walls, doors, balconies and windows were undertaken by 9
percent of respondents. Residential dilapidation is closely related to
vacancy, as the 1995 Census indicates when it reports that 25 percent of
vacant dwellings require maintenance or are in a dilapidated condition.
2.2.115
Considerations relating to residential quality may be divided into two
categories: those issues relating to internal housing quality, and those
relating to the overall quality of the neighbourhood.
Internal housing quality considerations
2.2.116
Issues of internal housing quality are of prime importance to residents, and
these include the following:
•
Room size, which is known to be shrinking in newer developments due to
increasing land prices. The DC 2000 Guidance note addresses this
issue, ensuring that basic standards in dwellings are provided in terms of
minimum floorspace standards;
•
Private and semi-private outdoor space, which is threatened by the
tendency to redevelop properties with gardens, yards and terraces into
apartments at maximum permissible site coverage, and only small internal
yards and balconies to substitute the open space;
•
Light, which is a key factor in the quality of a dwelling. This factor is
generally threatened by increased building heights and densities, but not
necessarily if schemes are well designed. The provision of light through
large windows can affect the degree of privacy in a dwelling;
•
Privacy, which is often undermined through the development of the back
garden ‘buffers’ separating houses. DC 2000 (see paragraph 12.3, which
calls for a 6.5 metre separation between overlooking habitable rooms)
provides new guidance on privacy that goes some way towards mitigating
these impacts, however increasingly dense developments and ones that
overlook other properties are likely to have an impact on privacy;
69
•
Security, an issue that is particularly important for older residents. It has
been found that vibrant communities with peopled streets, as is common
in older settlements, provide greater security through street level
surveillance. However security issues can also be designed into larger
housing schemes through, as suggested in DC 2000 (paragraph 12.2),
the reduction in the use of unlit recesses and ‘dead’ spaces that are
neither public nor private.
2.2.117
The environmental impact of dwellings is also emerging as a priority for
housing policy nationally (see, for example, the Ministry of the Environment’s
draft Building Regulations, particularly sections ‘E’ and ‘F’ on ‘Environmental
Aspects’ and ‘Conservation of Fuel, Energy and Natural Resources’) and
internationally, and it is important to build these requirements into future
planning for housing in Malta. The main priority here is energy and resource
efficiency, which may be termed the ‘environmental footprint’, or sum total of
resources involved in an activity, in this case the construction, use and
disposal of a dwelling. Improving the environmental footprint of dwellings may
be achieved in two ways. First, through measures such as: passive heating
and cooling that derive from design, allowing maximum use of daylight, air
circulation and through breezes, and the insulation of roofs, walls and
apertures; prevention of humidity; and the use of construction materials that
are produced in environmentally friendly ways, such as recycled stone. The
latter depends on increasingly careful stewardship of Malta’s mineral
resources, which is encouraged in the Minerals Subject Plan.
2.2.118
A second method for ensuring the energy efficiency of homes is through the
use of home-based renewable energy sources such as wind and solar
energy through solar panels or photovoltaic cells. Such cells may be tastefully
included into large schemes in lieu of plate glass. Another aspect of
environmental design that is to become increasingly necessary during the
next decades as Government’s Waste Strategy is implemented is space
reserved for the storage of bins for waste separation within larger
developments. In Italy, where waste separation is being successfully
implemented on a wide scale, new apartment blocks are increasingly being
designed with ground floor or basement rooms for the storage of bins for
separate waste collections.
2.2.119
These issues often arise out of the relationship between building form, plot
size and shape, and the effects of outdated building and sanitary regulations.
These regulations require 10 foot backyards, which in effect supplant the
traditional courtyard house that was more suited to Malta’s climatic
conditions. These factors combine to produce the ‘typical’ long and relatively
narrow dwelling with a large footprint. Satisfactory responses to many
housing quality issues are therefore somewhat circumscribed except in
relation to large sites.
External housing quality considerations
70
2.2.120
It is now widely recognised that location and amenity are essential elements
of housing quality, and this is confirmed by the fact that house prices vary
with location (see paragraphs 2.2.72 to 2.2.90 on house prices). Indeed, the
North Harbours Local Plan area, where residential property prices are
highest, registered the highest level of resident satisfaction in the Housing
Quality Survey, and this was on the basis of being close to amenities.
However the quality of a settlement also depends on the quality of its public
open spaces, social and community facilities, shopping facilities, as well as
levels of noise and density, and the general upkeep of the environment. In the
following, these aspects of external housing quality are discussed in turn,
before the Paper turns to the specific issues related to neighbourhood quality
that emerge in the Temporary Provision Schemes, historic cores and other
urban areas.
Public Open Space
2.2.121
One of the principal components of neighbourhood quality is public open
space provision. The erosion of open space, gardens and play space for
children in many urban areas directly affects residential quality. Often what
was previously public open space is now dominated by traffic and parking
uses. The Leisure and Recreation Topic Paper treats this issue in depth, and
indicates that provision of such public spaces is low across the Islands, with
an average of 2.4 square metres per person (m2/person) compared, for
example, to the standard of 24 m2/person recommended in Italy (Mazza and
Rydin 1997). These statistics refer to formal spaces such as public gardens
and playing fields and do not include promenades and non-landscaped
piazzas with no seating provision. The 2.4 m2/person average is greatly
exceeded in settlements of two general types: older planned settlements (for
example Mdina, Floriana and Pembroke) and small localities surrounded by
countryside, where development pressures are low and where an individual
garden may significantly affect provision (for example Munxar, Zebbug
(Gozo) and Xghajra).
2.2.122
The data suggests that newer settlements that have witnessed heavy
development since the second world war, such as B’Kara, Sliema, Attard
and San Gwann, are characterised by low public open space provision.
Further analysis by local plan area reveals that the Central and the North
Harbours Local Plan areas have particularly low provision in this regard.
Coupled with rapid population growth and increasing residential densities in
the case of the North Harbours, this points to the need for increased
designation of urban green space in these areas. Importantly, the provision
figures fall further if tourist populations are added to permanent residents.
Supporting this data is the Public Attitude Survey finding that 81 percent of
respondents are in favour of more recreational facilities in their localities, and
88 percent of more sports facilities.
71
Local Shopping
2.2.123
Another central aspect of residential amenity concerns the provision of local
retail facilities, in particular the adequate provision of everyday food and
‘convenience’ shops (such as grocers, pharmacists and stationers). The
average number of persons per shop in Malta is 165, and provision is
highest in the Grand Harbour Local Plan area (93 persons per shop) and
lowest in Central Malta (237 persons per shop). The Gozo, North West and
Marsaxlokk Bay areas all have slightly below average provision. Once again,
it is the newer areas that are worse off in terms of shopping facilities. The
Planning Authority’s Public Attitude Survey also indicates that most
respondents agreed that permits should be granted for groceries in
residential areas. This agreement was slightly higher in the Gozo and Grand
Harbour Local Plan areas, and lower in the North Harbours Local Plan area,
possibly due the greater number of elderly persons living in the former Plan
areas.
Social and Community Facilities
2.2.124
The amount and quality of social and community facilities in a settlement also
affects residential amenity. The Social and Community Facilities Topic
Paper indicates that these facilities are not uniformly distributed across the
Islands. There are no day care centres for the elderly in the Marsaxlokk Bay
or Grand Harbours Local Plan areas. Also, while a low figure for health
clinics in Gozo is due to the presence of a large hospital, capable of meeting
the health needs of the Island, the North Harbours has the lowest provision of
Government health centres in the Islands (but not private health clinics).
School provision also varies across the Islands, with Gozo having the highest
number of school places per capita, and the Marsaxlokk Bay and South
Malta Local Plan areas having the lowest.
2.2.125
These statistics are complicated by the fact some of this provision is nonstate, so that it is not necessarily accessible to all. Further, private or Church
schools and homes for the elderly are often located in suburban or rural
locations, perhaps because land assembly is easier in these sites, or
because of better environmental quality, and this has resulted in a lack of
non-state provision in the South. Yet cutting across the provision of all types
of social and community facilities is the issue of quality. Some clinics are too
small and do not provide access for disabled or elderly patients, such as the
Gzira Health Centre. Certain state schools are also poorly maintained and
inadequately housed within buildings designed, for example, as army
barracks during the British period.
72
Garage Industries
2.2.126
The Public Attitude Survey indicates that 82 percent of respondents were in
favour of relocating garage industries in residential areas. Cross tabulations
revealed that most of the respondents who agreed with permits for groceries
in residential areas wanted relocation of garage industries (68 percent of
total). Garage industries such as mechanics and spray painters are
unpopular in residential areas due to environmental impacts including
pollution, traffic and noise. The Micro-Enterprises Study, which is an
important input into the Employment Topic Paper, is assessing these issues
and will propose a way forward.
Noise
2.2.127
Noise is a major issue for residential quality, and noise disturbance arises
from a number of sources. One major source is traffic: the Planning
Authority’s Regeneration and Rehabilitation Survey indicates that one of the
principal improvements required in historic urban areas relates to the control
of traffic, parking and pollution. The construction industry is also another
significant source of ambient noise, and the recent EU Directive 2000/14/EC
on noise emission by equipment for use outdoors has taken steps to
address this issue. Measures have also been taken to restrict construction
activity in Malta’s tourist areas during the summer. Another source of noise is
amplified music played in the open air, and is becoming increasing common
in the tourist season. There is scope here, however, for the planning system
to limit such activity on the grounds of bad neighbourliness. Another type of
noise derives from the noise of people living in close proximity, and as urban
densities increase and urban green space in parks and gardens is
developed, it is likely that this type of noise will increase.
Density
2.2.128
The preference for apartments over maisonettes and houses that emerges
from the Dwellings Database (see Table 2.11) indicates that residential
densities in the Islands are increasing. In order to assess the impact of
increasing densities on quality of life and the character of urban areas, the
Planning Authority has undertaken a Densities Study, which is based on the
geographical analysis of dwellings and population data from the 1995
Census and a 1996 Water Services Corporation geographical dataset.
2.2.129
The Densities Study seeks to examine residential densities both in terms of
urban population density and dwelling unit density (see Table 2.37). The
Study was carried out at two scales: urban densities were first assessed at
local council level and then at a more detailed scale in seven pilot
settlements. These settlements were chosen because they represent a range
of settlement types, from modern coastal towns to traditional rural
73
settlements and nineteenth century suburbs. Since each of these settlements
contains a range of residential areas of different characteristics, the
approach taken in this study has been to investigate densities in each of the
individual character areas that make up each settlement. Character areas
were chosen on the basis of urban areas that have distinct characteristics in
terms of streetscape, heights, age and road widths. This character
assessment has no statutory basis or implications and has been developed
for the purposes of the Densities Study with the assistance of the Local
Plans Unit. While the local council level investigation is based on 1995
Census data, the character area analysis draws on the Water Services
Corporation geographical dataset containing Maltese population and
dwelling units per street. The boundaries of the character areas for each of
the seven pilot settlements have been entered into a geographical
information system and analysed together with the Water Services data in
order to determine population and dwelling densities in each character area.
TABLE 2.37 RESIDENTIAL DENSITIES CLASSIFIED BY DENSITY RANGES
Density range
Low (3 – 20)
Description of
settlements
Local Councils
Suburbs
Seaside town
Historic city
Large town
Pembroke, Lija, Mtarfa, Swieqi, Iklin, Attard,
Floriana
Mellieha, Naxxar, Xaghra, Nadur, Kercem,
Xewkija, Qala, Ghasri, Ghajnsielem, Gharb,
Sannat, San Lawrenz, Qrendi
Mdina, Victoria
St. Julian’s, Marsascala, Munxar (including
Xlendi), Xghajra, Marsaxlokk, Kalkara, Vittoriosa
Safi, Qrendi, Zurrieq, Mgarr, Mqabba, Siggiewi,
Kirkop, Ghaxaq, Fontana
Zebbug (Malta), Zejtun, Luqa, Qormi, Mosta,
Marsa
St.Venera, Ta’ Xbiex, Balzan, San Gwann
Tarxien, Zabbar, Msida, Pieta, Gzira, Birkirkara,
Birzebbugia, Santa Lucia, Paola
St Paul’s Bay
Cospicua
Hamrun
Seaside Towns
Historic cities
Zebbug (Gozo) (including Marsalforn), Sliema
Valletta, Senglea
Villages
Historic Cities
Seaside towns and
cites
Villages
Medium (21 – 30)
Small towns
Suburbs
Towns
High (31 – 40)
Very High (41+)
Source: Census 1995
2.2.130
Table 2.38 summarises the results of the dwelling density analysis at a local
council level, indicating that some of the larger Maltese towns have relatively
high residential densities, while rural towns and suburbs sometimes have
densities that are below 20 units/ha (for full detail see Appendix 2.3). Overall,
densities in Malta are on the low side, and our average residential density is
74
27 units per hectare, which is slightly higher than in the UK (Ricketts 2001) the broad difference between the UK, for example, and Malta with regard to
densities seems to be that dwellings are larger, at the expense of front and
back gardens, and public open space and wider roads.
TABLE 2.38 THE DENSITY OF CHARACTER AREAS
Character Areas for
selected localities
Area (Ha)
Population
Dwelling
Units
30
2,725
896
92
30
17.8
1172
337
65.8
18.9
Village Core
9.4
847
298
90.3
31.8
Housing Estate
0.8
27
9
34.9
11.6
Paola
102
9,400
3,781
92
37
Ghajn Dwieli
11.8
498
205
42.4
17.4
Kordin
14.9
308
95
20.6
6.4
Paola Wolves
10.1
378
154
37.3
15.2
Central Area
58.1
7755
2991
133.5
51.5
Newer urban area
4.8
650
236
135.8
49.3
Qormi
200
17,654
5,917
88
30
Housing Estates
38.53
4395
1269
114.1
32.9
Village Core
38.33
5229
1834
136.4
47.9
Residential/Warehousing
28.71
2950
927
102.8
32.3
HOS Schemes
17.71
1162
372
65.6
21.0
Tal-Handaq
13.11
86
28
6.6
2.1
Qormi Tal-Bajjad
50.64
1450
470
28.6
9.3
130
12,906
7,152
99
55
Tigne
20.19
1205
820
60
41
Coastal apartment area
14.39
1055
971
73
67
4.56
684
353
149
77
61.84
8761
4952
142
80
153
7,352
3,549
48
23
29.8
917
609
31
20.4
8.1
390
268
48
32.9
Old St. Julian’s
36.4
2433
1114
67
30.6
Balluta Flatted Area
20.6
1951
685
95
33.3
Ta’ Giorni Housing Estate
24.6
1384
916
56
37.2
240
7,392
9,068
31
38
Qawra
49.92
1208
2759
24.2
55.3
Bugibba
80.36
2211
3238
27.5
40.3
St. Paul's Bay village
96.06
1811
3112
18.9
32.4
Dingli
Suburban Housing
Sliema
UCA (Lazy Corner)
UCA (Central)
St. Julian’s
Paceville
The Gardens Villa Area
St. Paul's Bay
Pop/Ha Dwelling units/Ha
TABLE 2.38 THE DENSITY OF CHARACTER AREAS (cont.)
75
Character Areas for
selected localities
Area (Ha)
Population
Dwelling
Units
175
6,721
2,544
38
15
Low Density Villa area
15.6
465
186
7.0
2.8
Terraced Housing
53.4
3584
1609
67.1
30.1
Ibragg Villa Area
27.16
585
270
21.5
9.9
48.1
386
195
8.0
4.1
Swieqi
Madliena Villa Area
Pop/Ha Dwelling units/Ha
Source: Census 1995, Planning Authority Densities Study, Water Services
Corporation Data
2.2.131
Table 2.38 presents findings from the Density Study’s character area
analysis. The seven localities included in this part of the study were chosen to
include the busy modern towns of Sliema, St. Paul’s Bay and St. Julian’s, the
village of Dingli, the nineteenth century suburb of Paola, the historic industrial
town of Qormi, and the new suburb of Swieqi. Through this exercise, it has
been possible to assess the relationship between population and residential
density and the character of an area, in terms of the densities in the
character area. One of the main findings from this part of the Study relates to
the density of village core areas, which the Study reveals provide dense
residential environments made up of houses with gardens, rather than the
equally dense three-bedroomed apartment blocks in other residential areas
(see village cores in Dingli, St. Julian’s and St. Paul’s Bay, as well as the
denser village cores of Paola, Sliema and Qormi).
2.2.132
It is intended that this methodology for assessing residential densities is
used in the local plan process to examine the impact of height relaxation
policies on the character of urban areas. The role of the Review would then
be to provide a context through which local plans are encouraged to assess
the implications of height relaxation policy on urban character by assessing
the density implications of the proposed changes.
2.2.133
Having reviewed the principal issues of external residential quality, and the
Planning Authority’s work on densities, the issues of quality that concern
housing in the various designated areas of Malta and Gozo are now
examined.
Quality Issues in the Temporary Provision Schemes
2.2.134
The last decade has witnessed the development of 314 hectares of
residential land in the Temporary Provision Schemes, and these areas have
particular quality characteristics that need addressing. The Structure Plan
notes in paragraph 6.7 and SET 8 that the layouts of the Schemes had not
allowed for sufficient residential amenity in the form of retail, education,
social and community facilities and it calls for local plans to review the
scheme layouts. To a large extent this has proved to be difficult on the
ground, due to existing commitments and implications for property values. In
practice the few sites that have been made available for social and
76
community facilities or public transport have eaten away at the little public
open space provision (and white areas) in the Schemes.
2.2.135
Innovative approaches are therefore required to improve to the public realm
in the TPS areas. One measure that has emerged through DC 2000 is the
floor area ratio approach, which allows for increases in building heights that
are balanced by provision of public open space. While this approach does
offer scope for gaining much needed public open space, its application on a
case by case basis through the development control process might lead to
commitments that may compromise skylines. It is therefore considered that
the local plan process, wherein skylines may be protected through the
designation of visual envelopes, should guide the use of floor area ratios.
Another measure that might prove useful concerns the conversion of
redundant space in overly wide streets into landscaped or play areas. In all
areas, incremental loss of urban greenery should be avoided and more
provision encouraged. Almost all the respondents to the Public Attitude
Survey (91 percent) agreed that there should be more trees in their locality
and respondents also called for the protection of wooded parks such as
Buskett, Ta’ Qali and Kennedy Grove. Local Councils could also achieve
much improvement by ensuring that the open spaces in their localities are
more accessible and pleasant, since a good number of them exist as traffic
islands or are in an abandoned state.
2.2.136
However, one of the main design issues in the TPS areas has resulted out of
the strict zoning for housing and standard plots sizes in the TPS layouts.
Monotonous urban streetscapes are common in these areas, where wide
empty streets are dominated by garage openings and steep flights of steps
leading up to the first floor. Front gardens are generally taken up by stairways
and garage ramps. The construction of external staircases that are
sometimes a full storey in height is not an optimal design in terms of
accessibility, both for families with young children and in the context of
Malta’s ageing population. The same issues arise when these standard long
and narrow plots are developed as apartment blocks. Unfortunately,
residents’ attempts to introduce interest and variety into their house facades
often jar, since the styles and apertures bear little relationship to each other,
and these dwellings add little value to the urban form. Opportunities to
introduce design considerations into urban development have largely been
lost, although Government housing could take the lead here. Variety could
also be introduced by allowing an appropriate mix of compatible uses and
mixed size developments in these areas, although this is often only possible
in larger schemes. Indeed, without measures to consolidate property
ownerships and re-develop in a comprehensive manner it is unlikely that
much can be achieved in terms of improvements to the external
environments of residential areas.
2.2.137
Wider issues of general upkeep of a settlement surface mostly where there
is a combination of one or more of certain factors such as residential
vacancy, and concentrations of low income residents and commercial
activity. Shabby urban areas are unfortunately common in town centres
77
across the Islands, pointing to the need for town centre management and for
bringing residents back into these areas, which might jar with emerging
policy in local plans to restrict new housing at ground level in town centres.
Measures such as compulsory orders for conservation have started to be
used in Malta (although only one has been issued so far), and are
commonplace overseas in conservation areas such as Chester, UK. Similar
measures could include compulsory maintenance orders in town centres,
tourism and entertainment zones and urban coastal areas, to ensure the
maintenance of properties in such strategic locations. In Urban Conservation
Areas, the issues are wider and more intractable.
Quality Issues in Historic Urban Areas
2.2.138
Quality issues in historic urban areas revolve around the age of residential
properties there, which although protected precisely because of their age,
are not necessarily popular as residences due to their physical
obsolescence, absence of lifts and toilets, small rooms and other such
features of old properties. In such areas residential vacancy is high, and so is
out-migration: the remaining populations are often elderly. Indeed, one of the
principal issues for this Topic Paper is the exodus of population from dense,
historical and commercial urban areas to the low-density residential areas in
the suburbs. The Housing Quality Survey indicates that living in a quiet, clean
environment was the second most important reason for occupant satisfaction
after being close to amenities. The perception of living in a clean and quiet
environment was strongest in the North West and Gozo Local Plan areas (16
percent of satisfied residents) and lowest in the Grand Harbours (5 percent)
and the South (7 percent), which are both older and more industrial. At the
same time, funding for rehabilitation of properties and the environment in
older urban areas has been recognised as a public priority for some time.
2.2.139
Government is funding a number of measures for conservation of historic
urban areas. Annual budget estimates indicate that funding for urban renewal
and rehabilitation has increased from approximately Lm 700,000 in 1994 to
Lm 3 million in 2000, although progress is still slow compared to what needs
to be done in this area. The principal public sector channels for such funding
are the three Rehabilitation Projects, in Valletta, Cottonera and Mdina.
Unfortunately, with budgets of some Lm 200,000 each, these bodies are
under-funded. Significant conservation resources have recently been
directed towards the restoration of St. James’ Cavalier in Valletta, and this
project is aimed at rehabilitating a historical monument while improving
cultural and social facilities in the city. Through the Mdina Rehabilitation
Project, the Environment Ministry is currently offering grants for
improvements to facades in this city.
2.2.140
Funding for urban rehabilitation and repair has also been made available
through the Planning Authority. In July 2000, the Planning Authority awarded
Lm 9,679 in grants to assist residents in homes with timber balconies in the
Three Cities and Kalkara to repair or replace their balconies. The scheme,
which began in 1996, was extended to Valletta and Floriana in 2000.
78
Housing Authority Schemes are also in place to encourage residents to
improve their properties. These schemes include various options including
fiscal refunds, grants, loans and subsidies, which between 1998 and 1999
amounted to nearly Lm 400,000. As noted earlier, Schemes 5 (previously L)
and Z (previously N) for home improvements have met with enthusiasm by
tenants and owners of older properties. Nevertheless, while public sector
funding on urban rehabilitation and renewal is on the increase, the total figure
still falls short of the funding required for effective urban regeneration.
2.2.141
Critical areas for urban renewal are Mdina, Valletta, Floriana and the Three
Cities, where the vitality and physical condition of these critical areas are
under threat both due to the high incidence of residential vacancy and
because of increasing poverty; a significant proportion of the remaining
residents are from income groups that cannot afford to maintain their homes.
Mdina, Rabat and Cittadella are considered important areas for urban
conservation, due to their value as World Heritage Sites and candidate
World Heritage Sites, but it is not considered that these areas require
specific policies for urban renewal. The areas that have so far been allocated
formal Rehabilitation Projects are Valletta, Cottonera and Mdina. However
the approach being taken, which largely concentrates on the upgrading of
specific buildings or streets (except for Mdina where Lm 25,000 is available
for repairs to facades, and overhead cabling is being undergrounded) might
benefit from a more holistic vision of urban renewal (see below).
2.2.142
Government is currently considering the setting up of a regeneration agency
to assist with the process of bringing public and private sector vacant
properties into use. This process will involve a partnership with the private
sector, as well as fiscal incentives to encourage the sale of the properties. It
is intended that the agency should have a private sector branch that would
own the properties in question in return for shares allocated to the original
owners. However, in the absence of legal frameworks for the setting up of
charitable trusts, ownership of heritage buildings remains delicate issue.
Government will need to find a legal means to ensure that nationally
important heritage buildings remain in public ownership, in order to avoid
difficulties that may arise with regard to public accessibility. The recent
Heritage Bill is in fact addressing this issue by proposing the concept of
custodianship rather than ownership.
2.2.143
While the Maltese situation is still fluid, there are lessons to be learned from
the experience of other countries this field. International experience suggests
that safeguards may be put into place so that certain important historic
properties remain in public ownership, while they may be renovated,
managed and rented out at realistic rates by the agency. Further, good
practice suggests that holistic approaches to urban regeneration are often
the most effective (see, for example, the National Housing Federation’s
Regeneration and Communities (1998) and Slater (2001)). A
comprehensive and integrated approach to dealing with the problems facing
Valletta should therefore ensure that this agency is able to function across
central Government and local council boundaries, on the basis of a strategic,
79
consensually-arrived at vision for the city. The importance of this approach
lies in the recognition that key interdependencies exist between different
aspects of deprivation, including not only the physical and economic, but also
the social and cultural.
2.2.144
In this respect, a comprehensive strategy would need to address a
combination of factors such as housing, recycling of unused property, training
and access to the labour market, education, community and social projects
(such as provision of sports facilities), fighting crime and fear of crime,
business support, development schemes, transport, environmental and
amenity space, health and culture. Inclusion of the private sector should be
helpful not simply in providing funds, but in developing the economic
strategies that should lead to the creation of new jobs. A town centre
management approach may also feature as part of the strategy. Given the
present fluidity of the Maltese approach at present, and the complexity of the
issues involved, the Review will need to explore these issues further.
Other Urban Areas
2.2.145
While redevelopment is not a preferred measure in conservation areas such
as Valletta and the Three Cities, there are other low-quality urban areas in
which post-war housing and tourism units are ripe for redevelopment. Such
measures could be used in areas such as Bugibba, Qawra and Paceville. In
such areas it is important that guidelines are carefully laid out that consider
design, urban form and mix of uses, before redevelopment commences,
otherwise the overall quality of the urban area is not likely to improve. This
consideration brings the discussion on housing quality to a close, and this
context chapter may now be concluded with a list of issues. Before doing
this, however, it is important to observe how the issues that emerge for the
Maltese Islands in general relate to the specific context of Malta’s second
largest island, Gozo
2.3
Gozo
2.3.1
Housing issues in Gozo are somewhat different to those in Malta. Gozo has
a high rate of residential vacancy - the 1995 Census indicates that in 1995,
6,000 dwellings were vacant (almost 40 percent) out of the total stock of
15,500. Of these 6,000 dwellings, 1,793 were newly constructed and 2,975
in a good state of repair. Additionally, 3,098 dwellings, or over half the vacant
stock, were being used as second homes and 2,411 were apartments. The
Ministry for Gozo does not at present consider it necessary to formulate a
specific policy with regard to the purchase of homes by non-residents and it
is considered that larger projects such as those at Chambray will not affect
house prices for the local population. However the situation is to be closely
monitored in order to ascertain whether purchases of second homes by nonGozitans is having an undesirable impact on prices or aspects of community
life.
80
2.3.2
At the same time, low population densities have made Gozitans accustomed
to large dwellings. Although the trend seems to be slowly changing for young
couples, as the increasing incidence of purchases of low cost holiday homes
as first homes indicates, there is still a much heavier demand for houses than
maisonettes or apartments. This is confirmed by the fact that there were not
enough applicants to take up Housing Authority offers of maisonettes in Qala
and Xewkija.
2.3.3
However there is a need for assistance to be directed towards the purchase
and upgrading of the substantial number of vacant dwellings – 1,448 require
maintenance or are in a dilapidated state according to the 1995 Census.
This figure represents more than half the demographic element of Gozo’s
housing requirement for the next twenty years. This is especially important in
particular settlements such as San Lawrenz (30 such units available).
2.3.4
Pockets of both social and housing deprivation do exist in Gozo but this is
fairly evenly spread. It is estimated by the Ministry for Gozo that there are no
particular sectors of the population in greater need, and certainly not the
elderly. It is also considered that current family structures can take care of
other social problems in the foreseeable future. However, the sharp rise in
house prices in Gozo over the last twenty years (Association of Estate
Agents 1999) has contributed to a housing affordability problem in Gozo.
Though some families reserve land and dwellings for their offspring, there is
a problem of housing affordability for aspiring couples, as well as other types
of households such as the elderly (Gozo public consultation meeting). This is
complicated by the fact that a small number of major developers dominate
the Gozitan property market, some of whom focus on the rental and sale of
property to certain categories of non-Maltese residents (Gozo public
consultation meeting). Separated persons find more difficulty: it is interesting
to note here that as larger households purchase and move out of the TacCawla housing estate, some of these residences are being bought by
separated couples (Gozo Social Housing section – Gozo public consultation
meeting). Rising property prices are having an effect on household mobility –
this has also been observed in Malta, despite the general trend towards
household inertia.
2.3.5
The projected household growth in Gozo is 2,466 households over the 20year Review period. It is the view of the Ministry for Gozo that with the total
number of vacant dwellings, excluding second homes, standing at 2,975, it is
reasonable to suggest that every possible effort be made to utilise these
units before resorting to new land supply. Given the availability of such a high
number of vacant units, it is considered that existing provision is sufficient.
However the Ministry notes that this assessment depends on the assumption
that the utilisation of these units is not hindered through planning policy, rent
laws, and inheritance problems, amongst others. The Ministry would like to
see any new development spread evenly through the Island, in such a way as
to maintain and preserve the particular characteristics of each locality. Any
issues of localised land supply will be addressed through the local plan
process.
81
2.3.6
In general therefore, the housing sector in Gozo is characterised by a large
supply of land and relatively small requirement for social housing. In addition,
both the issues of residential vacancy and second homes are experienced
more strongly in Gozo. The principal issues in the Maltese housing sector are
now summarised.
2.4
Principal issues in Malta’s housing sector
2.4.1
This overview of the Maltese housing context has brought to light a series of
issues that will need addressing in the Structure Plan Review. The following
issues are therefore presented by way of concluding this chapter; they are
taken up again in the final chapter of this Paper, when they will feed into the
discussion on the way forward for the housing sector in the Review.
2.4.2
•
Satisfying demographic need, which is growing faster than the projected
demographic growth in the current Structure Plan;
•
High levels of dwelling approvals in comparison with household growth;
•
A housing distribution pattern that has led to increasing suburbansiation;
•
Increasing levels of residential vacancy;
•
The need to provide for access to affordable housing for all;
•
Targeting social housing at meeting the needs of the most deserving;
•
Improving housing quality, both internally and on the level of the
neighbourhood.
Having drawn this analysis of the principal characteristics of the housing
sector in the Maltese Islands to a close with a summary of emerging issues,
the Paper now moves on to situate Malta’s housing issues in an international
context and to examine how they relate to the concept of sustainable
development. After this, the Paper examines Malta’s quantitative housing
requirements for the Structure Plan Review in Chapter 4.
82
3
The Wider Context: International issues
and Sustainability
3.1
International context
3.1.1
This section reviews current trends in international land-use planning policy
for housing, drawing on the experiences of a range of countries of different
sizes, geographical locations and degrees of industrialisation. It then
discusses planning for housing in the context of the EU and of good practice
in the field of sustainable settlements. While the focus of the discussion is
European, experience in other states is also noted.
Current trends in planning policy for housing
3.1.2
International planning policy for housing involves objectives that promote the
construction of new housing in appropriate locations, the efficient
management of existing stock, improvements to the quality of housing in
areas of decline, changes in the balance of housing tenure, and the meeting
of specific cases of housing need (see extensive review of European
experience in CEC (1997)). There are few examples of clear spatial housing
policy at national level because such policy is often carried out on a regional
or metropolitan scale. Where they exist, these include setting general goals
and targets for total housing provision, although in the UK, for example,
overall housing targets set by central government are increasingly being
challenged at the local level. National level planning functions also include:
creating a tenure balance through tax incentives, subsidies and promotion of
owner occupation, particularly where it is currently low (such as Germany and
Italy) and the promotion of social mix to counteract segregation. In terms of
spatial distribution, there is less intervention and the national policy generally
is directed at the containment of urban areas and the reuse of vacant urban
land. The main aim is to restrict urban sprawl, accompanied by
intensification of land use in existing built up areas on infill sites, and stronger
restrictions on building in the countryside.
3.1.3
In all countries, however, there is a movement towards the integration of
fiscal and spatial strategies in housing policy (increasingly focused on
rehabilitation, renewal and redevelopment of existing land and properties).
The trend is towards increased use of subsidies and incentives, in
combination with an increased role for the private sector in providing
affordable housing. This trend recognizes the role of economic conditions
and credit for house purchases in housing development rates. In what
follows, key trends in planning for housing are highlighted and the situation in
particular countries is reviewed.
83
Increasing demand
3.1.4
There is a general trend in European countries towards increasing demand
for housing. While in the north, this is related to declining household sizes
and ageing populations, in the south of Europe it is closely linked to poor
existing stock and homelessness, although the extent of homelessness
varies significantly between countries. Significantly for Malta, Spain,
Portugal, Greece and Italy all suffer from a legacy of illegal development,
whereby new settlements expanded without the accompanying social and
physical infrastructure. In some countries, such as Austria and Luxembourg,
demand for second homes is placing increasing pressure on the existing
housing stock.
Deregulation
3.1.5
While housing policy in many European countries is moving in the general
direction of declining intervention from the public sector, in southern countries
the magnitude of the housing problem often necessitates a public sector
lead. This is however often linked to a relaxation in rent controls and the
encouragement of a more flexible housing market. State led housing
construction has been the norm in some countries, where housing land is
acquired by the state and then sold to private companies (as in Austria) or
developed by the State (as in The Netherlands). Indeed, the rented public
housing segment in the Netherlands accounts for 40 percent of the housing
stock. The trend towards deregulation in many European countries is
coupled with increased emphasis on special agencies and co-operatives for
the provision of social housing.
Housing tenure
3.1.6
Owner occupation varies significantly within the EU: while in 1990 38 percent
of Germany’s housing stock was owner-occupied, in Ireland this figure is 81
percent, and policy is in place to address both of these extremes. Most
countries seek to attain a balance between rental and owner-occupied
properties, since while owner-occupation might encourage owners to better
maintain their properties, some social groups might find the financial burden
of home ownership too onerous. In countries with high owner occupation,
policies have been introduced to reduce tax relief for home ownership and
encourage the private rental sector. Nevertheless, the promotion of owner
occupation remains a primary policy objective, particularly in states where it
is uncommon, such as Germany and the Netherlands. In the interest of
increasing the availability of rental properties in states where rents have
been controlled, relaxation of rent controls has taken place in Finland,
Germany, Italy and Spain.
Physical condition
3.1.7
A widespread concern in European Union countries is the physical condition
of urban areas. While in some European countries the key planning issues
84
revolve around containing urban sprawl (Finland), or ribbon development
(Belgium), other countries are concerned with urban renewal, slum clearance
and spatial segregation on the basis of race or economic class
(Netherlands, Germany, France and Ireland). In some cases, central
government has allocated funds for urban renewal and property renovation,
and Irish policy has been particularly successful in this area. In Ireland, a
combination of fiscal and spatial approaches has made a significant
contribution to the provision of new housing in urban areas. In southern
states, the attainment of minimum housing quality standards is seen as a
priority.
National experiences
Southern European States
3.1.8
Planning legislation for housing is relatively new in southern Europe, and the
planning profession likewise does not enjoy a long history. In Madrid, Spain,
the priorities for housing policy include avoiding continual increases in house
prices, promoting rehabilitation in historic centres, breaking the
concentration of tertiary uses in these centres and promoting residential
uses. In Portugal, a modern planning system was instituted through Law
208/82, and one of the major policy goals is regaining and increasing
Lisbon’s falling population. Italian planning legislation has not changed
significantly since 1942 (Law 1150/1942), and few regions have passed
planning legislation (7 out of 20 in 1996). The profession of planning is not
legally recognised and planning departments are lead by architects and
engineers. Here, new objectives seek house building through partnerships
with the private sector, rather than expropriation of private land by the state,
as was widespread practice in the past. In many regions of Italy, lack of any
medium or long-term socio-economic strategy inhibits effective planning for
housing.
Singapore
3.1.9
Singapore is now half built up, with a large part of its land area having been
gained through its ongoing programme of a
l nd reclamation. Singapore’s
planning system is proactive, with housing estates, a central business district
and recreational parks. A full 82 percent of the population lives in high
density dwellings (plot ratios of 2.1 and over) that cover 50 percent of
residential land, and government’s aim is to reduce the percentage of
persons living in high-density dwellings to 70 percent. Residential densities
in Singapore are classified as high, medium (high and medium densities
average 214 units per hectare) and low (36 units per hectare), with a national
average residential density of 142 units per hectare (see discussion on
densities in Section 2.2). While 50 percent of the low density housing is
government property, 38 percent of the housing market is rental. A mass
rapid transit system links home and work places, and carries 800,000
persons per day (see Addae-Depaal 1999).
85
The Netherlands
3.1.10
3.1.11
A full 40 percent of Holland’s housing stock is in public ownership, and this is
the highest rate of public ownership in Western Europe. Not all this goes for
social housing: in the Hague 38 percent of rental properties are leased to
high-income households. Premius (1998) notes however that 30 percent of
projected new housing is to be directed to social housing, and many
residents will be provided with allowances. There is a strong emphasis in
Holland on restructuring post-war urban areas, and with half the population of
cities being migrant workers, there are concerns about social segregation. It
was found that the previous ‘build for the neighbourhood’ policy in urban
renewal projects gradually eroded the economic base of large cities and it is
now recognised that there is a need to make the city more attractive for
higher-income earners. Similarly, it is acknowledged that suburban
residential development will draw more high-income earners out of the city.
To break this mould, Dutch policy encourages affordable housing in new
areas and high quality housing in cities. Housing policymakers in Holland are
concerned that urban renewal programmes should focus on encouraging the
wealthier to remain rather than on moving the poor out. Measures to achieve
these objectives include:
•
Demolition and redevelopment of inexpensive rental dwellings in core
areas;
•
Renovation;
•
Upgrading;
•
Joining units;
•
Sale of rental dwellings;
•
Acquisition of old private dwellings by housing associations;
•
Improvements to urban infrastructure, public areas and public green
space;
Yet Dutch experience has shown that only in larger complexes that were
publicly owned could urban renewal be successfully carried out. Another
salient feature of Dutch planning for housing is the use of the principle of
proximity to existing settlements, which encourages bicycle access.
The United Kingdom
3.1.12
In March 2000, the UK Government published its updated guidance on
housing (PPG3). This seeks to achieve a mix of social and environmental
objectives through an innovative policy mix. In particular, the guidance points
to a new conceptual framework for planning for housing, in which the old
dictum of ‘predict and provide’ gives way to a new philosophy of ‘plan,
monitor and manage’. Nevertheless, the UK system is still based on
86
cascading down from the national, regional and country level to a district
allocation, and the exercise is repeated every five years. Using this concept,
local authorities are advised to plan for a particular amount of development
every year, monitoring the trends using a specific series of indicators, and
managing the development rate. Reviews to housing predictions should be
undertaken at a minimum of every five years. A second and related element
of the new PPG3 is its emphasis on a ‘sequential approach’ to housing
development, where 60 percent of new housing is to take place on
brownfield sites, and where the authorities should seek to use up their urban
opportunities before turning to greenfield sites. It is envisaged that housing
can also be gained through: higher densities (between 30 and 50 dwellings
per hectare) and lower parking standards, particularly in sites well served by
public transport; use of vacant and derelict buildings; and smaller and more
affordable homes that cater for the fact that 70 percent of the growth in
households in the UK will be in the form of single-person households. In this
context the guidance stresses that local authorities need to meet the housing
needs of all the community, including the aged, students, the homeless, key
workers and the disabled. It stresses the importance of mixed and vibrant
communities, advising that large housing areas of similar characteristics
should be avoided: housing should not reinforce social divisions. Affordable
housing may be met through constraining developers to dedicate a
proportion of their development to affordable housing. Finally, the guidance
highlights the contribution offered by greening of the residential environment
to the process of urban renaissance, through, for example, reduced site
coverage.
EU Guidance on Housing
3.1.13
While the European Union (EU) does not offer specific guidance on planning
for housing, the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) offers a
framework for integrated spatial planning across the member states of the
Union. The objective of the ESDP is to gain economic and social cohesion
and to achieve sustainable and balanced development throughout the EU.
The ESDP highlights the following trends that are relevant to housing issues:
continuing urban sprawl; increasing social segregation, especially in large
cities where significant sections of the population are threatened by
exclusion from urban society; and, improvements in the quality of the urban
environment.
3.1.14
Natural population growth in the EU has been very low for years and is
showing a declining trend. Increasing urbanisation and expectations for
residential space push up demand for residential accommodation and
building land. Immigration is also of increasing importance, as it accounts for
two-thirds of population growth, and places additional pressures on housing
requirements. A growing divergence in income and lifestyle is reflected in
housing and residential location. Living conditions in certain areas may be
considered unsuitable for middle to high-income families and such families
move out of central areas. Through these processes, poorer families
87
become concentrated in the inner cites and on social housing estates,
causing social segregation.
3.1.15
Importantly for Malta, the ESDP notes the sensitive nature of attractive
coastal and island regions that are experiencing heavy development
pressures, on account of their limited resources and accessibility. The
Perspective notes with particular concern the trend towards increasing
numbers of second homes and points to the need for careful land use
planning in such areas.
3.1.16
In order to address these issues, the ESDP outlines a number of measures.
First, tight control over further urbanization, concentrating resources on the
revitalisation of existing inner city areas, before developing new building
areas. Second, it encourages member states and regional authorities to
pursue the concept of the ‘compact city’, to minimise further urban
expansion. Cities should be accessible, and guided by a spatial policy for
location that is integrated with sustainable transport goals. This would reduce
dependency on the private car and promote other means of mobility, such as
public transport and cycling. Policies to limit suburbanisation include
increasing the supply of building land in inner city areas and improving the
quality of life and housing conditions in urban areas. Most cites have
introduced measures to combat environmental problems, however the quality
of the environment is still in need of further improvement in many areas.
According to the ESDP, deprived neighbourhoods should be regenerated to
achieve a mix of activities and social groups within the urban structure. With
respect to countries aspiring for EU Membership, the Perspective notes that
the public sector in such states has limited financial resources and technical
infrastructure is developing slowly and unevenly in comparison with changes
in the private sector.
3.1.17
The EU has the responsibility for allocating funds for special measures such
as urban renewal. This is a concern across Europe, especially in the
southern member states where meeting minimum quality standards is an
important goal, as noted in paragraph 3.1.7 above. In various urban pilot
projects, three principal goals have been supported: first, the economic
development in areas of relative deprivation, for example, in Marseilles
economic revitalisation and upgrading of the environment of three housing
estates has been supported by the EU. Second, the EU has supported
environmental actions linked to economic goals, such as, for example, in
Athens where the development of a regional recreation and training centre
has been supported. Finally, priority is given to revitalisation of historic
areas, and this includes economic regeneration of historic areas such as that
of Lisbon.
Sustainable settlements
3.1.18
One of the outputs of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and
Development in Rio de Janeiro was a programme of action called Agenda
21, which solidified the Rio agreements into a concrete set of achievable
88
policy objectives, and horizontal measures such as sustainability indicators
and stakeholder involvement. Several objectives in Agenda 21 focus on
sustainable settlements, and in particular, it has become commonplace for
localities to prepare their own Local Agenda 21 (LA21) plans. Such ‘green’
plans often contain detailed prescriptions and targets for attaining
sustainable development objectives, and in many cases these objectives
respond to social as well as environmental concerns. A set of linked issues
are generally the subject of such LA21 documents: these relate to urban form
and its relationship with transport patterns, as is captured in the compact
cities debate; making town centres vital and viable; provision of opportunities
for waste reduction, recycling and reuse; significant improvements to public
transport; measures to turn around processes of deprivation that result in
inner city decay and crime, including positive programmes of education and
employment generation; and, finally, provision of drastically improved
opportunities for informal recreation in the form of public open space and
urban parks. The compact city debate has perhaps received most
widespread attention; in exposing how suburban living and out of town
retailing encourage car usage, the debate has focused on the environmental
and social benefits of denser and ‘richer’ urban forms. More recently,
activities such as the international Sustainable Cities Network has taken firm
steps towards achieving reductions in greenhouse emissions on a citywide
basis (see http\\www.sustainable_cities.com). For the Maltese Islands,
sustainable development requires local interpretation.
Key lessons from international practice
3.1.19
This review of international practice suggests that a number of lessons may
be drawn from international experience. These include the recognition that:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
cities should be accessible, and guided by a spatial policy for location
that is integrated with sustainable transport goals;
rapid transit is necessary for linking home and workplaces in densely
populated regions;
housing can be also gained through higher densities and lower parking
standards, particularly in sites well served by public transport;
the greening of the residential environment has much to contribute to
the process of urban renaissance, through, for example, reduced site
coverage;
attractive coastal and island regions that are experiencing heavy
development pressures, on account of their limited resources and
accessibility, need particular attention;
the trend towards increasing numbers of second homes in such
attractive coastal locations points to the need for careful land use
planning;.
meeting minimum residential quality standards remains an important
goal in southern European states;
deprived neighbourhoods should be regenerated to achieve a mix of
activities and social groups within the urban structure
89
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
segregation should be counteracted through promoting social mix and
a range of housing types;
urban renewal will need to be met through the integration of fiscal and
spatial strategies
urban renewal will need to include strategies for development in areas
of relative deprivation, and environmental actions linked to these
economic goals;
the previous ‘build for the neighbourhood’ policy in urban renewal
projects gradually eroded the economic base of large cities and there is
a need to make the city more attractive for higher-income earners;
suburban residential development draws more high-income earners out
of the city;
urban renewal programmes should focus on encouraging the wealthier
to remain rather than on moving the poor out;
there is a need to encourage the provision of affordable housing in new
areas and high quality housing in cities;
large housing areas of similar characteristics do not promote mixed
and vibrant communities;
there is a role for the private sector in providing affordable housing;
despite a general trend towards deregulation, many southern European
states have maintained a public sector lead in the housing sector due
to the magnitude of the problems of quality and stock involved
.
3.2
Sustainability in Land-Use Planning for Housing in
Malta
3.2.1
While the interpretation of sustainable development2 has spawned a
sizeable literature in other countries, there is no official guidance on
sustainable development in the Maltese context, in the form of a set of
commonly-accepted goals or a strategy for its implementation (and none
specifically on sustainable housing provision).3 At the same time, the revised
Development Planning Act now includes sustainable development as a goal
for the Maltese Planning system.
(1) The functions of the Authority shall be the following :-
2
3
The concept of sustainable development was popularised by the 1987 document Our Common
Future, which was prepared by the World Commission on Environment and Development in the
run up to the 1992 Rio Conference, and its definition remains the most well-known:
“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.”
Although the recent Ministry for the Environment brochure ‘Environment and Sustainable
Development in Malta’ (2001) presents information on some of the main environmental issues
raised by the sustainable development agenda.
90
(a) the promotion of proper planning and sustainable development of land and
at sea, both public and private;
3.2.3
Additionally, the 2001 Environmental Protection Act provides for a National
Commission for Sustainable Development that has the function of promoting
sustainable development across all sectors of Malta and to prepare a
National Strategy for Sustainable Development.
3.2.4
Three related issues arise when interpreting sustainable development for the
Maltese housing sector: first, building development rates and the related
problems of residential vacancy; second, the dispersed settlement pattern;
and finally, the relationship between transport, employment and housing (see
Friends of the Earth 2001).
Building Development, Residential Vacancy and Basic Housing Need
3.2.5
The first sustainability issue for housing thus addresses the need to conserve
Malta’s natural environment in the context of a housing market that is
providing for more that its population’s basic needs. This is due to the
operation of two factors that are particular to Malta, and these are the role of
real estate as an investment asset, and consumer expectations in the
direction of a newly-built family house upon marriage. Based on household
formation rates, figures for dwelling units grounded in basic human need
would range between 1,500 and 1,700 units per annum, yet, as noted in
section 2.2 of this report, some 3000 permissions for housing units are being
granted per annum. A more sustainable housing policy would entail matching
provision and need more closely. This discussion is examined in detail in the
next chapter on housing requirements where additional considerations such
as second homes are taken into account.
3.2.6
The policy implications of this stance towards accommodating basic housing
needs point towards the fact that there are no good reasons for enlarging the
current development boundary. In addition, a longer term view would suggest
that by way of a very gentle approach to sustainability, certain areas inside
development zones could be temporarily frozen. However, a more immediate
starting point would be to focus attention on the vacant housing stock, which
increased by 11,700 between the 1985 and the 1995 Censuses. Since
results here would need to be yielded quickly, further amendment to the rent
laws does not qualify. An important measure for achieving sustainability in
housing provision would therefore entail some form of levy on empty
premises that would discriminate between second homes and permanently
vacant premises, as well as between vacant properties in varying states of
repair. Mortgage rates could also be tailored to favour purchase of vacant
properties.
Suburbanisation
91
3.2.7
Malta’s settlement pattern has become increasingly dispersed over the last
decades, with households leaving older properties in central locations and
moving to quieter suburban locations. This has led to growing decay of the
historical town centres of the Islands, mainly due to residential vacancy At the
same time, the addition of some 40,000 dwelling units to Malta’s current
stock (in 1995) of 155,200 units will have only a marginal influence on the
overall dispersed pattern of development. Nevertheless, the overall trend of
population movements away from town centres can be slowed if positive
measures for urban rehabilitation and regeneration can be put into place.
Measures should include traffic management and environmental
improvements (see section on housing quality in historic urban areas in
previous chapter). This type of initiative could set the tone for the future. The
process of suburbanisation has however been fuelled by the rise in private
personal mobility, which is the third issue to be addressed in the context of
achieving sustainable housing development.
Transport, Employment and Land Use
3.2.8
The integration of land-use, employment and transport planning is an
important element of planning for sustainable development in other countries
(see Lucas et al. 2000). The well-documented movement of population out of
the harbour area to settlements in the North West, Central and South Local
Plan areas has been matched by growth in private mobility, which increased
to 70 percent in 1998 from 55 percent in 1989. Despite international
emphasis on reducing the need to travel by matching jobs and work places, it
is considered that the scope for achieving such a match is slim in islands the
size of Malta and Gozo. Even if local employment were provided, it is
unlikely that residents would choose this option over opportunities further
afield for the sake of avoiding a relatively short car journey. Additionally, the
chances of generating significant planned local employment that is not
industrial would seem slim, as are the possibilities for restoring state
elementary schools to their formerly strong local catchment. On the other
hand, there is scope in urban generation measures that promote utilization of
existing housing stock, since these could assist with repopulating old town
centres. However this would have to translate into curtailment of the current
‘need’ for intense car use.
3.2.9
Given the lack of official guidance on sustainable development and
sustainable housing development in Malta, it is instructive to review the
experience from other countries in implementing sustainable development in
the housing sector. The UK literature is particularly developed in this regard.
Drawing on the UK 1999 Sustainable Development Strategy, Lucas et al.
(2000) propose that the sustainable development agenda may be divided
into four main areas of concern: effective protection of the environment;
prudent use of natural resources; maintenance of high and stable levels of
economic growth and development; and, social progress that recognizes the
needs of everyone. Building on this framework while acknowledging that this
broad definition involves objectives that are often conflicting, the authors
92
identify issues for the property industry within each of these four concerns
within the sustainable development agenda (see Table 3.1).
TABLE 3.1: SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES FOR THE PROPERTY SECTOR
Aims of Sustainable
Development
Issues for the Property Sector
Effective Protection of
the Environment
Use of environmentally friendly building materials
Promotion of energy efficiency in the production of building
materials
Promotion of energy efficiency in building use
Reduction of CO2 emissions generated from trips to and from
properties
Promotion of green settlements through encouragement of public
open space and landscape
Prudent use of natural
resources
Effective use of land for development
Use of environmentally friendly building materials;
Maximum use of brownfield, vacant, derelict or contaminated
sites
Effective use of land for transport
Maintaining Economic
Growth
Promotion of local employment
Revitalisation of town centres
Reduction of private trips to reduce congestion on roads
Ensuring the adequate provision of property for commercial and
residential use
Social Progress
Public participation in planning processes
Accountability
Social equity in access to facilities
Avoiding social exclusion
Source: UK Sustainable Development Strategy (1999); Lucas et al. (2000)
3.2.10
One way to promote sustainable housing development is through the use of a
checklist, and Appendix 3.1 provides details of the checklist proposed by
Lucas et al. (2000) for the property development sector.
3.2.11
In view the lack of local official direction on the issue of sustainable
development in Malta, it is possible to build a broad view of sustainability in
the Maltese housing sector by weaving together the issues above with those
cited by Lucas et al. (2000) in their review for the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund,
in a framework that is reflective of Maltese housing realities (see Table 3.2).
TABLE 3.2: SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES FOR THE MALTESE HOUSING SECTOR
Aims of Sustainable
Development
Issues for the Housing Sector
93
Effective Protection of the
Environment
Land allocations for housing grounded in human need
Efficient use of land and buildings, and encouragement of smaller homes,
possibly using fiscal measures
Promotion of energy efficiency in building use and the production of
building materials
Reduction of CO2 emissions generated from trips to and from properties,
through encouraging urban regeneration and improved public transport
and through siting high traffic generating uses close to public transport
interchanges
Protection of residential amenity, the urban fabric of historic cores and
local character
Prudent use of natural
resources
Promoting re-use of buildings;
Use of recycled or recyclable building materials
Maximum use of brownfield and town centre sites
Effective use of land for transport, through use of maximum car parking
standards in target areas and restraint in town centres
Provision of space for recycling and waste separation facilities
Maintaining Economic
Growth
Promotion of local employment
Revitalisation of town centres through mixed-use development
Reduction of private trips to reduce congestion on roads
Ensuring the adequate provision of property for commercial and
residential use
Social Progress
Public participation in planning processes
Provision and safeguarding of public open space and community spaces
Accountability in the provision of government services
Social equity in access to facilities
Avoiding social exclusion through the encouragement of developments of
mixed tenure and size
Source: adapted from the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, Lucas et al. (2000),
Friends of the Earth (2001)
3.2.12
The issues surrounding sustainable development in the housing sector are
necessarily wide, given the all-encompassing remit of the sustainability
agenda. They include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
containing urban development;
catering for need;
combating residential vacancy;
integrating transport and land-use planning;
urban regeneration;
development of environmentally friendly buildings and urban forms;
promotion of urban green space;
promotion of local employment.
At the same time, the discussion above suggests that sustainability in Malta
is closely linked to the quantitative assessment of Malta’s housing
requirements, which is addressed in the next chapter.
94
95
4
Quantitative Housing Requirements
4.0.1
This chapter sets out Malta’s quantitative housing requirements and supply
for the Review period. The chapter is focused on analysing housing
requirements as well as the adequacy of available land supply to meet
forecast requirements. This analysis is also presented on a local plan area
scale.
4.0.2
The approach taken in this chapter is to develop high, medium and low
development scenarios; and these scenarios are, as much as possible,
policy-neutral with respect to current planning and government policy, despite
the high uncertainty surrounding certain elements of housing over the Review
period. This means that although in many cases there will be policy
measures taken both by the Planning Authority and other bodies to turn
around some housing trends that may be considered undesirable, these
measures are not reflected in the current housing calculation. This paper has
however already flagged important issues as deserving of particular attention
in Chapter 2. In view of these concerns, the figures in the tables below may
well be altered through the Structure Plan Review consultation process.
4.1
Quantitative Housing Requirements
Housing requirements
4.1.1
Housing requirements may largely be assessed on the basis of
demographic need, as in the current Structure Plan (Technical Reports 1.1
and 1.2), however two other elements of housing also form part of the
Islands’ requirements. These are: second homes, and an element of ‘scrap’,
where substandard dwellings are envisaged to be lost without replacement.
Additionally, the Planning Authority is concerned that some permissions for
housing development are not implemented: for this reason the final element
of the housing requirements calculation relates to Malta’s completions ratio,
which is the percentage of residential permissions that are not taken up. It is
worth noting here that previous Structure Plan housing estimates of housing
requirements (see Appendix 4.1) have included an element of ‘slack’, which
is believed to ensure that the housing market is more flexible. However due
to Malta’s large stock of vacant housing, it is not considered that such an
allowance is justified (see detailed argument in Appendix 4.2). This section
visits each element of the housing requirements calculation in turn, and three
housing scenarios are developed, which provide a range of low, high and
medium estimates of Malta’s housing requirements.
96
Household projections
4.1.2
Housing requirements projections are based on demographic trends, and it
is the remit of the Review to ensure that sufficient housing is provided for the
new households likely to be formed in the next 20 years. Household
projections are provided by the Demography Topic Paper, which is based
on the 1995 Census. As explained in Chapter 2, the Paper estimates
household growth for the 25-year period between 1995 and 2020, giving a
figure of approximately 40,500 new households. Since the Housing Topic
Paper is concerned with housing during the 20-year Review period, the
projections are adjusted to cover the twenty-year period from 2000 to 2020,
which results in a household growth figure of 32,000 for the Plan period.
4.1.3
This Paper bases its forecast requirements on the median growth scenario,
which the Demography Topic Paper advises for use in the context of the
Review of the Structure Plan. The median scenario provided by the
Demography Paper is significantly higher than the figure used in the current
Structure Plan, which is 22,000 new households between 1990 and 2010,
(paragraph 8.1 page 31). This is due to the fact that household sizes are
decreasing, due to decreasing fertility, nuclearisation of the family unit,
formation of single parent households and ageing in one’s own home (less
institutionalisation).
Second homes
4.1.4
A second element of housing requirements calculation relates to the
pressure on new housing provision created by the second homes market,
which includes holiday homes. Since second homes draw on the existing
housing provision, added provision is required in order to make up for these
losses (see Chart 4.1).
4.1.5
Second residences, which numbered 12,967 in 1995 (Census 1995), are
often smaller than permanent homes and situated in coastal towns and
villages. Indeed, 50 percent of summer residences are in the North West
area of Malta, and 24 percent are in Gozo. These residences are mainly
located in: St. Paul’s Bay (5,318); Mellieha (1,115); Marsascala (1,016);
Birzebbugia (927); Xghajra (409) and St. Julian’s (193). In Gozo, the majority
of second homes are in Zebbug (including Marsalforn) (1,883), Munxar
(including Xlendi) (463) and Xaghra (206). Most of these summer residences
are apartments (73 percent), while 24 percent are houses or maisonettes.
The segment of holiday accommodation for rental is declining: while in 1998
there were 1,335 licensed units, in 2000, the total number stood at 1,201
(Malta Tourism Authority data). The chart on the following page illustrates the
geographical distribution of second homes by type of property:
4.1.6
The 1990 Structure Plan identified an existing supply of 10,000 second
homes (1985 Census), and a demand for 5,850 second homes, to be built
over the Plan period until 2010 (Report of Survey 1990, Part C). The addition
of 3,000 second homes in the period between 1985 and 1995 represents a
97
growth of approximately 300 units every year. For the purposes of the
Review, an estimate of the second homes component of the housing stock in
2020 is required, and three scenarios may be developed in order to explore
alternatives for the period.
Number of Dwelling
Units
CHART 4.1 SECOND HOMES, BY TYPE AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
5000
CMLP
GCLP
GHLP
MBLP
NHLP
NWLP
SMLP
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
House
Flat
Maisonette
Other
Source: Census 1995
4.1.7
4.1.8
A medium scenario could involve a continuation of the current trend of 300
new second homes every year. This would involve an addition of 6,000 units
to the housing stock over the Review period, bringing the number of second
homes up to 20,500 (including those built between 1995 and 2000). A
second scenario could allow for greater growth in the amount of second
homes in the Islands, at 400 properties per year, or 8000 over the review
period. A third and lower scenario could assume that demand for second
homes would fall, and a figure of only 200 second homes per year (4000
homes over 20 years) would thus be taken up over the Review period. The
lower estimate draws on the following considerations:
•
The growth in second homes between 1985 and 1995 took place in the
context of a housing market characterised by over-supply (Structure Plan
Monitoring Report 1997), which conflicts with other planning objectives
such as efficient use of land and housing, and environmental conservation
•
Forecasts for growth in second homes depend on a number of factors:
such as attractiveness of property as an investment opportunity,
alternative investment opportunities, including those in other countries,
property prices, economic cycles, average incomes and taste. Thus
forecasts based solely on past trends may not be very accurate;
•
The conflict between continued growth in second homes and other
planning objectives such as efficient use of land and housing, and
environment conservation.
Table 4.1 below summarises the three second homes growth scenarios.
98
TABLE 4.1 SECOND HOMES: LOW, MEDIUM AND HIGH SCENARIOS
Year
Low
Medium
High
Actual
1995
13,000
13,000
13,000
Estimated
2000
14,000
14,500
15,000
Estimated
2005
15,000
16,000
17,000
Estimated
2010
16,000
17,500
19,000
Estimated
2015
17,000
19,000
21,000
Estimated
2020
18,000
20,500
23,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
Difference 2000-2020
‘Scrap’
4.1.9
Technical Report 1.1 (section 6.2) estimated that 7,400 dwelling units, or just
under 6 percent of the 125,422 dwellings identified by the 1985 Census, are
likely to be scrapped without replacement in the period from 1985 to 2010.
Reasons for scrapping include very small size or poor condition, and this
figure does not include dwellings likely to be demolished and then rebuilt on
the same site. This figure is now considered to be questionable, since there
is no corroborative evidence available for this figure in the 1985 Census or
the Structure Plan surveys. This is particularly true in the light of findings on
substandard dwellings from the 1995 Census, which indicate, for example,
that Malta’s housing stock includes only 1,667 units with no toilet and 384
one-roomed dwellings. Further, with declining household size and the
formation of increasing numbers of single person households it is doubtful
whether this element should be included in the housing supply calculation.
Nevertheless, it is useful to attempt an estimate for this figure.
4.1.10
There are three possible approaches to the task of obtaining a reasonable
figure for dwellings that are to be scrapped in the Review period. The first
alternative is to base figures on the Census findings on vacant dilapidated
dwellings, which indicate that there are 2,300 (2,296) vacant dwellings that
are in a dilapidated condition (no figures exist for all dilapidated dwellings).
The two major constraints associated with this approach are: first, that some
dilapidated dwellings may not be vacant; and second, that there is an indirect
relationship between substandard dwellings and dilapidated dwellings, since
in some cases, residences that are dilapidated may nevertheless have
rehabilitation potential. Urban renewal is an important planning goal for the
existing Structure Plan and the Review, and the effect of planning policy to
increase rehabilitation of older dwellings needs to be taken into account
here.
4.1.11
A second approach could draw on Census information on substandard
housing units. The Census provides information on dwellings with no
bathroom (4,028), and those with no toilet (1,667). The higher figure could be
used as an indicator of a substandard dwelling, but it is nevertheless
inaccurate since some of these residences without bathrooms may be large
99
and comfortable, albeit old and some of these may be inhabited by elderly
people. These properties may have the potential to provide desirable
residences after rehabilitation (and the construction of a bathroom) or
redevelopment, and thus do not fit the condition of dwellings that are likely to
be “scrapped without replacement”.
4.1.12
A third and more accurate approach would be to move closer to the
definition of ‘scrap’ dwellings as those of very small size, and to use the
Census figure for one-roomed properties, which is 400 (384) (two roomed
dwellings are not considered to be ‘scrap’ since they have the potential to be
used as accommodation for single-person households). In this case the
‘scrap’ figure would be as low as 400, and in order to err on the side of
caution in this area of little data, it is suggested that this figure is rounded up
slightly to 500, which represents just under 0.3 percent of the dwelling stock.
Completions
4.1.13
The Planning Authority Completions Survey (see Appendix 1.2) indicates
that seven percent of residential dwellings for which permission has been
granted are not started. This suggests that there are factors that inhibit takeup of permissions for development, which need to be taken into account
when estimating housing requirements. In order to allow for such problems in
land take up, it is considered that housing requirements may be increased by
seven percent, and the figure used in the requirements calculation will be a
percentage of the total requirements figure that results from a sum of
projected household growth, second homes and ‘scrap’. Although this
element of housing requirement is not included in previous Structure Plan
housing calculations, it is considered that the completions ratio provides a
view into the element of housing provision that is not realised due to a set of
constraints that go beyond those directly related to planning, such as legal or
investment reasons, requiring an additional amount of housing to be built to
cover this shortfall.
Housing calculation
4.1.14
It is now possible to put forward a housing requirements assessment based
on demographic trends, second homes, the removal without replacement of
substandard dwelling units, and an allowance for non-take up of housing
provision. As indicated in Table 4.2, housing requirements should range
between 39,000 and 44,000 units within the Review period. The eventual
figure adopted in the Review will depend on the strategy chosen for Malta’s
future development and the accompanying set of policy measures.
TABLE 4.2 HOUSING REQUIREMENTS CALCULATION (2000-2020)
Element of housing requirements
Low Medium
High
Demographic requirements
Projected household growth
32,000
32,000
32,000
100
Additional requirements
Second homes
‘Scrap’
Subtotal
Allowance for non take up (7% of requirements for each
scenario)
Housing requirements
4.1.15
4,000
6,000
8,000
500
500
500
36,500
38,500
40,500
2,550
2,700
2,850
39,100
41,200
43,400
It is important now to examine whether there is adequate supply of land to
meet the alternative levels of housing requirements during the next 20 years
covered by this Review. In the following section, Malta’s housing and housing
land supply are assessed with a view to achieving the required provision.
Housing Land Supply
4.1.16
The supply of land for housing in Malta is primarily made up of the unbuilt
land in the Temporary Provisions Schemes and the housing capacity of
existing urban areas. Other elements of supply are provided by the housing
potential to be gained from conversions into residential uses, and
redevelopment of buildings (including mixed developments) to increase
residential units (this potential does not form part of the urban capacity
mentioned above). Windfall dwelling gains, development scheme
rationalizations and gain from rural settlements also represent potential
sources of housing gain. In the following discussion, each element of Malta’s
housing supply is addressed in turn. This section concludes by presenting a
set of three scenarios for Malta’s housing supply over the Review period. The
methodologies used in the previous Structure Plan are examined in
Appendix 3.3.
Land supply in the Temporary Provisions Schemes
4.1.17
The 1998 update of the Schemes Monitoring Database indicated that
488.82 ha remain available for housing development within the Temporary
Provision Schemes (land required for roads is assessed separately) (see
Table 4.3). This figure represents 61 percent of the almost 800 hectares
made available for housing in 1988. While 800 hectares were legally
designated for housing in the 1988 Temporary Provisions Schemes, it is
acknowledged that this zoning includes uses compatible with housing, such
as local shops and services. However it is difficult to be specific about this
figure without detailed investigation, and it is likely that these uses constitute
only a small fraction of total land uses in the areas in the Temporary
Provisions Schemes that are zoned for housing. For these reasons it is
considered reasonable to retain the current figures although in practice they
might be slightly lower. The provision of housing land given in the Schemes is
not equal throughout the Islands, and certain local plan areas have
significantly higher amounts of land available, particularly those larger plan
101
areas on the urban periphery, but these issues are considered later in the
chapter when the total figures for the Islands are examined by region.
TABLE 4.3 LAND SUPPLY IN TEMPORARY PROVISIONS SCHEMES AS AT 1998
Area
Area
Area
Area Area of land
% of total
schemed for developed developed developed
allocated
area
housing
for
for for housing for housing schemed for
developmen
housing
housing during 1988that is
housing in
t in 1988 (ha) 1988 - 1994 1994-1998
1998 (ha) vacant (ha) 1988 that is
(ha)
(ha)
vacant (ha)
Totals
800
247
66
311
488
61
Source: Schemes Monitoring Database 1998
4.1.18
Three scenarios may be devised to project the housing capacity of the
remaining schemed land. First, however, the remaining land within scheme in
1998 must be adjusted to a year 2000 figure. This may be done by reducing
the land area by the equivalent land take up of two years: the four years
between 1994 and 1998 experienced a land take up of 66 ha, which
converts to the annual development of 17 hectares. Reducing the land
equivalent to two years’ development from the 488 hectares remaining
undeveloped in 1998, the total figure for vacant land within schemes
becomes 457 ha. The low capacity scenario, which would involve
development of one dwelling unit per 150 square metres, would result in a
capacity of 30,500 dwelling units. The 150 square metres is the medium
standard plot size for new semi-detached or terraced housing in existing
areas, and the low standard for this type of housing in new areas. This figure
is provided by the 1990 Explanatory Memorandum, which accompanies the
Structure Plan. The Planning Authority’s Plot Size Study also confirms that
this is a reasonable estimate of the average plot size in the TPS (see
Appendix 1.2 for more details on this Study). A high capacity scenario would
envisage plots developed as apartments, at three units per 150 square
metres, providing enough land for 90,400 homes. These two scenarios are
summarised in Table 4.4.
102
TABLE 4.4 CAPACITY OF THE TEMPORARY PROVISIONS SCHEMES: LOW
AND HIGH SCENARIOS (AS AT 2000)
Scenario
Land area
(m2)
Plot size
(m2)
Number of units per
Residential
plot capacity (number of
units)
Low capacity
4,570,000
150
1
30,500
High capacity
4,570,000
150
3
90,400
Source: Schemes Monitoring Database 1998
4.1.19
A medium scenario may be constructed out of the ratio of residential types
granted development permission between 1994 and 2000, which may be
obtained from Table 2.13. The ratio of apartments and maisonettes to
terraced houses and semi-detached properties varied between 73:27 in
1994 and 87:13 in the year 2000. Despite the clear trend towards increasing
residential densities, this calculation is based on an average for the period
between 1994 and 2000. Using this ratio, a medium scenario housing
capacity estimate for the vacant land within the Temporary Provisions
Schemes (as at 2000) may be calculated, which results in a residential
capacity of 69,100 units in these Schemes (see Table 4.5).
TABLE 4.5 CAPACITY OF THE TEMPORARY PROVISIONS SCHEMES: MEDIUM
SCENARIOS (AS AT 2000)
Central density
scenario
Percentage
development for each
residential type (1997)
Land area
(m2)
Apartments
49
2,238,271
150
3 44,765
Maisonettes
31
1,416,049
150
2 18,881
Terraced houses
17
776,543
150
1
5,177
3
137,037
500
1
274
100
4,567,900
Semi/Detached
TOTAL
Plot size
Units
(m2) per plot
Units
69,097
Source: Schemes Monitoring Database 1998, Dwellings database 1993-2000
Capacity of existing urban areas
4.1.20
The potential contribution of existing urban areas towards the Islands’
housing supply in the Review period has been estimated by means of the
Planning Authority’s Urban Capacity Survey (see Appendix 1.2, paragraph
A1.2.11). Using street-by-street on-site surveys, Planning Authority staff
assessed the development potential above existing buildings and in unbuilt
sites in existing urban areas that were not zoned in the Temporary Provisions
Schemes (Act X of 1988) but are nevertheless within the development
boundary (see Existing Urban Areas in Map 2). The areas examined in this
survey therefore do not include urban areas that were schemed for
103
development in the 1988 Temporary Provision Schemes. Table 4.6
summarises the results of this study, providing figures for a range of density
scenarios that are explained below.
TABLE 4.6 RESIDENTIAL CAPACITY OF EXISTING URBAN AREAS
Development within current height limitations
All Development Types
Capacity
Final Low Development
15,400
Final Medium Development
16,400
Final High Development
21,720
All Development Types Excluding Maisonettes
Capacity
Final Low Development Less Maisonettes
8,310
Final Medium Development Less Maisonettes
9,220
Final High Development Less Maisonettes
14,500
Development with an additional storey
All Development Types
Capacity
Additional Storey Final Low Development
28,430
Additional Storey Final Medium Development
30,030
Additional Storey Final High Development
37,500
All Development Types Excluding Maisonettes
Capacity
Additional Storey Final Low Development Less Maisonettes
15,410
Additional Storey Final Medium Development Less Maisonettes
16,880
Additional Storey Final High Development Less Maisonettes
24,350
Source: Urban Capacity Study
4.1.21
The Urban Capacity study provides estimates for intensification of housing
uses only in the case where access is relatively easy: additional dwelling
units above existing apartments, maisonettes and garages and on vacant
plots not included in the 1988 Schemes were considered (although an
alternative more conservative scenario is presented above), while residential
development above houses was not. In addition, development in ‘white
areas’ was not included in the assessment, and neither was the potential of
existing urban areas to accommodate new dwellings through redevelopment.
Figures were calculated on the basis of existing building heights, although an
alternative scenario is proposed in which urban capacity is pushed upwards
through increasing building heights by one storey (though not in Urban
Conservation Areas). High, medium and low development scenarios are
provided, based on, for example, the inclusion in the total capacity figures of
housing potential above garages that currently do allow access to the roof, in
the high development scenario. More conservative scenarios are also
presented, which leave out development over maisonettes. Table 4.6
suggests that a figure of between 15,000 and 22,000 dwelling units may be
accommodated within existing urban areas, without any increases in building
104
heights, although height relaxations has been proposed for areas in a
number of the Local Plans. Taking into account a one-storey increase in
building heights across the urban areas covered in this Study, the estimate of
residential gains in existing urban areas rise to between 28,000 and 37,000
new units.
Residential units to be gained through conversion from other uses
4.1.22
Conversions from other uses such as industry, retail or warehousing to
housing also represent a source of new dwelling units, although the Planning
Authority’s Conversions Database indicates that this source is not being
tapped in Malta. Indeed, between 1991 and 2000 there has been a net loss
through conversions of approximately 550 dwelling units. The majority of
residential conversions involved residences being converted into other uses,
and the number of dwellings lost through conversion increased steadily over
this period, until 1999 (see Table 4.7).
TABLE 4.7 DWELLING UNITS GAINED THROUGH CONVERSION (1991 – 2000)
YEAR
Net change in
dwelling units
through conversion
‘91
‘92
‘93
‘94
‘95
‘96
‘97
‘98
‘99
‘00 TOTA
L
1
1
-47
-98
-53
-77
-89 -101
-34
-57
-554
Source: Conversions and Redevelopments Database
4.1.23
The low figure for conversions indicates a potential for the use of stronger
planning and fiscal measures to encourage residential gains, both through
conversions from other uses and through conversion of larger older homes
into smaller units that meet modern residential standards. While a medium
scenario for gains through conversion may be based on current trends (a net
loss of 550 units over ten years), giving a loss of 1100 units over the Review
period, medium and high conversion scenarios may be developed. The
figures of –2,000 and 0 units are proposed for the low and high scenarios,
respectively. It is worth noting here that the trend scenario used is considered
particularly conservative in the case of housing gains through conversions for
two reasons, first because the trend might be changing (as evidenced by the
1999 figure), and secondly because rising property prices might make
conversions more attractive during the Review period. The Planning Authority
might also seek to increase gains through conversion by means of
appropriate planning policies, suggesting that these scenarios might well
change during the Review process.
Dwelling units to be gained through redevelopment
4.1.24
The demolition and redevelopment of existing buildings also provides a
potential source of housing provision. The Planning Authority’s
Redevelopment Database indicates that during the years between 1991 and
105
2000, there was a net gain of 3,156 dwelling units through redevelopment, as
shown in the table below. Most of the redeveloped units were gained through
the demolition of residential units and construction of new residential
premises (81 percent of cases).
TABLE 4.8 DWELLING UNITS GAINED THROUGH REDEVELOPMENT (19912000)
YEAR
Net gain in
housing units
through
redevelopment
‘91
‘92
‘93
‘94
‘95
‘96
‘97
‘98
‘99
‘00 Total
9
45
194
304
382
408
469
440
215
694 3,200
Source: Conversions and Redevelopments Database
4.1.25
Low, medium and high redevelopment scenarios may be constructed on the
basis of trends between 1991 and 2000. Approximately 3,200 units were
gained through redevelopment between 1991 and 2000, and it is likely that
this figure will be sustained over the Review period, suggesting a medium
scenario redevelopment based on the current trend of a gain of 6,400
dwelling units. In the context of this current trend scenario, it is important to
note that planning policy might seek to redirect the type of development
towards conversions rather than redevelopment in Urban Conservation
Areas. It might also opt to encourage redevelopment in existing built up
areas and the TPS, in order to use land more efficiently. There is therefore a
fat band of uncertainty surrounding the determination of the actual potential
for residential gain through redevelopment under different policy scenarios.
The three scenarios presented here are therefore relatively far apart, with a
fifty percent difference from the central scenario. It is considered reasonable
therefore to propose a gain in dwelling units through redevelopment of 9,600
units in a high redevelopment scenario, and a gain of only 3,200 units in a
low redevelopment scenario.
Windfall
4.1.26
In general windfall housing gains are those that arise out of land not
designated for housing. This definition is similar to that used in the 1997
Structure Plan Monitoring Report, but it is defined slightly differently due to
the emergence of new data on conversions, redevelopment and urban
capacity. For the purposes of this assessment, therefore, the essence of
windfall provision is that it represents gains that do not fall within the
expected categories, since they are not on land zoned for housing, and are
not gained through conversions, redevelopment or the filling up of the
residential capacity of existing urban areas (urban capacity allocation). The
types of gains represented here are, for example, those from major projects
on undeveloped land that may be unzoned or already zoned for other uses,
such as was the case with the Fort Chambray and Manoel Island/Tigne,
projects which were principally zoned for tourism development (some of
these projects are aimed at high income buyers, including foreign buyers,
106
however, as noted in the section on housing requirements, it is not
considered necessary to consider foreign buyers as a separate category of
demand over the Review period). Windfall gains may also result out of
housing allocations in local plans; in such cases plans may make new
provision for housing on land that was previously for example, industrial or
commercial, as in the case of Marsa Park in the Grand Harbour Local Plan
area. It is difficult to obtain an accurate estimate of what these gains will be,
and figures based on trends are likely to be an underestimate given the
increasing role of housing in land development projects. However, in the light
of the experience of the 1990s (2,060 units in major projects, including the
854 in the Manoel Island/Tigne project and some 1500 units newly allocated
through North Harbours Local Plan alone), it is considered a conservative
estimate to project that 5,000 dwelling units will be gained through windfall
over the Review period. Examples from the North Harbours Local Plan will
suffice to provide evidence of the scale of windfall housing gains on land not
zoned for housing development, that are currently emerging through the local
planning process.
4.1.27
Low and high scenarios may be constructed around figures that differ from
the median by fifty percent (3,000 and 7,000). The reason for this significant
difference between scenarios is the dependence of windfall provision on
government support for land development in the form of major projects (often
on publicly owned land).
TABLE 4.9 WINDFALL GAINS PROPOSED IN THE NORTH HARBOURS LOCAL
PLAN
Local
council
Area
TPS
designation
NHLP
designation
Overall site Overall site
density
density
(units/ha) (units/ha) –
Draft for Final Draft
Public
Consultation
Area Units
(ha) gained
Swieqi
Gnien talMarkis
White area
Semi-detached
dwellings
33
12
5.4
65
St. Julian's
Balluta
Valley
Public Open
Space
Terraced housing
80
?
12
960
Total units gained
1,025
Source: North Harbours Local Plan (Draft for Public Consultation; Draft Final)
Local plan scheme rationalisations
4.1.28
The Temporary Provisions Scheme boundaries are currently being revisited
in the local planning process in order to incorporate urban design
considerations where this is relevant. Such considerations include factors
such as environmental enhancement, conservation and road layouts. Through
this policy, land for approximately 240 units has been made available in the
North West Local Plan area, and it is envisaged that when this process has
107
covered each Local Plan area, the land area included within the scheme
boundary should not accommodate more than 1000 dwelling units.
Other residential development outside scheme
4.1.29
The Dwellings Database indicates that current average housing provision
outside the development boundary is approximately 70 units per year. Over a
20-year period, this would amount to 1,500 units. While the trend in the last
two years is on the way down (see Table 2.12), Structure Plan monitoring
suggests that there are a number of areas that lie on the urban fringes, which
the local plan process may well consider drawing into the urban areas, as
part of the process of controlling development in rural settlements. Some
overlap might therefore occur between this element of housing supply and
the local plan rural settlements policies emerging in the local plans. It could
thus be the case that the 20-year figure does not reflect the trend provided by
the Dwellings Database, and exceeds the annual provision of 70 units. It is
therefore considered reasonable to expect a gain of between 1,000 and
2,000 dwelling units outside the development zone over the Review period,
with a medium scenario of 1,400 (the trend position) units. At the same time
the rural development figures based on historical events are considered
high, and policy on the countryside is generally being strengthened in the
emerging local plans, which may lead to somewhat lesser pressure than is
indicated in the figures from the Dwellings Database. However since this
reduction in pressure is likely to be limited, the figures have not been altered.
Nevertheless the assumptions underlying the figures in these calculations will
be subjected to ongoing monitoring and updating in the next Review.
Housing Supply Calculation
4.1.30
Having visited each element of housing supply, it is now possible to assess
the potential supply of housing units in the Maltese Islands in the period
between 2000 and 2020, and three scenarios are presented to this effect in
Table 4.10.
Matching Housing Requirements and Supply
4.1.31
If the housing requirements data in Table 4.2 and the housing supply data in
Table 4.10 are compared, it becomes evident that supply exceeds
requirements by a large margin. Indeed, taking the most likely medium
scenario, the calculations suggest that there is more than double the amount
of housing capacity required without any increases in building heights.
TABLE 4.10 HOUSING PROVISION CALCULATION
Housing Provision
Low
Medium
High
108
Temporary Provisions Schemes
30,400
69,100
90,400
Capacity of Existing Urban Areas
15,400
16,400
21,700
Conversions
-2,000
-1,000
0
Redevelopment
3,200
6,400
9,600
Windfall
3,000
5,000
7,000
Local Plan Scheme Rationalisations
1000
1000
1000
Other development outside the development zone
1,000
1,400
2,000
52,000
98,300
131,700
Total
4.1.32
These findings suggest that the Review might want to consider a managed
approach to development in the Temporary Provisions Schemes. This is
particularly relevant when one considers that these estimates are
conservative for two reasons: firstly, because Malta’s 23,000 permanently
vacant dwellings have not been taken into account in the supply calculation,
and secondly, because the height limitations currently being proposed in the
local plans (for example the North West and North Harbours Local Plan
areas) have not been taken into account in the Urban Capacity assessment.
In the next section, housing projections are examined on a local plan area
basis.
TABLE 4.11 COMPARISON OF HOUSING REQUIREMENTS AND PROVISION
Housing requirement medium scenario (2000-2020)
41,200
Housing capacity medium scenario (2000-2020)
98,300
Difference between requirements and capacity
57,100
4.2
Housing Requirements and Supply in the Local
Plan Areas
Housing requirements
4.2.1
In what follows, each element of Malta’s housing requirement is examined on
a local plan area basis. In all cases, the geographical allocation of housing
requirements and supply by local plan area is based on past trends that
emerge from the Planning Authority’s Census 1995 datasets and
development applications databases. As noted in Chapter 2, the regional
household projections are based on the Moderate Variant that assumes
more favourable economic conditions in the Grand Harbour Local Plan area
over the Review period.
Households
109
4.2.2
Household projections are provided by the Demography Topic Paper.
Based on Census 1995 data, population figures have been calculated using
a set of assumptions about life expectancy (for males and females), the
gender gap, fertility rates, international and internal migration, births, and
deaths. These have been converted into households based on assumptions
that the number of single person households, separated or divorced couples
and households headed by elderly people would increase, while the number
of institutionalised persons will decline over the Review period. Household
formation rates are thus calculated on the basis of a declining household
size, falling from 3.0 in 2000 to 2.7 in 2020.
TABLE 4.12 HOUSEHOLD PROJECTIONS BY LOCAL PLAN AREA (1995-2020)
LPA
1995
2000
2020
Diff 20-95
Diff 20-00
CMLP
31,718
33,253
42,380
10,662
9,127
GCLP
9,188
10,232
12,794
3,606
2,562
GHLP
10,852
9,592
9,596
-1,256
4
MBLP
3,239
4,477
5,597
2,358
1,120
NHLP
20,820
22,382
28,787
7,967
6,405
NWLP
10,279
12,150
15,993
5,714
3,843
SMLP
33,383
35,811
44,779
11,396
8,968
TOTAL
119,479
127,897
159,926
40,447
32,029
Source: Demography Topic Paper
Second homes
TABLE 4.13 DISTRIBUTION OF SECOND HOMES (2000-2020) BY LOCAL PLAN
AREA
LPA
Percentage distribution of second Proposed distribution of allowance
homes by local plan area (Census 1995)
for second homes in Review
CMLP
2
100
GCLP
24
1,500
GHLP
6
300
MBLP
7
400
NHLP
0
0
NWLP
50
3,000
SMLP
11
700
TOTAL
100
6,000
Source: Census 1995 (Planning Authority Datasets)
4.2.3
The 1995 Census (Planning Authority data sets) indicates that second
homes are concentrated in two local plan areas: the North West (50 percent
110
of all second homes) and Gozo (24 percent of second homes). In Table 4.13
below, the projected medium scenario increase of 6,000 second homes over
the Review period is allocated among local plan areas according to the
distribution of second homes by local plan in the 1995 Census.
‘Scrap’
4.2.4
The element of Malta’s housing requirement that is directed at replacement
of substandard dwellings may also be allocated on a local plan area basis.
The original source of the estimate of 400 substandard units that are to be
removed without replacement is the 1995 Census, and this data source also
provides information by locality. The data is aggregated by local plan area
and rounded to the nearest 25 dwelling units (in order to make up the round
figure of 500 units) in Table 4.14.
TABLE 4.14 DISTRIBUTION OF ‘SCRAP’ DWELLINGS (2000-2020) BY LOCAL
PLAN AREA
LPA
CMLP
GCLP
GHLP
MBLP
NHLP
NWLP
SMLP
Total
75
50
150
25
50
50
100
500
Scrap
Completions
4.2.5
The use of a housing completions ratio in the calculation of housing
requirements is aimed at taking into account the fact that some residential
permissions are not actually implemented, and thus cannot be taken up as
housing. An allowance is therefore made to cover the seven percent of
dwelling permission that are not actualised, and this national level
percentage is used for each local plan area, since local plan area data is not
available.
Housing requirements by local plan area
4.2.6
It is therefore possible to allocate housing requirements on a local plan area
basis, and these allocations are set out in Table 4.15.
TABLE 4.15 HOUSING REQUIREMENTS BY LOCAL PLAN AREA
Local Plan Area
CMLP GCLP GHLP MBLP NHLP NWLP SMLP
Total
111
Element of housing
requirements
Households
9,127
2,562
4
1,120
6,405
3,843
Second homes
92
1,433
337
448
16
2,995
679
6,000
Scrap
75
50
150
25
50
50
100
500
9,286
4,020
468
1,577
6,462
6,858
650
281
33
110
452
480
9,936
4,301
501
1,687
6,914
Subtotal
Completions (7%)
Grand Total
8,968 32,000
9,742 38,400
682
2,700
7,338 10,424 41,200
Housing supply by local plan area
4.2.7
The estimates for housing supply are now presented on a local plan area
basis, and once again, the regional breakdown is based on Planning
Authority data: the surveys on the take-up of the land within the Temporary
Provisions Schemes (Schemes Monitoring Database) and Urban Capacity
Survey; the databases on Conversions and Redevelopments and Dwellings,
and emerging information from the local planning process.
Capacity of the Temporary Provisions Schemes
4.2.8
The Schemes Monitoring Database indicates that 484 ha were available for
development in 1998, and that given current rates of development, 451 ha of
the TPS land may be assumed to have been remaining for development in
2000. This information is available on a local plan area basis:
TABLE 4.16 UNDEVELOPED LAND AREA IN THE TEMPORARY PROVISIONS
SCHEMES BY LOCAL PLAN AREA
Land area in
TPS (ha)
CMLP
GCLP
GHLP
MBLP
NHLP
NWLP
SMLP
Total
Area
(ha)
As at 1998
99.11
99.72
3.15
10.99
60.47
73.96
141.4
488.82
As at 2000
89.25
96.89
2.74
9.51
57.96
69.95
130.50
456.78
Source: Schemes Monitoring Database
4.2.9
Since it is the number of residential units expected to emerge from this land
supply that is relevant to this assessment, the central density scenario
developed in sections 4.1.18 to 4.1.20 above is now examined by local plan
area. First, a prediction of the area available for housing for each residential
type is developed, based on the conservative 1997 density ratio in the
Dwelling Database, as explained above. The data on type of residences
developed is not reliable on a local plan area basis, since the results for
some local plan areas are small, so national level estimates are used in this
assessment.
112
TABLE 4.17 LAND AREA FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE TEMPORARY
PROVISIONS SCHEMES BY TYPE OF RESIDENCE (1994 - 2000), FOR EACH
LOCAL PLAN AREA
CENTRAL CAPACITY SCENARIO
Type of
residence
% development
LAND AREA (ha)
CMLP GCLP GHLP MBLP NHLP NWLP SMLP Total Area (ha)
by type of
residence
by type (average
1994-2000 for
TPS areas)
Apartments
49
43.7
47.5
1.3
4.7
28.4
34.3
63.9
224
Maisonettes
31
27.7
30.0
0.8
2.9
18.0
21.7
40.5
142
Terraced
houses
17
15.2
16.5
0.5
1.6
9.8
11.9
22.2
78
Semi/Detache
d
3
2.7
2.9
0.1
0.3
1.7
2.1
3.9
14
100
89.2
96.9
2.7
9.5
58.0
70.0 130.5
457
TOTAL
Source: Schemes Monitoring Database, Dwellings Database
4.2.10
It is now possible to estimate how many dwelling units are obtainable from
this land area. In Table 4.18 below, the residential capacity of the remaining
land in the Temporary Provisions Schemes in each local plan area is
calculated on the basis of the central density assumption, standard plots
sizes and a conservative estimate for average number of units for apartment
blocks.
TABLE 4.18 RESIDENTIAL CAPACITY OF THE TEMPORARY PROVISIONS
SCHEMES BY LOCAL PLAN AREA
Type of
residence
Plot
size
Units
per
plot
CMLP
GCLP
GHLP
MBLP
Apartments
150
3
8,747
9,495
269
932
5,680
6,855 12,789
44,750
Maisonettes
150
2
3,689
4,005
113
393
2,396
2,891
5,394
18,900
Terraced
houses
150
1
1,012
1,098
31
108
657
793
1,479
5,200
Semi/Detached
500
1
54
58
2
6
35
42
78
250
13,500 14,650
400
1,400
8,880 10,600 19,750
69,100
TOTAL
NHLP NWLP SMLP
Total
Units
Source: Schemes Monitoring Database
Capacity of existing urban areas
4.2.11
The residential capacity of existing urban areas may also be assessed on a
local plan area basis. The Urban Capacity Study provides national figures
based on the extrapolation of data from surveyed localities, which amount to
over 95 percent, to those localities that have not been surveyed (see
sections 4.1.21 and 4.1.22). For the purposes of this regional assessment,
113
the Medium Variant data by locality has been aggregated on a local plan
area basis, and is presented in Table 4.19 below.
TABLE 4.19 CAPACITY OF EXISTING URBAN AREAS BY LOCAL PLAN AREA
Urban Capacity by Local
Plan Area
Final Medium Development
CMLP GCLP GHLP MBLP NHLP NWLP SMLP
3,241
2,293
287
529
3,819
2,726
Total
Units
3,488 16,400
Source: Urban Capacity Study
Conversions and Redevelopment
4.2.12
Central scenario local plan estimates for residences gained through
conversions and redevelopments may be obtained from the Planning
Authority’s Conversions and Redevelopment Database. Data for the 1990s
may be doubled to obtain trend figures for the years between 2000 and
2020. Although these figures may change through the consultation process,
and as policy-related estimates are developed, for now local plan estimates
are based on current trends.
TABLE 4.20 PROJECTED ADDITIONAL DWELLINGS GAINED THROUGH
CONVERSIONS AND REDEVELOPMENT BY LOCAL PLAN AREA
CMLP GCLP GHLP MBLP NHLP NWLP SMLP
Total
Conversions 1990-1999
-146
-23
-36
-4
-175
-43
-127
-554
Projected 2000- 2020
-260
-50
-50
-10
-350
-80
-220 -1,000
Redevelopment 1990-1999
390
339
134
59
1,130
683
421
3,156
Projected 2000-2020
800
680
300
120
2,260
1360
840
6,400
Source: Conversions and Redevelopments Database
Windfall
4.2.13
As noted in paragraph 4.1.27, it is expected that some 6,400 residential
units will be gained through windfall, which is the element of housing supply
that arises out of land not designated for housing development. While
windfall gains are difficult to estimate by local plan area, the experience of
the 1990s indicates that most windfall gain through major projects took place
in the North Harbours (Hilton and Manoel Island and Tigne project), Gozo and
Comino (Fort Chambray project) and the Grand Harbour (Cottonera project).
Windfall gains through the local plan process cannot be assessed before all
plans are completed, although the pressure for gains in the draft final North
Harbours Local Plan has proposed some 1000 additional housing units
through re-zoning of land within scheme for housing (see Table 4.9).
Accordingly, windfall gains are apportioned equally in the local plan areas,
except for the three areas noted above, which experience has shown are
more likely to offer windfall residential gains.
114
TABLE 4.21 WINDFALL GAINS BY LOCAL PLAN AREA
Local plan
area
Projected
gain in
dwelling units
through
windfall
CMLP
GCLP
GHLP
MBLP
NHLP
NWLP
SMLP
Total
600
500
800
500
1000
800
800
5,000
Local Plan scheme rationalisations
4.2.14
The local plan process offers the Planning Authority the opportunity to
rationalise development boundaries where they would give rise to ragged
settlement edges. It is envisaged that this process should not give rise to
more than 500 additional dwelling units. So far, this process has only been
carried out for the North West Local Plan, and in this plan area, land for
approximately 150 has been made available. In the apportionment of
additional dwellings through this element of housing provision, while the 150
units in the North West Local Plan is represented in the apportionment, the
units gained are evenly spread through the other local plan areas, due to lack
of specific data about the other plans (see Table 4.22).
TABLE 4.22 LOCAL PLAN SCHEME RATIONALISATIONS
CMLP GCLP GHLP MBLP NHLP NWLP SMLP
Gains through local plan
scheme rationalisations
200
200
50
50
50
250
200
Total
1000
Source: North West Local Plan, Draft for Public Consultation
Other housing development in the countryside
4.2.15
The Dwellings database indicates that between 1994 and 2000, 495
residences were granted permission outside the development zone, which
amounts to approximately 70 units every year. The large majority of these
developments occurred in the North West, Gozo and Comino, and South
Malta Local Plan areas. It is important to note with respect to these figures
that of the total dwelling permissions granted outside the development
boundary for the North West Local Plan area, which is 143, 112 permissions
are for dwellings at Mtarfa. Similarly, 118 out of the total permissions in the
South (211) are at the Hal-Farrug area, which has been developed to
provide social and affordable housing.
TABLE 4.23 HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN THE COUNTRYSIDE, BY LOCAL
PLAN AREA (1994-2000)
LOCAL PLAN AREA
CMLP
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
3
4
0
8
2
6
2000 TOTAL
2
25
115
GCLP
5
24
29
19
3
11
19
110
GHLP
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
MBLP
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
NHLP
0
0
0
0
4
1
1
6
NWLP
65
20
35
11
3
3
6
143
SMLP
76
9
17
85
23
1
0
211
TOTAL
49
43
50
38
35
22
28
495
Source: Dwellings Database
4.2.16
Projections based on these trends suggest that the following amount of
residential development may be expected over the Review period.
TABLE 4.24 HOUSING GAINS OUTSIDE THE DEVELOPMENT ZONE, BY LOCAL
PLAN AREA
CMLP GCLP GHLP MBLP NHLP NWLP SMLP Total
Gains through housing
outside the development
zone (1994-2000)
Average gain per year
Projected gain over the 20
year Review period
149
57
81
35
35
22
28
495
7
6
7
5
5
3
4
71
140
123
143
109
100
63
80
1,400
Source: Dwellings Database
Housing provision by local plan area
4.2.17
Having reviewed all the elements of housing supply on a local plan area
basis, it is now possible to present the projected of regional housing
provision for the Review. This is summarised in Table 4.25.
TABLE 4.25 HOUSING PROVISION BY LOCAL PLAN AREA
Local Plan Area
CMLP GCLP
GHLP MBLP NHLP NWLP SMLP
Total
Element of housing provision
Temporary Provisions Schemes
13,500 14,650
415 1,440
8,770 10,580 19,740 69,100
116
Urban Capacity
3,250
2,300
300
550
3,800
2,700
3,500 16,400
-260
-50
-50
-10
-350
-80
-220 -1,000
Redevelopment
800
680
300
120
2,260
1,360
Windfall
600
500
800
500 1000
800
800 5,000
Local Plan Scheme
Rationalisations
200
200
50
50
50
250
200
1000
Development in the Countryside
425
160
230
350
100
65
80
1,400
Conversions
Grand Total
18,515 18,440
840
6,400
2,045 3,000 15,630 15,675 24,940 98,300
Comparison of housing requirements and supply by local plan area
4.2.18
It is useful to compare at this point in the local plan area analysis the
difference between housing requirements and provision. Table 4.26
indicates that the large difference between requirements and provision noted
at a national scale is also found in the local estimates, but particularly in
Gozo and the South Malta Local Plan area. This reveals that the 1988
Temporary Provisions Schemes are going to continue to determine the
location of residential development in the case of three local plan areas for
the next 40 years, and for Gozo and Grand Harbours, the next 60 years
beyond 2020, unless there is significant policy change. In such a situation, it
might be sensible to consider a managed approach to land development, to
ensure that urban change in the Islands that takes into account relationships
between environment, transport and land-use. These issues are taken up in
the next chapter, which draws this Paper to a close with a proposal for a
land-use strategy for housing in the Maltese Islands.
TABLE 4.26 COMPARISON OF HOUSING REQUIREMENTS AND PROVISION BY
LOCAL PLAN AREA
Local Plan Area
Requirements
Supply
Over-supply
(difference between
requirements and supply)
CMLP GCLP GHLP MBLP NHLP NWLP SMLP
9,950
Total
1,690
6,900
2,045
7,340 10,420 41,200
3,000 15,630 15,675 24,940 98,300
1,545
1,310
8,730
8,335 14,520 57,100
309%
78%
127%
114%
4,300
500
18,515 18,440
8,565 14,140
Percentage over-supply
86%
329%
139%
139%
117
5
The Way Forward: A land-use strategy
for housing in the Maltese Islands
5.0.1
This concluding chapter presents a land-use strategy for the housing sector
in Malta. It summarises the key housing issues in section 5.1, including the
housing requirements and supply in the Maltese Islands over the period 2000
- 2020. The housing policy of the existing Structure Plan is then evaluated
and three scenarios for the distribution of housing across the Islands are
proposed in section 5.3. The chapter concludes with a strategy for the
housing sector in section 5.4 and a discussion of complementary measures
for implementation in section 5.5.
5.1
Key Issues for the Review
5.1.1
Drawing on the issues identified through the examination of trends in Malta’s
housing sector in Chapter 2, and the review of housing requirements in
Chapter 4, it is now possible to list a set of key housing issues for the
Structure Plan Review:
Household growth
5.1.2
The Demography Topic Paper projects a growth over the Review period of
32,000 households, which exceeds the 22,000 households envisaged by the
current Structure Plan, and will need to be provided for in the Review. This
population growth will largely be due to falling household sizes, growth in the
number of single person households, and the Islands’ ageing population.
Dwelling approvals
5.1.3
The Dwellings Database reveals that the Planning Authority has granted an
average of 3,000 permissions for housing development annually between
1994 and 2000, despite household growth of approximately 1,600 between
1995 and 2000 (Demography Topic Paper). This has led to a situation of
oversupply in the housing market, with many new properties remaining
vacant.
Suburbanisation
5.1.4
The current trend is for most of Malta’s residential development to take place
in the largely greenfield land allocated in the Temporary Provisions Schemes
(TPS). Within the TPS, most housing has been developed in Central Malta
Local Plan area (87 hectares), followed by the North Harbours, Gozo and
118
Comino and the South. While to a large extent this pattern was dictated by
the land allocations in the Schemes, it has nevertheless resulted in a trend
towards suburbanisation that has left Malta’s older urban areas with a
declining population.
5.1.5
It could be argued that the current emphasis on greenfield development is
inevitable in view of the existence of a large reservoir of land in the TPS that
has been earmarked for development. However attention needs to be drawn
to the fact that the implementation of a planning framework has already
succeeded in getting 40 percent of housing development in the urban areas,
despite the availability of such a large amount of land: the current ratio of
greenfield to brownfield development is 60:40. The Review might like to
capitalize on securing more development on brownfield rather than
greenfield sites in the TPS, reversing the 60:40 ratio in favour of brownfield
sites.
Residential vacancy
5.1.6
Census 1995 figures indicate that 23 percent of Malta’s housing stock is now
vacant, of which 36 percent is used as second homes. This level of vacancy
is a considered to be a negative trend in the context of Malta’s limited land
supply, dense urban environment, and the acceptable state of repair of 75
percent of vacant properties. Vacancy is related to Malta’s lack of rental
market and the attractiveness of residential property as an investment.
5.1.7
The Review could consider securing a reduction of the vacant housing stock,
to reduce the total level of housing provision in the Plan by a percentage,
which it could assume will be brought into effective use (three to five percent,
for example). Such an assumption would naturally run counter to current
trends, and would imply the need to introduce complementary measures from
outside the planning system to bring these properties into use (see section
5.5 on measures for implementation).
Housing affordability
5.1.8
House prices in Malta are high in comparison with average wages, and this
remains a pressing concern for Government, particularly in view of the lack of
rental market for Maltese households. The affordability of property for lowincome earners is of central importance in any housing debate, and a
considerable amount of Housing Authority effort is channelled in the direction
of alleviating affordability problems.
5.1.9
In view of the limited resources available to the Housing Authority to deal with
the issue of both affordable and social housing, it may be worthwhile for
Government to consider other ways (including increased involvement of the
private sector) for the provision of affordable housing.
119
Social Housing
5.1.10
Social housing is directed towards the needs of those households that are
unable to purchase property on the market, and is usually provided in the
form of Government-built housing on a rental or ownership basis. It is likely
that the current social housing requirement is in the region of 3,000
households, but given the uncertainty associated with this figure it is
considered desirable that the Government take a view with regard to the
scale of the problem, in order to enable long-term consideration of this
problem. For the purposes of this paper, social housing requirements are
embraced in the overall housing requirements (see below).
5.1.11
While in the past Government has focused on the building of social housing
itself, it is likely that over the Review period this will become increasingly cost
ineffective, suggesting that Government might find it attractive to increase its
provision of rental subsidies, as is becoming common practice in other
industrialised countries. At the same time, this measure would require a
loosening of the rental market in order to enable Maltese households to
obtain access to rental properties.
Housing Quality
5.1.12
Housing quality concerns raise a raft of issues relating to both the internal
and external residential environment. Internal issues involve minimum room
sizes, light, humidity, privacy, security, and environmental efficiency, while
neighbourhood concerns involve public open space, traffic and noise
management, repairs to older properties, design and coherence, and
provision of local social, community and retail facilities.
Over-supply of housing land
5.1.13
The examination of housing requirements and supply in Chapter 4 points to
the final and most important issue for this Topic Paper. The analysis reveals
that while 41,200 dwelling units are required over the Review period, a
conservative estimate of current available residential capacity indicates that
96,500 residential units may be provided given current housing allocations.
Current supply exceeds conservative estimates of housing requirements by
55,300 dwelling units, which amounts to more than double the amount of
housing capacity required. Moreover, these estimates are conservative:
firstly, because Malta’s 23,000 permanently vacant dwellings have not been
taken into account in the supply calculation, and secondly, because the
height limitations currently being proposed in the local plans (for example the
North West and North Harbours Local Plans) have not been taken into
consideration.
5.1.14
Table 5.1 provides information on the Local Plan area level differences
between requirements and provision. These differences are particularly
120
sharp in the cases of the Gozo and Comino and Grand Harbours Local Plans
(340 and 315 percent more land than required respectively).
5.1.15
As noted in Chapter 4, these results suggest that some form of managed
approach to development may be considered. The argument for such an
approach is premised on the fact that the supply of land for meeting
projected housing requirements is far too high, which provides an ideal
opportunity to safeguard land in the TPS, in order to ensure that it is able to
satisfy the dwelling requirements of the Maltese Islands beyond the Plan
period. The second argument in favour of this managed approach is that it
would help the housing market to operate in an efficient manner, by
regulating the provision of new housing and not overburdening the housing
market with a large stock at a given point in time. This could have a negative
effect on property prices, which could be avoided by ensuring that the
provision of housing is managed.
TABLE 5.1 COMPARISON OF HOUSING REQUIREMENTS AND SUPPLY BY
LOCAL PLAN AREA (2000 –2020)
Local Plan Area
Over-supply
(difference between
requirements and supply)
Percentage over-supply
CMLP GCLP GHLP MBLP NHLP NWLP SMLP
8,565 14,140
86%
329%
Total
1,545
1,310
8,730
8,335 14,520 57,100
309%
78%
127%
114%
139%
139%
5.2
Assessment of existing housing policy in the
Structure Plan
5.2.1
The housing policy framework in the existing Structure Plan has been
introduced in Section 1.2, and the policies are listed in their full detail in
Appendix 1.1. Policies HOU 1 to HOU 4 set out the preferred distribution of
housing development, while policies HOU 5 and HOU 6 address
development at Pembroke and HOU 7 encourages rental reform. Provision
of affordable housing through the voluntary and private sector is encouraged
in HOU 8, and HOU 9 calls for the provision of social and sheltered housing.
HOU 10 encourages the conversions of tourist accommodation into
residential use. The following assessment draws on a set of interviews with
Development Services Staff and others (see Appendix 1.5).
5.2.2
Structure Plan policy on housing is largely strategic, in that it outlines the type
and distribution of development that is envisaged in the Plan, as well as
issues of rental reform and affordable housing. At the same time, the view of
users from development control is that more specific housing policies aimed
at development control issues would be useful. This is evident in the fact that
it is currently more common to find the Settlement (SET) and Built
Environment (BEN) policies cited when housing applications are being
assessed.
121
5.2.3
The first policy in the Housing section, HOU 1, which encourages residential
development and redevelopment in existing built-up areas, has been
successful in that 40 percent of all residential permissions between 1994
and 2000 have been granted for development in existing built up areas rather
than the Temporary Provisions Schemes. This was a significantly better
performance than that expected in the Structure Plan, which projected that 13
percent of housing would emerge in these areas (see Structure Plan
paragraph 8.3, p.31). However, with regard to the second part of policy HOU
1, which refers to the priority constraints in policy SET 7, the policy has not
been so successful. This is because policy SET 7 itself has not been
implemented, since it is difficult to operationalise. The reason for this is that
in practice residential uses have not been given less weight than community,
employment and retail uses, as the policy reads.
5.2.4
With regard to policy HOU 2, which encourages conversions within UCAs,
this policy has been difficult to implement due to stringent parking standards
that apply to all housing development, irrespective of location, so that
applications for conversion of a house into two units with no parking spaces
is currently generally refused. This suggests that a new approach to parking
standards in priority areas could be considered in the Review. Nevertheless,
environmental improvements have taken place in many Urban Conservation
Areas, both through the efforts of the Rehabilitation Projects Office under the
Ministry for the Environment, and the Local Councils. The reoccupation of
vacant and underutilised dwellings in UCAs has not however met with
success in Valletta and the Three Cities, where vacancy levels persist,
although more success has been registered in smaller UCAs, where
gentrification is resulting in a repopulation of village cores, albeit with nonlocals and sometimes temporary residents.
5.2.5
While only one Local Plan has been approved, policy exists in the draft local
plans that have now been prepared to cover all the Maltese Islands, which
provides guidance on building heights, parking and other standards for
particular localities. In this respect HOU 3, on residential design in the Local
Plans, has been successful, however the Local Plans do not provide detailed
guidance on residential densities or building design in key areas. A broadly
more qualitative approach to design and quality of life issues in local plans
would be more in keeping with this policy. The discouragement of land
banking in areas ripe for development, which is treated in the second part of
policy HOU 3, has not been successful, as areas such as certain parts of
Paceville indicate. Nevertheless, this could be due to the fact that the land
hoarding tax referred to in Structure Plan paragraph 17.8, item 5, that this
policy points to, has also been difficult to implement.
5.2.6
Policy HOU 4, which concerns housing development in the Temporary
Provisions Schemes, calls for development to be in accordance with the
Local Plans and BEN 1-3, and, in the interim, while the Plans are being
drafted, it should be in accordance with BEN 4. This policy has not been
successful for three reasons: firstly, the design standards called for in policy
BEN 2 have not largely been followed, as haphazard and monotonous urban
122
form predominates in these new residential areas. Secondly, the
undergrounding of cables for new development has not happened, and
thirdly, although BEN 4 calls for priority to be given to development close to
existing developed areas that have already been provided with roads and
services this has not been implemented due to problems of land assembly
given Malta’s fragmented land ownership pattern.
5.2.7
Policies HOU 5 and HOU 6 relate to housing development at the Pembroke
Primary Development Area. A Development Brief has been prepared for the
Pembroke Area, as stipulated in HOU 6, however the hotel and superstore
uses outlined in HOU 5 were not included. These policies may be omitted in
the Review.
5.2.8
The polices HOU 7 on rent legislation and HOU 8-9 on social housing relate
to issues that are largely beyond the Planning Authority’s remit, although their
presence in the Structure Plan is due to the situation in the Islands in the
period when the policies were drafted, which necessitated a more
comprehensive approach to planning policy. Rental reform with respect to
new contracts took place in 1995, as proposed in HOU 7, but it has not
resulted in optimal use of the housing stock, and residential vacancy has
continued to rise (see Chart 2.11). Financial assistance for home purchases
and for those who cannot afford higher rentals continues to be available (see
section on social housing in Chapter 2). This policy may be revised in the
Review, without prejudicing the Planning Authority’s encouragement for the
creation of an equitable rental market and financial assistance for low
income households.
5.2.9
Although HOU 8 could be interpreted as encouragement for private-sector
provision of social housing through planning agreements, the policy has not
been applied in this way. While this is a useful policy to encourage affordable
housing provision by the private and voluntary sectors, it will need redrafting
with respect to the association of low cost housing with smaller properties,
since low cost housing, like other housing, will need to be provided to meet a
range of family sizes. On a more general level, HOU 8 indicates that
‘encouragement’ policies are actually of little practical value, and that
direction rather than encouragement is needed with respect to written policy,
which is worked through in a more concrete form.
5.2.10
Policy HOU 9, on optimally locating new Government built rental housing on
existing or designated land, has been successful in that new social housing
has not been built in the areas outside development zone. On the other hand,
it has been less successful in that new Government built rental housing has
been concentrated in the Grand Harbour Local Plan area. This locational
strategy is not considered optimal, since it has encouraged the segregation
of groups that cannot afford to buy their own properties. A wider range of
locations for rental accommodations would be preferable. The second part of
the policy, which concerns promoting the establishment and growth of
subsidised sheltered housing for sale or rent by the private and voluntary
sector, has also been unsuccessful, since these sectors have not produced
123
sheltered housing, although they have developed private residential homes
for the elderly. Nevertheless, this is a useful policy that simply needs more
diligent application and some redrafting to clarify that a range of locations
are required for rental social housing projects.
5.2.11
It is likely that self-catering tourist accommodation is being converted to
residential uses, as encouraged in HOU 10, but such conversions are not
emerging in the findings of the Conversions and Redevelopments Database,
since they are occurring without application for development permission for a
change of use. This is most likely because most owners of tourist flats are
not aware that this is actually a change of use that requires development
permission.
5.2.12
The polices that are most commonly used in the assessment of housing
applications are those endorsing the Temporary Provisions Schemes, SET
7 and SET 8, and the built environment policies BEN 1 and 2. The Schemes
are considered the principal policy tool for development control, even though
the integrated planning policy of the Structure Plan should be given greater
weight in planning decisions. Other settlement pattern policies used for
housing are SET 1, which encourages development within existing built up
areas, and SET 11 and SET 12, on development outside the development
zone. The built environment policies that are also widely used are BEN 1, on
bad neighbourliness, BEN 2 on urban design, BEN 4 on considerations for
the assessment of development prior to the completion of local plans, and
BEN 13 on satellite dishes. These policies will be assessed in the Urban
Topic Paper.
5.2.13
A new policy framework for housing will need to address the quality of the
residential environmental by putting forward measures that increase the
amount and quality of public open space and greenery in the urban
environment. In the TPS, the provision of new public open space is difficult
due to a tight zoning policy and the small size of most housing projects, which
preclude the gaining of public open space through special agreements.
However the floor area ratio policy in DC 2000 could help in this regard,
although most of the open space provided so far has been only semi-public.
Stronger policy emphasis is also required with respect to urban design, and
the local plans could be assigned the tasks of detailing design criteria for
critical areas, which may include Urban Conservation Areas, but also could
include town centre or urban coastal locations that do not have particular
conservation value. The new housing policy framework should specify the
type and location of new housing, as well as provide guidance for dwelling
sizes, quality and how to improve affordability.
5.3
Scenarios for the distribution of new housing
5.3.1
Given that housing requirements are more than adequately catered for by
existing supply, the question of how to distribute new housing development
across the Islands takes on particular importance in the Review. The way
124
forward for the distribution of housing development over the Review period
may follow different directions depending on the set of objectives that the
Review seeks to address. For this reason, it is possible to define a set of
scenarios that cover the range of possible housing strategies available. Prior
to defining a number of housing development scenarios, the planning
objectives to be satisfied are outlined.
Planning Objectives
5.3.2
5.3.3
The key housing issues for the Review, noted in Section 5.1, suggest that
core planning objectives for the housing sector are to:
•
accommodate Malta’s housing requirements;
•
provide access for all to housing in a range of sizes, locations and prices
in quality residential environments.
However, the housing sector cannot be assessed in isolation. Housing
policies must be addressed in the context of the wider objectives of
sustainable development, urban regeneration, transport, conservation and
other such matters. The full range of planning objectives for Malta will be
defined in detail as the Structure Plan Review proceeds. However the
following working objectives are proposed, that relate to planning for
settlements and housing as a whole:
•
Accommodate continued economic growth within a development
framework that is environmentally sustainable;
•
Minimize the need to travel, particularly by private car – ensuring that
residential areas are accessible by public transport, and that local retail
and community facilities and services are accessible on foot;
•
Minimize encroachment on land that has not previously been developed,
encouraging refurbishment, re-use and the efficient use of land through
redevelopment.
•
Promote continued public and private sector investment in urban
rehabilitation and regeneration;
•
Provide rich and vibrant settlements, with embellished and protected
public spaces, that have a positive contribution to make to the urban
environment, and that integrate harmoniously with the rural and coastal
environment.
125
5.3.4
In the following section, three possible development scenarios are proposed,
and their impact on the wider social and environmental objectives of the
planning system are assessed. The objectives are summarised in Table 5.2:
TABLE 5.2 SCENARIOS FOR HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Scenario
Description
1
Urban Containment Scenario
2
Management of Temporary Provisions Schemes Land through Incentives
3
Current Trend Scenario
SCENARIO 1. Urban Containment Scenario
5.3.5
The Urban Containment Scenario is based on concentration of housing
development in existing urban areas. This scenario is grounded in concerns
about the rapid suburbanisation of the Maltese population over the last 30
years, and the effects this process has on the sustainability and vitality of
settlements and transport patterns. The situation has to a large extent been
caused by the quantity of greenfield land available for housing development
in the TPS and the availability and use of private motorised transport. The
Scenario is therefore based a temporary moratorium on residential
development on greenfield land in the TPS. This Scenario would be most
effective if it were in force for 10 years, after which time the Structure Plan
would be once again up for Review.
5.3.6
The impact of this scenario on the ability of the Reviewed Plan to
accommodate housing requirements may be assessed quantitatively. In
Table 5.3, the different elements of housing supply are set out. In view of the
emphasis in this scenario on concentrating development in existing
settlements, the housing supply element related to housing in the countryside
is removed. The table indicates that this Scenario would still result in an
excess of 8,600 dwelling units on a national scale. In addition, the potential of
the existing urban areas is considered higher than what is indicated in the
Table, as it does not take into account the possibility of allowing a relaxation
of building heights in the appropriate areas.
TABLE 5.3: HOUSING PROVISION – SCENARIO ONE
Element of housing supply
Number of dwelling units
Temporary Provisions Schemes (TPS)
69,100
Urban Capacity
16,400
Conversions
-1,000
Redevelopment
6,400
Windfall
5,000
126
Local Plan scheme rationalisations
1000
Development in the Countryside
1,400
Grand Total Supply
98,300
Total supply without TPS land
29,200
Housing Requirements for 10 year period
20,600
Excess of (non-TPS) supply over requirements
5.3.7
8,600
The last four working objectives that concern sustainable settlement patterns
would be satisfied by this scenario. Additionally, the advantages of this
scenario include the fact that improvements to infrastructure, such as roads
and services, could be concentrated in areas where housing already exists,
thus saving financial resources for Government and improving the quality of
life for many Maltese residents. However the wide sweeping measure of
removing all TPS land from the development zone for 10 years compromises
Government’s decision in 1988, which was confirmed by the 1992 Structure
Plan, that in principle, the Temporary Provisions Schemes should be
developed.
SCENARIO 2: Managed Approach to the Release of TPS Land based on
financial incentives
5.3.8
The second Scenario is based on a managed approach to the release of
land within the TPS. The objective of this scenario is to ensure, in the context
of the over-supply of land within the TPS, that the land currently available for
housing development lasts longer, so that it acts as a reservoir for beyond
the Review period. In this Scenario, development on vacant land that is
zoned for housing in the TPS would be permitted, however this development
would be subject to fees at the higher end of a scaled building levy, and
differential infrastructure fees that reflect the actual cost of provision of roads
and services to Government. It is also envisaged that the fees reflect
sustainability criteria that favour land located close to other built up areas, as
well as other criteria associated with the wider housing strategy such as
urban design and improving the local environment.
5.3.9
The approach to achieving this Scenario would need to be fine-grained, and
it is considered appropriate that while the overall concept of management
through incentives may be approved through the Review process, the
individual sites concerned should be identified through the local planning
process. It is estimated that this option should allow a minimum of at least
half the TPS Schemes to be made available during the first half of the
Review period, thus meeting the quantitative housing requirements set out in
Chapter 4. Indeed, Table 5.4 indicates that this scenario would provide for at
least 22,550 more dwellings than required.
TABLE 5.4: HOUSING PROVISION – SCENARIO TWO
Element of housing supply
Number of dwelling units
127
Temporary Provisions Schemes (TPS)
69,100
Urban Capacity
16,400
Conversions
-1,000
Redevelopment
6,400
Windfall
5,000
Local Plan scheme rationalisations
1,000
Development in the Countryside
1,400
Grand Total Supply
98,300
Total supply using only half TPS land
63,750
Housing Requirements
41,200
Excess of (managed) supply over
requirements
22,550
5.3.10
This policy direction would result in reasonable controls on building within the
TPS in order to direct development towards brownfield sites, while at the
same time allowing for more than sufficient land to be available for
development to fulfil housing requirements. It therefore satisfies both the core
housing objectives outlined in paragraph 5.3.2, as well as the wider working
objectives outlined in paragraph 5.3.3. As in the previous Scenario, it is
considered that this Scenario would be most effective if accompanied by
measures to exercise tighter control over development in the countryside,
encouraging conversions in UCAs, and to provide opportunities for housing
development in sites that are well connected to public transport nodes,
particularly in the older built up areas.
SCENARIO 3: Current Trend Scenario
5.3.11
The third scenario for housing distribution follows the current policy direction,
allowing housing development to be located according to demand in the TPS
schemes and existing urban areas. It is likely that this Scenario should result
in the continuation of the trend towards the suburbanisation of the Maltese
population (see Demography Topic Paper) that characterised the 1990s,
due to the extensive amount of greenfield land available for development in
the Temporary Provisions Schemes. While it would satisfy the first and
second core housing objectives, the wider working objectives for the
planning system would be compromised in this Scenario due to the
unsustainable use of land and concomitant transport needs that would be
encouraged.
5.3.12
Since the second housing distribution scenario would both satisfy the
identified housing requirement and allow for a certain amount of
concentration of housing in existing towns and villages rather than suburban
areas, it is the preferred scenario. However, the final scenario recommended
in the Review will follow after Public Consultation and will need to be tested in
the light of factors emerging from the other Topic Papers. It is important to
emphasize that this scenario will need to be accompanied by a range of
128
complementary planning and fiscal measures to facilitate and encourage
residential development on brownfield sites, as well as the efficient utilization
of existing land and property.
5.4 A land-use strategy for housing in Malta
5.4.1
A fourfold housing strategy for Malta may now be presented, which takes into
consideration both quantitative housing requirements and the qualitative
social and environmental considerations that together ensure that future
housing is provided and that this provision is of high quality. This strategy is
based on four themes:
Meeting housing requirements
5.4.2
The first theme of the recommended strategy is to provide for Malta’s
housing requirements. To this end, the Planning Authority will ensure that
there is land available for the provision of 41,200 new dwelling units over the
Review period.
Encouragement of sustainable housing locations in town centres, UCAs,
existing urban areas and infill sites within the Temporary Provisions
Schemes
5.4.3
The second theme unites a concern about the need for regeneration in the
urban core with an emphasis on housing development on brownfield sites
and improving the quality of urban life. It is considered that no more land
should be released for development outside the current development
boundary, and existing land should be managed on the basis of financial
incentives that are expected to include differential infrastructure charges with
regard to sites further from existing built up areas. There should be no further
increases in building height unless genuine demographic need for increased
housing in particular locations can be demonstrated.
5.4.4
It is therefore envisaged that housing requirements development will be met
through:
•
Development in the Temporary Provisions Schemes;
•
Use of the housing capacity of the existing urban areas;
•
Conversions, which will be encouraged through positive planning
measures including relaxation of parking standards in UCAs (see also
section below on complementary measures).
•
Redevelopment, providing replacement and additional dwellings in
appropriate locations;
•
Windfall provision in areas not previously allocated for housing;
129
•
Local plan scheme rationalizations, which should provide a small number
of new housing units.
Encouraging regeneration and improving the quality of life in urban areas
5.4.5
The strategy recommended in this Paper to concentrate development on
existing built-up areas, would be most effective if the current ratio of housing
development on brownfield to greenfield sites, currently at 40:60, could be
turned around to reflect an increase in development in existing urban areas.
The idea is to restore prestige to city living through physical regeneration and
measures to improve social conditions, possibly in partnership with the
private and voluntary sectors. Mixed development, particularly in town
centres, is therefore encouraged as one way of achieving regeneration of
such areas.
5.4.6
An important element of improving quality of life in urban areas relates to the
provision and management of safe, attractive and accessible public open
space and town centres, traffic management, encouragement for the
greening of the residential environment, possibly through narrowing of overlywide roads in the TPS, and controlling urban pollution and noise from
industry and other commercial sources. The quality of residential areas can
also be improved by controlling the condition of newly completed dwellings,
so that ‘shell’ buildings, while providing a means to gain more affordable
housing, should not have a negative effect on residential quality. To this end,
all completed dwellings should be closed (external doors and windows
fitted). New housing developments should also be constrained to indicate
that measures have been taken to fit the building into the existing urban
context, such as through the alignment of the façade with the general design
of existing dwellings, for example with respect to cornices. At the same time,
encouragement should be given to new building forms, with a view to
improving the quality of urban design.
5.4.7
Urban quality is also related to environmental design, where the energy,
water and climatic efficiency of homes should be demonstrated in new
housing projects. The use of flat surfaces for water catchment and energy
capture, and use of wells and photovoltaic cells for water and energy storage
should be encouraged by the Review.
Providing access to housing for all
5.4.8
The fourth theme in this land-use strategy for housing in Malta is providing
housing that is accessible to all social groups in a range of housing types,
tenures and locations. This Paper recommends that the Review should seek
provision of affordable housing and housing for rent through planning gain in
larger housing projects.
130
5.4.9
Affordable housing should be available at appropriate locations through the
Islands, in order not to reinforce social inequalities, and new housing should
be provided in a range of housing sizes and tenures.
5.4.10
The provision of new Government-built social housing should be spread
through urban areas in order to avoid the ghettoisation of low-income social
groups in older areas. As an important complementary measure towards
achieving this strategy, this Paper encourages the use of fiscal subsidies in
the form of housing allowances to low income households rather than
provision of newly built apartments and maisonettes.
5.5
Measures for Implementation
5.5.1
Achieving the required levels of housing growth in accordance with the
proposed strategy will require that the Review will need to be accompanied
by the following fiscal and legislative measures:
Legislative Measures
•
A single agency to manage and direct the regeneration of particular
conservation and other urban areas may provide the opportunity for an
integrated approach that fulfils environmental and social objectives at the
same time as it encourages urban renewal;
•
Further amendments to the rental legislation, that in order for an equitable
rental market to be established in the Islands, will allow for phased rental
review, and in the longer term, removal of the right to inherit the tenancy of
residential premises, and review of the possibility for owners to recover
rented properties from tenants under clearly-defined conditions;
Fiscal Measures
•
Government may consider obtaining funds for urban regeneration through
the use of fiscal disincentives for leaving properties vacant in priority
urban areas (UCAs, town centres and tourist areas). This measure may
be related to the state of repair of the building and to how long it has been
left vacant;
•
Access to funds would have to be made available for urban regeneration,
environmental improvements and home upgrading both to individuals,
non-governmental organizations and local councils;
•
Preferential tax regime (e.g. stamp duty on contracts) and development
permit fees for development on brownfield rather than greenfield sites,
and for conversions rather than redevelopment within urban conservation
areas;
•
Differential development permit fees, where the gaining of housing units
through conversion is concerned;
131
•
Parking fees, to improve environmental conditions in central urban areas.
132
133
Maps
134
135
Appendices and Bibliography
136
137
Appendix 1.1 Housing Policy in the Structure
Plan
HOU 1
In accordance with Policy SET 1, the development and redevelopment of residential uses in
existing built-up areas will be encouraged with a view to increasing the housing stock in such
locations, but within the priority constraints set out in Policy SET 7.
HOU 2
Within Urban Conservation Areas as designated under Policy UCO 1 the main consideration
will be the overall retention of existing housing numbers, reoccupation of vacant and underutilised dwellings, conversions to residential use and suitable ancillary facilities, and the
enhancement of their environmental context in accordance with Policy SET 6.
HOU 3
The Local Plans to be prepared for all built-up areas will include specific policies for the
development and redevelopment of residential property and will include mandatory rules and
advisory guidelines concerning densities, building heights, design, and parking and other
standards appropriate to particular localities. Until these Plans have been completed and
adopted, Structure Plan policies and guidelines will be applicable. Whilst the practice of land
banking for later development is prudent and acceptable, it shall be discouraged in areas
which are ripe for development (See paragraph 17.8, item 5)
HOU 4
In Temporary Provisions areas the provision of housing will be in accordance with the Local
Plans for such areas when these have been completed and adopted. Development control
policies BEN 1,2, and 3 and, during the interim period, BEN 4, will apply.
HOU 5
The Pembroke area will be developed for the following uses: Private and sheltered housing,
and ancillary facilities (e.g. schools and other social and community facilities); Sport and
recreation facilities; Hotel(s); Superstore based shopping centre (Policy COM 6); Private
sector offices (Policy COM 3); and, uses which also serve nearby existing built-up areas.
HOU 6
A Local Plan will be prepared for the Pembroke area as soon as is practicable. The plan will
be comprehensive including consideration of nearby existing built-up areas. Background
studies will include shopping market research and superstore implications. The plan itself will
be the subject of an environmental impact assessment.
HOU 7
Government will seek to reduce the demand for new house building through the optimal use of
existing housing stock, which can partly be achieved through the phased establishing of an
equitable rental market coupled with financial assistance for home purchase and to those
who cannot afford higher rentals (See also SET 5).
HOU 8
The provision of low cost housing by the private and voluntary sectors for rent will be
encouraged. In this context low cost does not mean substandard, but rather of a size which
matches household size, with adequate finishes and fittings, and with opportunities for
improvements by occupants.
HOU 9
New Government built rental housing shall be optimally located within areas designated in the
Structure Plan as existing or new built-up areas. The establishment and growth of subsidised
sheltered housing for sale and rent by the private and voluntary sectors will be promoted.
HOU 10
Encouragement will be given to the sale or rent of lower standard tourism accommodation for
housing purposes. This will include the purchase by the private and voluntary sectors for
conversion and subsequent sale or rent as sheltered accommodation, and/or for subsidised
rent tenants.
138
SET 7
When considering applications for permission to develop in existing and new urban areas,
and particularly in the outer residential areas, the Planning Authority will favour the uses given
in order of priority below and will normally give permission only if it is convinced that there is
no demand for, or the site is not appropriate to, the use having greater priority:
•
Community facilities: for example schools, clinics, local recreational uses, public car
parks, boat storage
•
Local employment: for example business use, service workshops, and other small scale
or otherwise suitable employment (For uses compatible with primarily residential areas,
the Use Classes Order referred to in BEN 7 applies).
•
Local shops
•
Housing.
SET 8
Development will be permitted in the areas designated for Temporary Provisions schemes, in
conformity with Policy SET 7. The present layouts and other provisions of all such schemes
will, however, be reviewed as part of the Local Plans to be prepared for areas in which these
schemes are located (see para. 4.5). The boundaries of Temporary Provisions schemes will
only be changed, if necessary, as the result of a comprehensive Structure Plan review which
takes place after approval of the related Local Plan. Temporary Planning scheme boundaries
will not be reviewed piecemeal during preparation of a Local Plan. The Local Plan will,
however, identify any matters, including boundary review matters, to be taken into account in
the Structure Plan review.
BEN 1
Development will not normally be permitted if the proposal is likely to have a deleterious
impact on existing or planned adjacent uses because of visual intrusion, noise, vibration,
atmospheric pollution, unusually high traffic generation, unusual operating times, or any other
characteristic which in the opinion of the Planning Authority would constitute bad
neighbourliness.
BEN 2
Development will not normally be permitted if, in the opinion of the Planning Authority, it is
incompatible with the good urban design, natural heritage, and environmental characteristics
of existing or planned adjacent uses, and is unlikely to maintain the good visual integrity of
the area in which it is located. There will be a presumption against development, which does
not generally observe the design guidelines issued by the Planning Authority for built-up
areas.
BEN 4
During the interim period between the commencement date of the Structure Plan and the
adoption of any particular Local Plan, permission for development in Temporary Provisions
areas will be subject to Policies BEN 1,2, and 3. Additionally, permission will not normally be
given unless the Planning Authority is satisfied that such permission would be unlikely to
compromise the objectives of the review forming part of Local Plan preparation. Within this
overriding concern the Authority will also have regard to the location of the proposed
development, with more favourable consideration being given to development close to
developed areas and already provided with roads and services, and less favourable
consideration to development relatively remote from existing buildings and infrastructure.
BEN 13
The Planning Authority will not normally grant permission for the installation of more than one
telecommunications antenna or dish where a shared system is possible. Such antennas and
dishes are not to be conspicuously located, should be of the smallest feasible size, of a
colour that blends with their background, and screened from public view where appropriate.
Wherever possible all individual property installations will be hidden from public view, either at
the rear of the property, on the roof below the highest part of the roof, or in a special
enclosure.
139
Appendix 1.2 Methodologies for surveys,
databases and studies
Dwellings Database
A1.2.1
Data on dwelling permissions granted by the Planning Authority has been
gathered for the period commencing in 1994 to the present. The Dwellings
Database includes information about residential permissions granted,
classified by dwelling type, locality and local plan area. Information on the
permission has been added to the base data from the Planning Authority
database, such as the number of habitable units gained through the
approval.
Property Price Database
A1.2.2
The data housed within the Property Price Database has been obtained
from the Sunday Times of Malta of the second Sunday of each month
covering the period from January 1996 to December 1999. Property data
collated focuses primarily on the sale of second-hand premises, and new
properties, including those in shell form. Information on three-bedroomed
residential property only was collected, since this is available in larger, more
representative samples sizes. The data also includes observations taken
from property magazines that are supplied from time to time with the
newspaper. Special effort has been made to avoid double counting and use
of data with incomplete information. An analysis of residential property price
trends for a various types of dwellings (apartments, maisonettes, terraced
houses, semi-detached and detached) and by the Local Plan areas as
defined by the Planning Authority (Central, Grand Harbour, Gozo and
Comino, Marsaxlokk Bay, North Harbours, North West and South Local Plan
areas) has been carried out. One of the limitations of this database is that
advertised property/land used for this exercise may deviate from the actual
prices paid on sale, which has a bearing on the average prices calculated.
However, this does not obscure the broad trends with regard to locality and
type of development identified in the study.
Conversions and Redevelopment Database
A1.2.3
This database has its foundation in the planning applications approved by
the Authority with respect to development that includes either a change of
use, or redevelopment. The analysis covers a time span of ten years, from
1990 to 1999. As a supplement to this exercise, a study was carried out to
analyse if there was a decrease or an increase in floor space during the
conversions and redevelopments. This floor space study covered a period of
140
two years; 1998 and 1999. As indicated in Table 1, conversions and
redevelopments were coded and analysed according to type of use, with a
focus on gains and losses in dwelling units.
TABLE A1.2.1: CONVERSION AND REDEVELOPMENT TYPE AND CODE
TYPE OF
CONVERSION
DESCRIPTION
Dwelling to
dwelling
Provision of flatted units on the conversion of one house, resulting in
a net gain of dwelling units, or change of use from flats into one
house, resulting in a net loss of dwelling units.
DD
Dwelling to other
Change of use of a dwelling into a non-residential use, resulting in a
net loss of dwelling units.
DO
Other to dwelling
Change of use of building in non-residential use into one or more
dwellings, resulting in a net dwelling gain.
OD
Other to other
Change of use of building that does not involve residential use, such
as from a shop to a hotel.
OO
Redevelopment
A building that has been demolished and rebuilt; the change could or
could not involve a gain of residential units.
RR
A1.2.4
CODE
This project involved the classification of the uses into the following
development categories: residential, recreational, services, retail, garage,
tourism, educational, industrial, office, rooms and other. The limitations of
this analysis include a number of missing files in the Planning Authority
database (0.9 percent). In a few cases, the number of dwelling units to be
demolished is not provided in the Planning Authority database, so the
number of original units was underestimated. In the case of the floor space
analysis, 205 files were not analysed due to lack of data.
Schemes Monitoring Database
A1.2.5
This database contains information about the amount of land developed
within the Temporary Provisions Schemes between 1988 and 1998. It exists
as a geographical information system (GIS), holding data in both tabular and
map formats. The database was set up in 1996 and then updated in 1998. It
has been created at a strategic level and covers all the areas of Malta and
Gozo within the Temporary Provisions Schemes. The 1996 assessment
monitored development in the period from 1988 to 1993/94 and the 1998
assessment covered the period from 1993/94 to mid-1998.
A1.2.6
The 1996 assessment was a desk exercise based on the TPS schemes and
aerial photography taken between November 1993 and March 1994. Each
land parcel in the 1988 Temporary Provision Schemes was digitised in a
GIS and then located in the aerial photography to check whether it had been
developed or not. For the update study in 1998, it was decided to examine
each vacant site that was identified in the 1996 assessment, using site visits.
This method was chosen because new aerial photography was not available
and neither were accurate building completions data. A methodology based
141
on a full field survey of the 6359 land parcels that were vacant in 1994 was
therefore agreed upon. The survey was carried out between March and July
1998 by trained Planning Authority staff. Teams of two or more technical staff
were provided with large A2 survey sheet maps on which the vacant land
from the 1996 schemes assessment study was superimposed. In all, some
120 maps were printed, surveyed and digitised. On balance, it was found
that there was no loss in accuracy from carrying out site visits rather than
using aerial photographs. Indeed, the site visits allowed surveyors to collect
other information about the TPS land such as the condition of vacant sites
and the use of newly developed sites. Table 2 summarises the basic
information about the two assessments, showing the periods covered by the
assessments, the methodologies used, and when the data was published.
TABLE A1.2.2: THE SCHEMES MONITORING DATABASE ASSESSMENTS (1996
AND 1998).
Schemes
monitoring
database
assessment
Period covered
Methodology
Data published in
1996
1988-1993/4
Examination of
aerial photography
1998
1993/4 - mid1998
Site visits
1990-1995 SP
Monitoring Report
(1997)
1996-1997 SP
Monitoring Report
(1999)
A1.2.7
Each parcel of land in the TPS has been entered into a GIS, which facilitates
the computation of the area of individual parcels and the total area of land
that is developed or vacant, as well as computations aggregated or
disaggregated by geographical area (e.g. local plan area, local council area,
TPS zoning or survey sheet number). Each land parcel contains information
about whether it is developed or vacant, its TPS zoning, local plan number,
local council number and survey sheet number. The types of zoning included
are housing; industry, tourism, social and community facilities, and other.
Housing land is divided into bungalows, villas, terraced houses, home
ownership schemes and replanning areas (see definition in glossary) as in
the TPS. In practice these zonings are subject to some interpretation. Areas
zoned for terraced housing are sometimes developed as apartments. In
some cases, the zoning for terraced housing is interpreted as meaning
terraced development, which can include development such as shops,
garages, etc. The 1998 field survey added new information to the database,
which concerns the condition of vacant TPS sites and the predominant land
use of the new development.
142
Planning Authority Census 1995 Datasets
A1.2.8
The aim of this project is to create an interactive Census Information System.
The methodology involved a series of phases; data conversion, GIS Census
conversion, and web-mapping development. The data conversion phase
involved the setting up of a digital dataset from the original text files
presented by the Central Office of Statistics. This stage was a lengthy one
and followed strict data minimising and cleaning protocols through the use of
a lineage recording process. The second phase aimed at creating a
comprehensive Census GIS that would allow users to create their own maps
and run queries. The data resulting from the first phase was integrated with
the GIS council layers created at the Planning Authority, in turn allowing
streamlined data integration with the other Planning Authority data layers.
A1.2.9
The last phase consisted of the creation of a Web-Mapping Information
System for Intranet-Internet access. The GIS files were converted to a dualtechnology system. The first system consists of an Image Mapping System
where over 280 interactive maps are available on-line. This system is based
on HTML and JavaScript formats and have are available for internet access
on http://wayto.CensusofMalta1995. The second system employs WebMapping software and hosts over 2000 datasets that on-line users can
access to create their own maps.
Completions Survey
A1.2.10
The purpose of this survey is to ascertain the extent to which planning
permissions are actually taken up on the ground. The study is based on a
field survey of 266 dwelling permissions granted by the Planning Authority.
These sites were identified from the Dwellings Database. Table 1 provides a
breakdown of the data sample by local plan area: For the purposes of this
survey ‘completed’ was taken to mean that a building has had its doors and
windows installed and is habitable. Developments consisting only of
excavation works or buildings in shell form are not considered completions.
Information was collected on the basis of the stage of development of the
building, including (i) development that has started (including excavation). (ii)
sites that are in shell form, (iii) sites that are completed but not inhabited, (iv)
sites that are completed and inhabited.
TABLE A1.2.3: DATA SAMPLE USED FOR THE COMPLETIONS SURVEY
143
LPA
1996
1997
Total
Sample
Sample
Size %
CMLP
GCLP
GHLP
MBLP
NHLP
NWLP
SMLP
Total
1,059
893
31
102
540
612
990
4,227
667
385
65
95
458
652
1,162
3,484
1,726
1,278
96
197
998
1,264
2,152
7,711
52
38
14
30
30
38
65
266
3
3
15
15
3
3
3
Urban Capacity Study
A1.2.11
The Urban Capacity Study provides an estimate of the potential for
intensification of residential uses on existing buildings or undeveloped land
within urban areas (but not in the Temporary Provisions Schemes). All
streets in built-up areas that were developed before 1988 were visited during
field surveys lasting over two years. Three different scenarios based on
current height limitations were developed, for sets of increasingly
conservative high, medium and low development assumptions. Nevertheless,
overall, a conservative approach was used to how many housing units were
to be gained from existing urban areas. It is important to note that this data
does not overlap with estimates for housing gain through conversion and
redevelopment, since conversions involve the use of the same building, and
redevelopment involve demolition and re-erection, unlike the additional
development potential assessed in this study.
Housing Quality Survey
A1.2.13
The aim of this survey is to identify the physical factors affecting the housing
sector, concentrating on the physical characteristics of housing units such as
locality, the home itself and standards of maintenance. In order to gain further
insight into what factors affect the physical quality of the dwellings, the
questionnaire included questions about the respondent and the family. A two
percent random sample was chosen from among the voting households of
every locality, and this amounted to 4,000 households. The data was
representative on a Local Plan area basis, since 500 households from plan
area were interviewed.
Landlords Survey
A1.2.14
The aim of this survey is to analyse the current situation of the rental market
and the attitudes of landlords towards rent liberalisation. Landlords who
advertised property to let in The Times in July, August and September 1996
were contacted by telephone and invited to take part in this survey during
144
1997. Those who accepted were sent the questionnaire together with a selfaddressed envelope in January and February of 1997. Out of a total of 141
questionnaires that were mailed, 77 were returned, which represent a
response rate of 55 percent.
Rehabilitation / Regeneration Survey
A1.2.15
The PA carried out a Rehabilitation and Regeneration Survey during 1996 to
examine the factors that have a bearing on issues of urban regeneration,
obtain views from key players (local councils, banks, the Rehabilitation
Projects Office, Government Departments and the voluntary sector) and to
make proposals for future rehabilitation initiatives. The survey consisted of
47 questionnaires that were filled during in-depth interviews with
representatives from the following organisations, public figures and
institutional bodies: the Minister for Housing, The Hon. Mr. Alfred Portelli MP,
Valletta Rehabilitation Committee (VRP); Cottonera Rehabilitation
Committee (CRP); the Housing Authority; the Department of Social
Accommodation; the Department of Housing Construction and Maintenance;
Lohumbus Bank Limited; Bank of Valletta Department of Housing; the
Heritage Advisory Committee and the local councils of Valletta, Sliema,
Rabat, Cospicua and Senglea. Non-Governmental organisations interviewed
included Din l-Art Helwa and Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti.
Household Migration Survey
A1.2.16
The aim of this 1996 survey is to study migration patterns in the Islands by
locating present dwelling and past dwellings, analysing the physical state and
tenure of dwellings, and the amenities provided in these localities. The
questionnaire concentrated on seeking information by enquiring about: the
location of dwellings where respondents are living now, and lived previously,
the amenities that are provided in those locations; age of dwellings, tenure,
number of persons using the premises; reasons for moving and localities
considered prior to moving; problems encountered while moving; type of
accommodation preferred; cost of rent and of dwellings; cost of moving
house; source of finance used by migrant households; and, degree of
satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the movement. The survey was based on
a personal interview, carried out on a door-to-door basis with 50 respondent
households that were randomly chosen among Maltese and Gozitan
households that had moved house on the basis of information gathered by
the Water Services Corporation.
Densities Study
A1.2.17
The Planning Authority’s Densities Study seeks to examine residential
densities in terms of urban population density and number of dwelling units
per unit hectare of urban land. The Study was carried out at two scales:
145
urban densities were first assessed at council level and then at a more
detailed scale in seven pilot settlements: St. Paul’s Bay, St. Julian’s, Sliema,
Dingli, Swieqi, Qormi and Paola. These seven settlements were chosen
because they represent a range of settlement types, from modern coastal
towns to traditional rural settlements and nineteenth century suburbs. Since
each of these settlements contains a range of residential areas of different
characteristics, the Densities Study approach has been to investigate
densities in each of the individual character areas that make up each
settlement. While the local council level investigation is based on 1995
Census data, the character area analysis draws on a geographical dataset
containing Maltese population and dwelling units per street, compiled by the
Water Services Corporation. The boundaries of the character areas for each
of the seven pilot settlements have been entered into a computerised
geographical layer and analysed together with the Water Services data in
order to determine population and dwelling densities in each character area.
Plot Size Study
A1.2.18
In order to provide additional backing for the use of 150 square metres as an
average plot size in the Temporary Provisions Schemes (except in the case
of villas, bungalows and other detached or semi-detached dwellings), a study
has been carried out on Planning Authority dwelling applications. The Study
is based on measuring the plans accompanying development applications,
and covers 10 percent of residential permissions in the years 1994, 1997
and 2000, for terraced houses, maisonettes and apartments. The data
sample is calculated on the basis of 10 percent of the total for each of these
categories, and involved the manual checking of 188 residential
permissions.
146
147
Appendix 1.3 Housing Indicators
HOUSING TOPIC PAPER INDICATORS
Indicator
no.
Indicator
Section 1.1 Context
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
1.10
1.11
1.12
1.13
1.14
1.15
1.16
1.17
1.18
1.19
1.2
1.21
Short history of housing in Malta (1950-2000)
Population changes 1990-2020
Changes in marriage ages (update from projections)
Changes in age structure
Household sizes
Single Households
Housing stock (by type, age and location)
Property prices 1980-1999
Residential vacancy (including summer residences)
Home-owner occupation
History of the rental sector
Rental values
Rental accommodation by local plan area
Dwelling permissions (as proxy for completions) 1990-2000
Dwelling conversions (to and from housing) 1990-2000, by LPA and dev. zone
Dwelling re-developments (1990-1993)
Internal migration
Misfit homes (compare changes household size with house sizes)
Percentage of accommodation sector that is social housing
Employment patterns by local plan area
Key characteristics of commuting patterns, by job type
Section 1.2 International context
1.22
International trends in planning for housing
1.23
1.24
1.25
Housing and the European Spatial Development Strategy
EU Guidance on Housing (including Urban White Paper)
Key issues from the Sustainable Settlements Literature
148
Section 2.1 Urban Sprawl, Vacancy and Housing Affordability
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
2.11
2.12
2.13
2.14
2.15
2.16
Comparison between population, household, dwelling and land take-up, 19571990
Changes in population by locality
Internal migration and the reasons for it
Changes in the number and type of dwellings by local plan area
Money spent on rehabilitation and upgrading by local plan area
Residential vacancy rates by local plan areas
State of vacant dwellings
Land allocated for development in 1988 by local plan area
Housing in rural settlements
Factors affecting house prices
Average wages by local plan area and nationally
Property prices by type and locality
Loans obtainable by borrowers
Pensioner households
Potential changes to rental-home-ownership ratios
Section 2.2 Social Housing
2.17
2.18
2.19
2.2
2.21
Social Housing provision (1990-2000)
Proportion of social housing in rental sector
Special needs housing (1990-2000)
Social housing land supply
Homelessness
Section 2.3 Housing Quality, Urban Renewal and Sustainability
2.22
2.23
2.24
2.25
2.26
2.27
Satisfaction and dissatisfaction with dwellings by local plan area
Housing quality by type
Social and recreational space by local plan area
Provision of social and community facilities by local council and local plan area
Public funding for rehabilitation/urban renewal projects
Priority areas for urban renewal
Section 4.1 Providing quality homes at affordable prices
4.1
4.2
Affordable housing requirements
Areas for targeting rehabilitation and redevelopment measures
149
Section 4.2 Quantitative housing assessment
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
4.1
4.11
4.12
4.13
4.14
Household projections 2000-2020 by local plan area (high, medium and low
scenarios)
Second homes
'Slack'
Social housing requirements 2000-2020
Existing housing stock
Pipeline residential permissions 1995-2000
Urban capacity (potential for new housing units through rehabilitation,
redevelopment, upwards extension, development in 'white areas' and on sites
zoned for non-residential development but as yet undeveloped in existing built-up
areas)
Urban capacity (Temporary Provision Schemes)
'Scrapped' dwellings
Conversions from non-residential uses
Major developments on particular sites (e.g. Manoel Island, Pembroke)
Section 5.1 Additional Indicators
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
Urban Capacity
Emerging Housing Policy in the Local Plans
Residential Densities
Housing Affordability –comparison of wages and house purchase potential
Questions Related to Housing from Public Attidtude Survey
Social housing provision and rent subsidy
Undeveloped Joint Office Land
Housing Units in Rural Areas
Residential Completions by Local Plan Area
150
151
Appendix 1.4 Members
Working Group
of
the
Organisation
Name
Housing Authority
Housing Construction and Maintenance
Department
Chamber of Architects
Association of Estate Agents
Local Councils Association
Ministry for Gozo
Environmental non-governmental
organizations
Planning Authority
Planning Authority
Ms. Sandra Magro A&CE
Mr. Anton Camilleri A&CE
Housing
Mr. Denis Camilleri A&CE
Mr. George Bonnici
Mr. Philip Mifsud A&CE
Mr. Joseph Mifsud B. Eng.
Dr. E. A. Mallia D. Phil.
Ms. Suzanne Ellul BA
Dr. Marguerite Camilleri Ph.D.
152
153
Appendix 1.5 Interviews and Meetings
Interviews (I) and site visits (S) with actors in housing sector
Date
Name
Position
Organisation
Mr. Godfrey Ciappiara
Chief Draughtsman
Housing
Maintenance and
Construction
Department
Manager
Dhalia North Ltd.
13 June 2001 (I)
Mr. Joseph Formosa
th
27 August 2001 (I)
General Manager
Bank of Valletta
Home Loans Section
25th June 2001 (I)
Mr. Ray Bondin
Executive Chairman
29th June 2001 (I)
Dr. Edward Mallia
th
30 May 2001 (S)
5th June 2001 (S)
1st June 2001 (S) (I) Mr. George Bonnici
th
2nd July 2001 (I)
Dr. Godwin Grima
6thJuly 2001 (I)
Dr Joe Sammut
th
10 July 2001 (I) (S) Mr. Sandra Magro and
Mr. Alex Cohen
23rd July 2001 (I)
25th July 2001 (I)
Mr. Brian Abela
Mr. Santino Gauci
22nd August 2001 (I) Mr. Benny Muscat
7th October 2001 (I) Mr. Anton Camilleri
Valletta
Rehabilitation
Project
NGO Representative on Friends of the Earth
Housing Working Group (Malta)
Acting Director
Joint Office
Spokesman for Housing Malta Labour Party
Housing Authority
Housing Authority
Representative on
Working Group, Manager
in charge of Housing
Schemes
Director
ASA Properties
Director
Zejtun Development
Gauci and Co.
Chief Executive
MIDI Consortium
Director
Housing
Construction and
Maintenance
Department
154
Interviews carried out with Planning Authority staff
Date
Name
Role and Section
7thMarch 2001
Mr. Jesmond Muscat
8th March 2001
8th March 2001
Ms Annie Falloon
Mr. Alan Vella
10th March 2001
Mr. Malcolm Borg and
Mr. Joe Magro Conti
Mr. Sylvio Farrugia
Social and Community Facilities Topic Paper
Coordinator,
Transport Topic Paper Coordinator
Leisure and Recreation Topic Paper
Coordinator
Urban Conservation Topic Paper Coordinators
1st June 2001
7th June 2001
11th June 2001
13th June 2001
26th June 2001
24th August 2001
24th August 2001
Team Manager, Major Projects Group,
Development Services Unit
Mr. Joseph Scalpello
Team Manager, North West Local Plan,
Dr. Chris Amos
Consultant, Development Services
Mr. Rueben Abela
Team Manager, Development Services
Mr. Graham Rogers and Consultant and Senior Planning Officer, South
Mr. Anthony Ellul
Malta Local Plan,
Mr. Victor Sladden
Team Manager Development Services
Mr. Carmel Caruana
Senior Planning Officer, Development Services
155
Appendix 2.1 A historical perspective
housing policy in Malta (1950-2000)
on
2.1.1
Housing has long been an important issue in Malta. While the first large scale
housing development project in Malta was the building of the city of Valletta
during the 16th and 17th Centuries, modern housing policy began to take
shape after the Second World War. In the immediate post-war period, the
reconstruction of Valletta and the Three Cities, along with housing the war
homeless, became important national priorities. Until this period, housing
provision was private sector based, and housing conditions were poor, with
low sanitation levels and many families living at densities as high as three
persons per room (Gauci 1996). Indeed, the 1940s and 1950s witnessed the
first large-scale government intervention in housing sector.
2.1.2
In 1943, a War Damage Commission began to give assistance to families
whose homes had been demolished. In the same year, the Housing
(Requisition) Act was passed, which allowed Government to requisition
private properties for state use, a measure designed to be temporary, and
which lasted four decades. Perhaps one of the most significant legislative
steps in the history of housing in Malta, however, was taken in 1949, when
Ordinance XVI of 1944 on Rent Restriction (Dwelling Houses) was enacted
in the Housing Act. This was a significant if radical method for promoting
housing affordability, particularly in the context of the low rates of owner
occupation (30 percent) prevalent at this time. This policy has been so
effective that up until 1995, 53 percent of rents were still below Lm 50 and 29
percent were between Lm 50 and Lm 100. Nevertheless, it was clear within a
few years of the enactment of the Act that this situation had had the effect of
discouraging the development of new units for rental, and the slack had to be
taken up by the then Housing Secretariat. Remedial action was attempted in
1959, in the form of the Housing (Decontrol) Act, whereby buildings
constructed after March of that year were exempted from rent control and
requisition, but the Act was repealed in 1979 (see below). It was clear
however, that a significant housing problem remained, which even the largescale emigration of the 1950s and 1960s did not alleviate.
2.1.3
The period of post-war reconstruction witnessed a series of proposals for
instituting a planning system in Malta, perhaps the most influential of which
included the 1945 Harrison and Hubbard report on the planned
reconstruction of Valletta and the three cities, and the Atkinson report of
1956, which estimated need for 10,000 new homes. Such proposals for
planning interventions continued to emerge during the 1950s and 1960s, as
indicated below.
2.1.4
The 1950s gave rise to the first large-scale physical intervention on the part
of Government in the housing sector: the 1955 slum clearance of IlMandragg (as stipulated in the Harrision and Hubbard report). In 1956, the
156
first five year housing programme was drawn up, and this prompted the
implementation of Atkinson’s three housing affordability schemes: the
Second Storey Scheme, which ran from 1956 to 1970; the reconditioning of
Sub-standard Housing Scheme; and the Rental Housing scheme. In 1958,
again on the advice of the Atkinson report, a new town was created at Santa
Lucia, and Phase 1 of this project is considered to have produced a
moderately successful new settlement (Gauci 1996). The concept was later
extended in the 1960s to the creation of new housing estates at the edge of
settlements (see below).
2.1.5
In 1969, a Town and Country Planning Act was passed after extensive
parliamentary debate, but the legislation never became operative, and it was
eventually repealed in 1981. The objective of the Act had been to make
provision for the orderly and progressive development of land in both urban
and rural areas and to preserve and improve the amenities thereof.
2.1.6
Malta’s first planning schemes were drawn up under the 1962 revision of
Chapter 13 of the Code of Police Laws, within the context of a development
plan drawn up in 1969 by a UN consultant named Sieczkowski. This plan
envisaged the first co-ordinated approach to land use planning in the Islands,
catering for the needs of industry, maritime trade based on a free port and
customs free zone, agriculture and tourism development. Sieczkowski’s Plan
had catered for phased development in three stages, which if implemented
would have ameliorated the situation where in some cases urban areas took
over 10 years to be developed. Nevertheless, this Plan was never legalised
due to the freezing of the Town and Country Planning Act, and development
continued to be regulated in a piecemeal fashion through the planning
schemes. The schemes had allocated a total of 4001 hectares for
development, of which only 85 hectares had been developed by 1981. These
changes had been implemented within the socio-economic context of the
1960s building boom, which involved the urbanization of large areas, often
with a view to selling property to foreign investors. But these new private
sector developments were unable to affordably accommodate the sector of
the Maltese population that was in need of housing. This situation set the
scene for the extensive programme of social housing construction that was to
follow.
2.1.7
Direct Government intervention in housing peaked in the 1970s and 1980s
(A. Camilleri 2000). By the late 1970s, almost all towns and villages had
newly-built housing estates on their periphery. These town extensions were
visually out-of-context, and generated some degree of social exclusion
(Gauci 1996). This period also witnessed the launch of the Home Ownership
Scheme (HOS), through which plots of land for terraced houses were
distributed to prospective home owners on temporary emphyteusis
(Camilleri 2000). The first HOS plots were in Santa Lucia, and by 1995,
1,400 plots had been provided through this scheme (Mifsud 2000). Thus, as
provision of government-built units increased, so did distribution of low-cost
land, aimed at the encouragement of home ownership. Relatively cheap
finance was available through the Lohombus Corporation, and later on during
157
the 1980s, 73 percent of Lohombus loans were to go towards financing
construction of homes on HOS plots. In 1979, the clause in the Housing
(Decontrol) Act that allowed landlords to reclaim properties after 17 years
was removed in favour of full tenant protection, once again stifling the private
rental market. Post-1979, when the British Services left Malta, some 900
low-income families were housed in buildings that previously accommodated
servicemen. An autonomous Housing Authority was set up in 1976, and it
was charged with improving the housing condition of very low income groups
and promoting home ownership.
2.1.8
In the early 1980s, the drive towards home ownership was stepped up, and
in 1981, the Town and Country Planning Act was removed from the statute
book. Somewhat in an attempt to control this situation, the Building
Development Areas (BDA) Act was passed in 1983, which repealed the
schemes. This legislation aimed at both improving control over land
development, which had by now moved outside the 1969 schemes, and at
countervailing land speculation by selling land bought at cost price (Gauci
1996, MDI 1988). The BDA Act allowed for government to purchase private
land outside the development schemes at low prices, and then partition this
land to allow for the development of private dwellings. Although 30 areas
were designated, only eight BDAs were actually developed. These are at:
Pembroke; Santa Margherita at Mosta; Sghajtar at Naxxar; Tal-Fuklar at
Attard; Swatar at Msida; Tal-Handaq at Qormi; Taz-Zwejt at San Gwann; and
Qasam Barrani at Mellieha. A total of 1,321 BDA plots were distributed
through the BDA scheme, and these were slightly smaller (6.5 x 21 = 136
square metres) than the previous Home Ownership ones, but nevertheless
resulted in significant urban sprawl. The written policy that accompanied the
BDA Act also allowed for development outside the BDA areas on the
condition that some basic stipulations regarding proximity to other buildings
were satisfied. By 1991, the Structure Plan Report of Survey was able to
argue that the land development process was malfunctioning for the following
reasons: new road patterns disrupting the old village cores; new
development growing without any proper upgrading of community facilities;
loss of hierarchy in road patterns; no hierarchy of open spaces; a
monotonous visual image; and, a general lack of proper infrastructure.
2.1.9
The large-scale urbanisation of the 1970s and 1980s sparked wide
environmental disquiet, which was partly responsible for the eventual setting
up of the Planning Authority in 1992. In 1988, the Building Permits
(Temporary Provisions) Act (Act X of 1988) was passed, and this legislation
reinstated a reduced version of the 1962 development schemes, drew up a
development boundary, and importantly, called for the preparation of a
written statement of integrated land-use policy in the form of a Structure Plan.
The 1992 Development Planning Act called for the setting up of the Planning
Authority, which was entrusted with implementing the 1990 Structure Plan. An
integrated approach to land development, which viewed economic matters in
their social and environmental context, was now in place.
158
2.1.10
The approach to social housing was also revised during the 1990s: although
public sector house building continued, it was largely aimed at existing urban
areas rather than green field sites. The BDA Act was abolished, and the
Home Ownership Scheme was reduced until it died a natural death in the
early 1990s (Camilleri 2000). A new, more indirect approach to social
housing emerged, which included schemes to provide assistance to tenants
to upgrade their properties and for repairs to private property, and rental
subsidies for private sector tenants. Since the Housing Authority was set up,
there has been new emphasis on smaller units, more rehabilitation,
redevelopment of existing buildings and use of infill sites. In 1995, requisition
provisions were removed from the Housing Act and post-1995 rental
agreements were freed from rent control. The housing debate remains
topical, however, particularly the issue of affordability, where sharp rises in
property prices and rising residential vacancy rates are putting pressure on
Government to find new solutions to housing problems.
159
Appendix 2.2 Changing Characteristics of
Settlements in the various Local Plan Areas
A2.2.1
This appendix provides an overview of development trends with respect to
population, new dwelling permissions, dwelling densities and residential
vacancy in the various settlements of the Maltese Islands. These trends are
discussed on the basis of each local plan area, and key data is summarised
in tabular format for each area (see Map 1 for details of Local Plan areas
and major settlements).
Central Malta Local Plan Area
A2.2.2
Overall, the Central Malta Local Plan Area (CMLP Area) gained a population
of 6,000 between 1985 and 1995, and the share of Malta’s total dwelling
stock in this area increased during this period from 20 to 23 percent (see
Table A2.2.1). At the same time, however, the localities of Hamrun, Santa
Venera and Qormi lost population (by 2487, 1844 and 562 persons
respectively). The overall increase in population in this Local Plan area thus
resulted out of gains in other localities such as Mosta (4606), Naxxar (3,361),
and Attard (3,533). Iklin also gained 3,100 residents, but it took some of
these from Birkirkara, Lija, Naxxar and San Gwann, of which it formed part
before council boundaries in the area were revised. The largest settlement in
this area remains Birkirkara, with a population of 21,281 in 1995. Qormi is
the next largest settlement (17,694) and Mosta (16,754) follows Qormi,
although while Mosta is growing rapidly, Qormi has lost population.
Residential vacancy in this area is highest in Naxxar (21 percent, of which 4
percent are holiday homes). There may be a linkage between rising
populations and high vacancy rates in areas such as Naxxar, possibly due to
over-provision of new housing in popular localities. Iklin, Attard and Santa
Venera have vacancy rates that are lower than 10 percent, and these are well
below the national average of 15 percent for permanently vacant properties.
Residential densities (see Appendix 2.3 and description of Densities Study
in housing quality part of section 2.2) are highest in Hamrun, which is losing
population (107 persons per hectare [p/ha] and 43 units per hectare [u/ha])
and then Birkirkara, Mosta and Qormi, all of which have densities of between
30 and 33 units per hectare. The lowest densities are in Lija, Iklin, Naxxar
and Attard, where densities are below 20 units per hectare and populations
are on the rise. The low densities and vacancy rates in some of the CMLP
area suggest that most dwellings here are lived in rather than purchased as
second homes or investments. In this area, most permissions for new
dwellings between 1994 and 2000 were granted in B’Kara (929), Mosta
(759), Naxxar (600).
160
TABLE A2.2.1 SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE CENTRAL MALTA LOCAL
PLAN AREA*
Local
Council
Population Population Dwellings
(1985)
(1995)
(1995)
Unit Density Residential
Dwelling
per hectare
Vacancy Permissions
Attard
5,681
9,214
2,663
17
224
451
Balzan
4,781
3,560
1,334
22
197
96
Birkirkara
20,385
21,281
7,613
26
920
929
Gharghur
2,321
1,991
753
28
116
173
13,682
11,195
4,516
43
637
186
Iklin
/
3,098
916
19
59
72
Lija
3,078
2,497
875
17
96
83
Mosta
12,148
16,754
5,938
30
857
759
Naxxar
6,461
9,822
3,748
18
770
600
Qormi
18,256
17,694
5,891
30
613
458
Santa
Venera
7,827
6,183
2,035
24
138
232
94,620
103,289
36,282
27
4,627
4022*
Hamrun
Total
Source: Census 1985, Census 1995, Dwellings Database, Densities Study
*This total does not include the dwelling permissions in the rural parts of Naxxar (16) and Attard (1), which fall
within the NWLP area.
Gozo and Comino Local Plan Area
A2.2.3
Settlements in Gozo are characterised by the fact that each settlement
remains geographically distinct and the landscape has a rural quality (see
Table A2.2.2). Population has once more begun to rise in Gozo (but not
Comino), with 3,000 more persons residing here in 1995 than in 1985. Most
population growth was in Rabat, Nadur and Xaghra (556, 400 and 467
persons respectively), and to a lesser extent, in Ghajnsielem (367) and
Xewkija (264). Since 1994, however, most of the 2,776 residential
development permissions were granted in Xaghra (417), Zebbug (424),
Rabat (321), and Ghajnsielem (277). This discrepancy between growth in
population and dwellings may be related to residential vacancy and second
homes, which is high in Gozo, at 39 percent, of which 20 percent is attributed
in the 1995 Census to second homes. Second homes are most common in
Zebbug/Marsalforn (463 homes or 60 percent of all dwellings) and
Munxar/Xlendi (1883 units or 72 percent of all dwellings). Localities where
vacancy is not due to second homes and yet still significant are Ghasri (32
percent), Gharb (27 percent), and Xewkija and San Lawrenz (both at 26
percent). This type of residential vacancy may be related to unresolved
disputes over inheritance between siblings living at great distances from
each other – many from the more remote villages in Gozo emigrated in the
decades following World War Two. Residential densities in Gozo are
particularly low, with the only localities that exceed 20 units per hectare being
161
the tourist destinations of Xaghra (including Marsalforn) and Munxar
(including Xlendi), and tiny Fontana, now part of Rabat. Average population
densities are also low, at between 25 and 30 persons per hectare and only
Rabat, Kercem, Sannat and Fontana exceed 30 persons per hectare. In
1995, 10 percent of the housing stock was located on Gozo, up very slightly
from 9 percent in 1985.
TABLE A2.2.2 SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE GOZO AND COMINO LOCAL
PLAN AREA
Local
Council
Population Population Dwellings Unit Density Residential
Dwelling
(1985)
(1995)
(1995) per hectare
Vacancy Permissions
Fontana
836
817
384
24
115
56
1,809
2,176
1,007
16
356
277
Gharb
983
1,030
674
16
316
130
Ghasri
335
369
214
14
73
31
Kercem
1,411
1,557
686
19
180
119
Munxar
507
780
775
26
516
182
Nadur
3,482
3,882
1,829
19
572
311
Qala
1,369
1,492
714
13
207
172
Rabat
(Victoria)
5,968
6,524
2,363
19
411
321
San
Lawrenz
517
552
281
17
103
50
Sannat
1,309
1,604
688
16
173
173
Xaghra
3,202
3,669
1,814
16
613
417
Xewkija
2,772
3,128
1,413
14
388
113
Zebbug
(Gozo)
1,182
1,446
2,606
47
2,050
424
25,682
29,026
15,448
18
6,073
2,776
Ghajnsielem
and Comino
Total
Source: Census 1985, Census 1995, Dwellings Database, Densities Study
Grand Harbour Local Plan Area
A2.2.4
Population in this area fell by 13,200 in the inter-censal period; and this level
of population decline represents a higher rate of loss than the exit of 16,400
people in the 18 years between 1967 and 1985 (see Table A2.2.3). A
number of factors are responsible for this trend, ranging from declining work
forces in the dockyards to social preferences for quieter suburban locations.
Population losses were highest in Valletta (decline from 9,340 to 7,262),
Marsa (7,953 to 5,324) and Bormla (7,731 to 6,085), while the population in
Kalkara increased by 750 in this period, possible due to the greenfield
housing land allocations there, which often accommodated residents from
other localities in the Grand Harbour Local Plan area. No other localities
162
experienced population growth in this Area. Vacancy rates are also high
here; 19 percent of residences are vacant and only 0.3 percent are second
homes. Vacancy is highest in Vittoriosa and Valletta (23 percent); then
Bormla and Floriana (20 percent). At the same time, and perhaps relatedly,
residential densities are high; Isla, well known as the locality with the highest
population density on the Islands, has 221 persons and 94 dwelling units per
hectare, largely due to post-war reconstruction in the form of low-cost
apartments. Floriana and Marsa have the lowest densities in this region (29
p/ha and 13 u/ha), while Valletta (86 p/ha and 43 u/ha) is relatively high for
Malta. In the GHLP Area, only 234 residential permissions were granted
between 1994 and 2000, 86 of which were in Kalkara, 49 in Bormla (“slum
clearances”), 33 in Valletta and 26 in Marsa.
TABLE A2.2.3 SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE GRAND HARBOURS LOCAL
PLAN AREA
Local Plan
Area
Population Population
(1985)
(1995)
Dwellings Unit Density Residential
Dwelling
(1995) per hectare
VacancyPermissions
Birgu
(Vittoriosa)
3,572
3,069
1,356
26
307
8
Bormla
(Cospicua)
7,731
6,085
2,647
32
523
49
Floriana
3,327
2,701
1,220
13
239
31
Isla
4,158
3,528
1,508
94
251
1
Kalkara
2,086
2,833
1,016
27
133
86
Marsa
7,953
5,324
1,984
28
198
26
Valletta
9,340
7,262
3,586
43
833
33
38,167
30,802
13,317
31
2,484
234
Total
Source: Census 1985, Census 1995, Dwellings Database, Densities Study
Marsaxlokk Bay Local Plan Area
A2.2.5
The MBLP Area experienced a population growth of 25 percent between
1985 and 1995, the majority of which took place in Birzebbuga (29 percent
growth) (see Table A2.2.4). Despite its population increases, however,
Birzebbuga has densities of only 71 p/ha and 36 u/ha. Marsaxlokk is even
less dense, with an urban population density of 59 p/ha and 21 u/h. In terms
of dwelling permissions granted in the area, 488 of the 718 permissions
granted were for buildings located in Birzebbuga. Vacancy rates in the Plan
Area are slightly lower than the national average, even if the few second
homes are taken into consideration; in Birzebbuga, 2.5 percent of dwellings
are second homes, and the figure is 4.3 percent in Marsaxlokk. While the
total dwelling stock here is only 4,689, 3,701 of these are in Birzebbuga.
While Marsaxlokk originated as a fishing village, its villa area at Tas-Silg is
now a desirable and expensive residential area.
163
TABLE A2.2.4 SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE MARSAXLOKK BAY LOCAL
PLAN AREA
Local Plan Population Population
Area
(1985)
(1995)
Dwellings Unit Density Residentia
Dwelling
(1995) per hectare l Vacancy Permissions
Birzebbuga
5,668
7,307
3,701
36
1,306
488
Marsaxlokk
2,405
2,857
988
21
157
230
Total
8,073
10,164
4,689
31
1,463
718
Source: Census 1985, Census 1995, Dwellings Database, Densities Study
North Harbours Local Plan Area
A2.2.6
The North Harbours Local Plan area gained 8,000 persons in the intercensal period, equivalent to a population gain of 16 percent (A2.2.5). All the
same, gains in San Gwann (3,832) and Msida (723) (previously losing
population but now gaining it back through the development of affordable
flatted dwellings for new households in a central location) were partially offset
by losses in Sliema (1,231), Gzira (599), Ta’ Xbiex (223) and Pieta (73).
Large losses in San Giljan (2,887) are likely to be due to the shrinking of its
boundary to make way for growing settlements at Pembroke, which has a
population of 2,213, and Swieqi, which has a population of 3,823, both of
which were previously part of San Giljan. Dwelling permissions granted
between 1994 and 2000 are not reflective of the population losses described
above; out of a total of 3,417 permissions, 926 went to Sliema, 611 to Gzira,
511 to Swieqi, 436 to Msida, 389 to San Gwann and 285 to San Giljan. This
may partially explain the high residential vacancy rates of 29 percent in
Sliema (of which 5 percent are second homes) and 27 percent in San Giljan
(of which 5 percent are second homes). The whole Local Plan area has a
higher than average vacancy rate, with only Pembroke (4 percent) and San
Gwann (9 percent) falling to below 10 percent. Significantly, density figures
reflect trends in population: in general, areas that have lost population have
high densities, such as Sliema (99 p/ha and 55 u/ha), Gzira (84 p/ha and 37
u/ha) and Pieta (95 p/ha and 38 u/ha). At the same time, areas where
population (but not necessarily number of residential permissions) is growing
have lower densities: Pembroke (23 p/ha and 7 u/ha), Swieqi (38 p/ha and
15 u/ha) and San Gwann (94 p/ha and 30 u/ha). As in 1985, the North
Harbour Local Plan area contains 17 percent of Malta’s dwelling stock.
TABLE A2.2.5 SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE NORTH HARBOURS LOCAL
PLAN AREA
164
Local Plan
Area
Population Population
(1985)
(1995)
Dwellings Unit Density Residentia
Dwelling
(1995) per hectare l Vacancy Permissions
Gzira
8,471
7,872
3,508
37
707
611
Msida
6,219
6,942
2,984
35
632
436
/
2,213
660
7
28
150
4,380
4,307
1,736
38
377
95
10,239
7,352
3,546
23
962
285
8,179
12,011
3,784
30
353
389
Sliema
14,137
12,906
7,144
55
2,058
926
Swieqi
/
6,721
2,553
15
498
511
1,955
1,732
652
22
134
11
53,580
62,056
26,567
28
5,749
3,417
Pembroke
Pieta`
San Giljan
San Gwann
Ta` Xbiex
Total
Source: Census 1985, Census 1995, Dwellings Database, Densities Study
North West Local Plan Area
A2.2.7
The population of the North West Local Plan area grew by 22 percent
between 1985 and 1995, significantly more than the 10 percent growth in the
same region between 1967 and 1985 (see Table A2.2.6). At the same time,
the Plan Area’s percentage of Malta’s dwelling stock remained constant at
12 percent. The greatest population increases occurred in St. Paul’s Bay (66
percent), then Mellieha (37 percent) and Dingli (33 percent). Out of an overall
population gain of 5,816, 2,927 went to St. Paul’s Bay, 1,696 to Mellieha,
678 to Dingli and 484 to Mgarr. Dwelling permissions granted between 1994
and 2000 reflect these population changes: 1,764 in St. Paul’s Bay, 781 in
Mellieha and 440 in Rabat and Mtarfa. The largest settlement in the NWLP
area remains Rabat (12,995), although Mellieha and St. Paul’s Bay are now
each almost half its size, compared to 1948 when they were one third and
one fourth of its size respectively. While Rabat and Mellieha have their roots
as agricultural settlements, St. Paul’s Bay started out as a fishing village and
summer resort, but like Mellieha is now dominated by tourism and
entertainment uses, particularly at Qawra and Bugibba. Vacancy rates in the
North West, at 47 percent for the whole area, are definitely the highest on the
Islands, and are largely but not wholly explained by the pressure of 6,473
second homes in the area (33 percent of all dwelling units). Most second
homes here are in St. Paul’s Bay (5,318) and there are also many in Mellieha
(1,115). Significantly, however, the permanent vacancy rate in the old capital
city of Mdina is high at 30 percent, and so is it at Mgarr (22 percent),
possibly due to high emigration rates in the past that have given rise to legal
problems associated with multiple ownership of property. Densities are
generally low in the North West, with the highest figures emerging at Rabat
(92 p/ha and 35 u/ha), Dingli (92 p/ha and 30 u/ha) and St. Paul’s Bay (31
p/ha and 38 u/ha). The low figure of 31 p/ha for urban population density in
St. Paul’s Bay supports the finding that many of its dwellings are vacant.
165
TABLE A2.2.6 SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE NORTH WEST LOCAL PLAN
AREA
Local
Council
Population
(1985)
Population
(1995)
Dingli
2,047
2,725
896
30
84
130
Mdina
421
377
157
16
47
0
Mellieha
4,525
6,221
3,575
18
1,549
781
Mgarr
(Malta)
2,188
2,672
1,031
23
237
245
Rabat
(Malta)*
12,920
12,995
4,629
35
608
440
4,465
7,392
9,065
38
6,548
1,764
26,566
32,382
19,353
28
9,073
3,379**
San Pawl
il-Bahar
Total
Dwellings Unit Density
(1995) per hectare
Residential
Dwelling
Vacancy Permissions
Source: Census 1985, Census 1995, Dwellings Database, Densities Study
*Including Mtarfa
** This total includes also dwelling permissions in the rural areas of Attard (1), Siggiewi (2) and Naxxar (16),
which fall within the NWLP area.
South Malta Local Plan Area
A2.2.8
Of all the Local Plan areas, the South gained most population in the
intercensal period, with a total of 110,413 residents in 1995 compared to
98,730 in 1985 (see Table A2.2.7). This local plan area contains a number of
rural settlements (Luqa, Gudja, Safi, Kirkop, Siggiewi, Zurrieq and Mqabba)
that are still focused on the village church and town piazza. Other larger
towns such as Tarxien and Zabbar have now become part of the larger
conurbation alongside the newer settlements of Paola, Fgura and most
recently, the planned new town Santa Lucija. Most population growth occured
in Marsaskala (2,834) and Fgura (2,788), the former displaying impressive
population growth, with an 146 percent increase over its 1985 population.
Population also increased in Siggiewi (1,233), but fell, and this was the only
locality to lose population here, in Paola by 2,344 persons. High population
growth in this area and losses in the Grand Harbour Local Plan area support
the internal migration data (see paragraph 2.3.9) that reveals strong inmigration to the South from the Grand Harbours Local Plan area.
A2.2.9
Vacancy rates are generally medium to low in the South, with no localities
with over 20 percent permanent vacancy, and Xghajra and Ghaxaq having
only 3 and 9 percent vacancy respectively. Second homes in this Plan Area
predominate in Marsaskala (1,016 units) and Xghajra (409 units), where 34
percent and 62 percent of dwellings are second homes respectively.
However, Marsaskala demonstrates relatively high rates of both second
homes (34 percent) and permanently vacant dwellings (15 percent), so that
166
just below 50 percent of its dwellings are either permanently or temporarily
vacant. Yet permits in this locality amounted to 1,176 between 1994 and
2000, suggesting that new development is not necessarily being located
where supply is low, as was found also for the North Harbours Local Plan
area.
TABLE A2.2.7 SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN THE SOUTH MALTA LOCAL PLAN
AREA
Local
Council
Population Population
(1985)
(1995)
Dwellings
Unit Residential
Dwelling
(1995) Density per
Vacancy Permissions
hectare
Fgura
8,254
11,042
3,554
40
338
375
Ghaxaq
3,655
4,126
1,347
25
124
217
Gudja
2,156
2,882
977
27
119
94
Kirkop
1,559
1,957
679
25
94
129
Luqa
5,585
6,150
1,772
30
178
306
Marsaskala
1,936
4,770
3,016
23
1,469
1,172
Mqabba
2,269
2,613
901
24
138
272
Paola
11,744
9,400
3,776
37
520
98
Qrendi
2,199
2,344
847
20
104
178
Safi
1,323
1,731
608
20
77
171
Santa Lucija
3,208
3,605
1,063
38
16
21
Siggiewi
5,864
7,097
2,358
25
299
354
Tarxien
7,016
7,412
2,678
31
408
406
Xghajra
/
685
651
27
427
136
Zabbar
12,869
14,138
4,831
33
578
528
Zebbug
(Malta)
9,788
10,398
3,603
24
500
496
Zejtun
11,321
11,379
3,944
30
515
288
Zurrieq
7,984
8,684
2,941
23
350
583
98,730
110,413
39,546
29
6,254
5,822*
Total
Source: Census 1985, Census 1995, Dwellings Database, Densities Study
*This total excludes the two dwelling permissions in the rural part of Siggiewi, which fall under the NWLP Area.
A2.2.10
South Malta has the largest dwelling stock in the Islands (25 percent) and the
highest number of residential permissions between 1994 and 2000 (5,849
out of 20,368). Residential permissions here were highest in Zabbar (528),
Zebbug (496) Fgura (375) and Zejtun (288). Although it is still the most
populous local plan area, it will lose out to the Central Malta Local Plan area,
which the Demography Topic Paper predicts will gain most new residents in
the Review period. Indeed the South fell from having 29 percent of the
dwelling stock in 1985 to 25 percent in 1995.
167
A2.2.11
The fastest growing settlements in the South are generally far from the
Harbour area (except for Fgura, where low cost houses and maisonettes
provide good value for money): Marsascala (146 percent growth); Gudja (34
percent growth); Safi (30 percent growth); Kirkop (25 percent growth) and
Siggiewi (21 percent growth). These growth rates are very high compared
with those between 1967 and 1985, when all these rural localities were
experiencing growth rates of 1 percent or even population declines of some
1 percent (except for Safi). There are few high density settlements in this
local plan area; only Fgura is relatively dense with 125 p/ha and 40 u/ha.
Otherwise, densities range between 18 and 35 u/ha. The relatively high
figures for urban population density in this area (for example, 105, 98 and 88
in Luqa, Zabbar and Zejtun respectively) may be due to low residential
vacancy rates in these towns).
A2.2.12
These local trends confirm the broad picture of settlement change in Malta,
indicating a general preference for newer, less dense accommodation over
that in older settlements. In the next section, a strategic view of changes to
dwelling stock is provided; the section after that gives details of housing
development rates over the last decades, based on the Planning Authority’s
records of residential permissions granted.
168
169
Appendix 2.3 Residential Densities by
Locality
Local Council
Urban
Area (ha)
Population
Residential
density in
persons per
hectare∗
Number of Dwelling
Units
Residential
density in units
per hectare∗
Attard
158
9214
58
2669
17
Balzan
60
3560
59
1335
22
Birgu
53
3069
58
1356
26
Birkirkara
228
21281
93
7637
33
Birzebbugia
103
7307
71
3706
36
Bormla
82
6085
74
2657
32
Dingli
30
2725
92
896
30
Fgura
88
11042
125
3562
40
Floriana
94
2700
29
1224
13
Fontana
16
817
51
384
24
Ghajnsielem
65
2176
33
1009
16
Gharb
40
1030
26
655
16
Gharghur
27
1991
74
753
28
Ghasri
15
369
25
212
14
Ghaxaq
53
4126
78
1346
25
Gujda
37
2882
78
983
27
Gzira
94
7872
84
3508
37
105
11195
107
4520
43
Iklin
48
3098
65
918
19
Isla
16
3528
221
1511
94
Kalkara
37
2833
88
1017
27
Kercem
35
1557
44
680
19
Kirkop
27
1957
72
682
25
Lija
53
2497
47
878
17
Luqa
60
6150
103
1774
30
Marsa
70
5324
76
1988
28
Marsascala
133
4770
36
3016
23
Marsaxlokk
48
2847
59
996
21
Mdina
10
377
38
160
16
198
6221
31
3556
18
Mgarr
45
2672
59
1032
23
Mosta
197
16754
85
5939
30
Mqabba
38
2613
69
904
24
Msida
86
6942
81
2984
35
Hamrun
Mellieha
170
Local Council
Urban
Area (ha)
Population
Residential
density in
persons per
hectare∗
Number of Dwelling
Units
Residential
density in units
per hectare∗
Mtarfa
41
2200
54
590
14
Munxar
29
780
27
767
26
Nadur
95
3882
41
1823
19
Naxxar
206
9822
48
3741
18
Pembroke
97
2213
23
660
7
Pieta
45
4307
95
1740
38
Qala
53
1492
28
714
13
Qormi
200
17654
88
5917
30
Qrendi
42
2344
56
848
20
Rabat
117
10795
92
4050
35
Rabat (G)
127
6524
51
2355
19
Rahal Gdid
102
9400
92
3781
37
31
1731
56
613
20
San Giljan
153
7352
48
3549
23
San Gwann
128
12011
94
3779
30
San Lawrenz
17
552
32
281
17
Sannat
41
1604
39
676
16
Santa Lucia
28
3605
129
1065
38
Santa Venera
84
6183
74
2038
24
Siggiewi
94
7097
76
2361
25
Sliema
130
12906
99
7152
55
St.Paul's Bay
240
7392
31
9068
38
Swieqi
175
6721
38
2544
15
Ta' Xbiex
29
1732
60
653
22
Tarxien
88
7412
84
2696
31
Valletta
84
7262
86
3583
43
Xaghra
109
3,669
34
1759
16
Xewkija
99
3,128
32
1390
14
Xghajra
24
685
29
650
27
Zabbar
145
14,138
98
4836
33
Zebbug
151
10,398
69
3611
24
54
1,446
27
2556
47
Zejtun
130
11,379
88
3956
30
Zurrieq
129
8,684
67
2953
23
5,766
378,081
66
155,202
27
Safi
Zebbug (G)
Total
∗ Population and dwelling units include figures for both urban and rural areas, whilst the area of each local council is based
on the urban area only. The reason for this is that while the number of rural dwellings and rural populations are small, rural
land areas are large, making any estimates of residential and dwelling densities based on total land area per locality
misleadingly low.
171
Source: Densities Study
172
Appendix 2.4 Social Housing Provision: the
1980s and 1990s
A2.4.1
The single major source of public sector housing land during the 1980s was
released by means of the 1983 Building Development Areas (BDA) Act, as
described in the historical review of housing that opens this chapter (this
discussion draws heavily on A. Camilleri (2001)). Along with the land gained
through this legislation, Government had two other potential sources of land:
large tracts of property left by the British following their departure from the
island in March 1979, and significant areas of land still belonging to the
Church, which the Government intended to utilise. Whilst the former source
proved to be a rather useful one, leading to the development of full scale
towns at Mtarfa, Pembroke and Tigne (although this area has since been redesignated to include commercial development), the latter source (Church
property) could not be developed due to political considerations, particularly
the controversy over the free Church schools issue that reached its apex in
1984-1985.
A2.4.2
After the change in Government in 1987, a number of radical changes took
place in the area of housing provision. Whilst the new Government was
determined to continue with the policy of providing low cost housing, it was
conscious of the environmental implications of extensive greenfield
development. Thus a number of important measures and decisions were
taken: first, the BDA Act was abolished and the BDA areas that had not
been developed were no longer regarded as land for development. Second,
some 1,000 HOS plots parcelled out before the 1987 elections were reallocated in less environmentally sensitive areas, with each beneficiary being
given an alternative plot of the same size in the same locality. Thirdly, the
Government discontinued the practice of expropriating private property for
housing purposes (other than that required in connection with ‘slum
clearance’ projects). Fourthly, new Government units were much more
compact, taking the form of terraced development (i.e. flats placed side by
side facing the street) as opposed to the previous point block type of
development. All flats were provided with lifts, and five-storey development
was used wherever possible (actually the concept had been introduced in
early 1987 towards the end of the previous legislature). The Home
Ownership Scheme (HOS) was continued for a few years, but was eventually
discontinued after 1992. Furthermore Government re-introduced the
Planning Services Division in the Works Department, which eventually
became the Planning Authority in 1992. All these measures led to a more
efficient use of land.
A2.4.3
However it was inevitable that the pace of development of the 1970s could
not be sustained and supply of land was also dwindling at a rapid pace.
Government then signed a landmark agreement with the Church whereby a
high proportion of its property would be transferred to the Government in
173
exchange for which Government pledged to use this land solely for social
purposes and to assist the Church in the funding of its schools. The
agreement not only resolved the thorny issue that had plagued Church-State
relations in 1984 but also provided Government with a potential reservoir of
land for further social housing development in the coming years. The only
problem was that there was no clear record of the plans attached to the
agreement and by the end of the Nationalist legislature in 1996 this source of
land remained untapped.
A2.4.3
The Labour Government of 1996-1998 can be credited with taking a number
of important initiatives in the housing sector. The most important was the
creation of a Commission, led by the Former Prime Minister, Dr. Karmenu
Mifsud Bonnici, to establish the extent of Government land and ex-Church
land (now administered by an entity known as the Joint Office, since its
administration include members of the Archbishop’s Curia as well as the
Government). The report, which was never published, was nevertheless
made available by early 1998 and, although it includes an important
implication that Government would develop land situated outside the current
development schemes, there is no evidence that the Government had any
intention to do so. An exercise conducted by the Department of Housing
Construction and Maintenance and the Housing Authority in March 1998
revealed that there was enough land in the Commission’s Report to develop
approximately 2,700 housing units within the development boundary. Of
these approximately 800 could be developed without difficulty, another 1,300
could be developed with some difficulty, whilst 600 posed insurmountable
problems. Thus in reality (unless the Government opted to utilise land outside
the schemes) there was land available for approximately 2,100 units. In order
to augment this amount Government also decided to embark on an
ambitious but politically sensitive project to develop one or two additional
stories over existing housing blocks constructed between 1971 and 1987.
This project was on the verge of being taken in hand when there was another
change in Government following the elections of September 1998.
A2.4.4
The new Government suspended the additional stories project indefinitely,
mostly in view of the strong opposition voiced by a number of residents such
as those at Attard. Nevertheless it continued with the plans of previous
administrations, and from the 800 units indicated above, approximately 200
have been taken in hand, while others are currently under negotiation with the
Planning Authority. However, a problem arose in early 2000 concerning the
value of the land to be transferred to the Housing Authority for housing
purposes. Up until January 1995, the Housing Authority was not charged for
the transfer of land from the Lands Department. After that date, the Ministry of
Finance decided that the cost of acquiring private property for any
Government project (including housing) would have to be paid for by the
government entity requesting the expropriation.
A2.4.5
Thus the Housing Authority become burdened with the expropriation of land
that was utilised after 1995 but expropriated before that date. Furthermore,
whereas previously the Government Property Division (which comprises the
174
Lands Department and Estates Management Department) was factoring in
only a nominal value of land prices, as the land was either Government
owned or expropriated at low cost, in recent years, commercial land values
have been included in the value of the land sold. Thus each property is given
a commercial value, which is then subsidized in order to make the units
‘affordable’ to social housing applicants.
175
176
Appendix 3.1 Checklist for Assessing
Sustainable Property Development
1. LOCATION
INDICATORS
ENVIRONMENTAL
Land type (brownfield/greenfield/contaminated)
Ecological (rare species, etc)
Noise and vibration
Air quality
ECONOMIC
Previous land use classification
Previous land use status (derelict/vacant)
Occupancy take up rate by use class order
Road accessibility
Distance from town centre
Distance from local centre
SOCIAL
Location in relation to existing developments
Level of integration with local authorities Local Plan
Open consultation with all sectors of existing community on planned
development
2. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
ENVIRONMENTAL
Recycled material use
Resource use in construction process (renewable/non-renewable)
Building energy efficiency rating
Tree loss in construction by age, condition and species
Wildlife loss in construction period
Planting and Landscaping
Waste recycling facilities
Waste disposal requirements
Water recycling facilities
Water requirements
ECONOMIC
Water metering fitted
SOCIAL
Number of local jobs created through construction process
Contribution of design to local townscape
Provision for allotments
Provision for community meeting space
Community participation in design process
177
3. TRANSPORT AND ACCESSIBILITY
ENVIRONMENTAL
Level of traffic generation from private car use
Mixed use site (by uses)
Phasing of completions by use type (mixed use only)
Occupancy take up rate by type (mixed use only)
Means of waste disposal (inc. location and means of transport)
ECONOMIC
Partnerships with public transport operators
Contribution to transport infrastructure as part of development
process by mode
% of residential properties to be made available as affordable
housing
SOCIAL
Distance from main line station (destinations)
Distance from bus stop (destinations)
Designated cycle lanes as part of development (length)
Cycle parking facilities as part of development
On site parking levels
On street parking levels
4. OCCUPANCY
ENVIRONMENTAL
Site to be actively managed for conservation
ECONOMIC
Number of local jobs to be created in operational phase by SIC
(commercial only)
Expected occupancy take-up rate by use class
Contribution of development to local economic vibrancy
SOCIAL
Tenure type
Activity profile by SIC (commercial only)
Socio-demographic profile (residential only)
Social contribution of development to existing local community
Source: Lucas et al. (2000)
178
Appendix 4.1 Housing Requirements and
Supply in the Structure Plan and the
Monitoring Reports
Methodologies used in previous Structure Plan
A4.1.1
The Structure Plan estimated a requirement for almost 60,000 additional
housing units of the period 1990-2010. This estimate allowed for the loss of
a proportion of housing stock without replacement, additional second homes
and tourist-related demand. It is largely based on the analysis of Technical
Report 1.2, the elements of which are summarised below in Table A4.1.1.
TABLE A4.1.1 ELEMENTS OF CURRENT STRUCTURE PLAN’S HOUSING
REQUIREMENTS CALCULATION
New
dwellings
Reason
29,560
New households to be formed between 1985 and 2010
Housing ‘deficit’: left vacant following reallocation of households to
achieve theoretical best fit between household and dwelling size
Replacements for dwellings that are to be demolished without
replacement between 1985 and 2010.
Additional second homes and holiday homes required by 2010
Additional dwellings for those households sharing a dwelling in 1985
Loss of half the special dwellings (shacks, caves, etc) in the 1985
Census
Total new dwellings required under the ‘realistic standard assumption’
14,400
6,270
5,390
3,150
490
59,260
Source: Malta Structure Plan, Technical Report 1.2
A4.1.2
The 1997 Structure Plan Monitoring Report argues that this analysis contains
two serious weaknesses: first, it takes the figure of 59,260 as an indicator of
housing requirements over the period 1990-2010, whereas it actually
represents the 25 year period from 1985 to 2010. This causes an overstatement of requirements by some 8,000 dwelling units. Second, the 14,500
housing ‘deficit’ is based on a theoretical ‘housing reallocation model’, which
assumes that due to a mismatch between dwelling stock sizes and
household sizes, an arbitrary number of dwellings will remain vacant after
their inhabitants relocate to adequately sized properties. The ‘housing
reallocation hypothesis’ is based on the reasonable premise that many
families are living in dwellings that do not meet their requirements, either
because they are too small or too large. The arbitrary part of the hypothesis,
however, assumes that a significant amount of new dwellings (see below) will
be needed to obtain a satisfactory fit between dwelling size and household
179
size. This assumption rests on the questionable logic that a significant
amount of homes will be left vacant after household reallocation, without other
households taking up residence in them, or being modified by their existing
occupants.
A4.1.3
In order to apply this housing reallocation hypothesis, the Structure Plan team
used a scenario based on a ‘realistic standard assumption’ to project the
number of households that would relocate to larger (21,700) or smaller
(5,160) properties during the Plan period, (it was assumed). The standard for
an acceptable relationship between dwelling and household sizes was not an
international one, but an arbitrary one loosely associated with the Structure
Plan’s Housing Stock Survey. A further set of assumptions were used to
predict the number of dwellings of each size that would be reallocated
through the housing market, and it was argued that 12,460 households would
be thus re-occupied. This, the team postulated, would result in a deficit of
14,500 units, which should be treated as additional housing demand.
A4.1.4
As the 1997 Structure Plan Monitoring Report argued, the ‘housing
reallocation hypothesis’ is not currently a standard methodology for the
assessment of housing requirements. It is based on a series of highly
questionable assumptions, and stretches the available data beyond credible
limits, ignoring important characteristics of the Maltese housing market, such
as the preference for the speedy establishment of family homes, household
inertia, and a tendency to modify and extend dwellings rather than move
house. In a land scarce nation, property is seen as too valuable an asset to
simply discard. The assumption also ignores trends towards declining family
sizes, both through population ageing and the formation of single person
households. It is considered that the large ‘deficit’ arising from the ‘housing
reallocation hypothesis’ should be discounted as an element of housing
requirements, since it represents an unjustified addition to the already
significant housing stock that lies vacant, violating the central principle of
Malta’s planning system, that land and buildings should be used efficiently.
A4.1.5
The Structure Plan team itself however also produced competing estimates
for housing requirements, in the 1991 Structure Plan Technical Report 1.1 on
population, households and dwellings projections, based on a simpler and
more robust set of assumptions. These estimates are summarised in Table
A4.1.2.
180
TABLE A4.1.2 ESTIMATES OF HOUSING REQUIREMENTS IN STRUCTURE
PLAN TECHNICAL REPORT 1.1
New
dwellings
Reason
23,180
5,19012,000
Up to
3,580
New households to be formed between 1985 and 2010
Additional second homes and holiday homes required by 2010
Additional vacant dwellings ‘required’ under the high demand scenario
(reduction of 3,960 assumed for low demand scenario) including
dwellings termed as substandard, dwellings unavailable for sale for
various reasons, and a ‘slack’ provision needed for the proper
functioning of the housing market (5 percent).
Total new dwellings required under low and high scenarios
24,40038,760
Source: Malta Structure Plan, Technical Report 1.1
A4.1.6
The Structure Plan Monitoring Report put forward a revised housing
requirements calculation for the remaining years of the 1990 Structure Plan,
which is summarised below:
TABLE A4.1.3 ESTIMATES OF HOUSING REQUIREMENTS IN STRUCTURE
PLAN TECHNICAL REPORT 1.1
New dwellings
28,395
5580
690
34,670
Reason
New Maltese households formed between 1990 and 2010
(excluding the proportion sharing a dwelling)
Additional second homes and holiday homes required by 2010.
These are mostly second homes, since very few additional
tourist units are being licensed
Balance of additional vacant dwellings ‘required’ after an
allowance for additional ‘slack’, to permit the smooth functioning
of the enlarged housing market, and a modest reduction in the
number of other vacant units
TOTAL new dwellings required, central scenario
Source: Structure Plan Monitoring Report: Monitoring Data, 1997.
A4.1.1
Following the recommendations of the 1997 Structure Plan Monitoring
Report, it is considered that the approach taken in Technical Report 1.1
provides a more adequate framework for the consideration of future housing
requirements, and the set of projections for housing requirements presented
in Chapter 4 is based on this framework.
181
182
Appendix 4.2 ‘Slack’ and ‘The Q factor’
‘Slack’
A4.2.1
The Structure Plan’s Technical Report 1.1 sets aside a number of dwellings
by way of ‘slack’, which is described as an allowance for dwellings
unoccupied during sale and transfer (section 7). This figure is estimated as 5
percent of all occupied dwellings, and a figure of 6210 (low scenario) and
6630 (high scenario) dwelling units was thus added to the housing
requirements estimates. This figure was not used in the Technical Report
1.2, which nevertheless emerged with a substantially higher total demand
figure of 59,000 dwelling units, based on a housing reallocation hypothesis.
A4.2.2
The 1993-1995 Structure Plan Monitoring Report argued however that the
methodology of Technical Report 1.2 is more defensible than that in
Technical Report 1.1, and proposed a ‘slack’ figure of 690 dwelling units that
would need to remain vacant for the smooth functioning of the housing
market. The figure for ‘slack’ was thus heavily reduced from the figure of
approximately 6500 in Technical Report 1.1, and, importantly, related to
vacant property. Indeed, in the context of Malta’s chronic vacant housing
problem (22,356 permanently vacant properties in 1995), it is questionable
whether the housing requirements calculation would benefit from the addition
of a specific amount of vacant dwellings required to remain empty for the
smooth functioning of the housing market. This is because even if policy
measures succeed in reducing the vacancy figure of 22,356 dwellings, they
are not likely to succeed in bringing the figure down significantly over the
Review period. Indeed, a figure for ‘slack’ on the requirements side, in
combination with a high vacancy figure that is not used in the supply
calculation, would result in a form of double counting of vacant units. If second
homes are also considered in this argument, the need for a ‘slack’ figure
becomes even less evident. It is therefore recommended that no estimate for
slack be used in the housing requirements calculation.
The ‘Q’ Factor
A4.2.3
It is estimated in Technical Report 1.1 that a certain number of vacant
dwellings will not be available for sale on the housing market due to ‘other’
factors (including those used as holiday homes, which represents a doublecounting with the ‘second homes’ element). This number is referred to as a
‘Q factor’, defined as “Q x Homes where Q = (1985 Vacant – 1985 Second
Homes – 5 percent 1985 Occupied) divided by 1985 Occupied, or as 0.01 X
Homes if Q is less than 0.01” (p. 18). ‘Homes’ is understood as “dwellings
occupied by households, assuming a 1.0318 households per dwellings”
(ibid.). This figure ranged between + and – 4000 dwellings in the final
estimates given in the Report. In the light of Malta’s increasing residential
183
vacancy problem, which, with second homes included reached 24 percent of
all dwellings in 1995, and which is unlikely to be largely occupied by 2020, it
is considered that there is no requirements for this additional vacancy
requirement to enter the housing requirements calculation, as the vacancy
figure will not form part of the supply calculation. The 24,000 vacant units
identified in the 1995 Census can adequately accommodate this ‘Q factor’.
184
Appendix 4.3 Methodologies used in previous
Structure Plan
A4.3.1
The Structure Plan projected that housing would be spread through existing
urban areas, the Temporary Provision Schemes and the Primary
Development Areas. Allowing for a range of terraced, flatted and detached
housing types and medium density, the Structure Plan team assumed that
the Temporary Provisions Schemes would provide 50,000 dwelling units, the
existing urban areas 8,000 units and the Primary Development Area 2,000
units.
A4.3.2
After factoring in the additional units gained in the process of replanning
certain areas that had not been zoned, the Structure Plan Monitoring Report
(1997) estimated that the Temporary Provisions Schemes had the capacity
for 60,810 units, based on central density assumptions (p. 21). The
Monitoring Report set out a revised housing supply calculation, which is
summarised in Table 3.6 below.
TABLE A4.3.1 REVISED HOUSING SUPPLY CALCULATION, MONITORING
REPORT 1993-1995
Comment
Dwelling
Supply
1990-2010
Capacity of the Temporary Provisions Schemes, less an allowance for
6,000 units built during the period 1988-1989
54,810
Windfall provision; additional dwelling units built within existing urban areas
or on land not zoned for housing
12,750
Dwelling Units in the pipeline in development briefs and other major
projects
2,060
Structure Plan team estimate of dwellings likely to be scrapped without
replacement: this includes dwellings on excessively small sites, dwellings
affected by infrastructure development and dwellings in areas that are now
considered unsuitable for residential accommodation
(-7,400)
TOTAL additional dwellings, central scenario
62,220
Source: Structure Plan Monitoring Report: Monitoring Data, 1997
A4.3.3
These estimates take into consideration windfall provision (replacement or
extension of properties, new dwellings built outside limits to development;
projects on ‘white areas’ within the development zone; residential
components of mixed developments) and additional dwelling units provided
for in development briefs and major projects such as Fort Chambray, Gozo
185
(236 units). Some elements of this calculation have been taken forward into
the housing land supply calculation for the Review.
186
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