A preliminary assessment of rural policy and design guidance 2020 : its pros and cons when compared with its predecessor

Abstract

The misuse of land is an eminent problem in the Maltese rural scene and given the pressures on our limited physical environment, the legislation regulating development in Outside Development Zones should be clearly worded and legally unambiguous. This is however not the case for Rural Policy and Design Guidance 2014, whose revision has been recently proposed and a public consultation document to that effect has been released. This work therefore endeavours to assess whether the draft Rural Policy and Design Guidance 2020 embodying an overhaul of the current rural policy will be effective in relation to its aim. A comparison will be made between the proposed policy and that of its precursor, assessing in particular the degree of legal certainty which permeates both policies. In order to conduct such an analysis, a closer look will be first given to certain conflicting provisions of the current policy whereby legal certainty has been discouraged due to its vague drafting, as exhibited in the light of jurisprudence of the Environmental and Planning Review Tribunal and subsequently the Court of Appeal. Against this backdrop, a preliminary analysis on the draft rural policy can ensue. This examination focuses on whether the legal ambiguities identified in the current policy have been addressed, as well as indicating other areas where legal uncertainty subsists. The overall conclusion results in a well-established need for further reform in order to duly prevent the further deterioration of our environment for present and future generations. Several proposals have been put forward by the author indicating the need for a restructuring in the designation ‘Outside Development Zones’, as well as pinpointing legally ambiguous areas which require parameters to be set in place in order to confine its intended interpretation.