After an absence of 4 years, the publication "Arkati" prepared by the Vassallo Builders Group of Companies has again been revived and it is the Group's intention to have two issues during the year and which will coincide with the summer and winter shutdowns.

The scope of the magazine remains primarily that of providing a tool whereby information relevant to the operations of the various companies forming part of the Group is transmitted to its staff members and to selected recipients. It will also serve as a platform for airing the Group's opinion on matters, which in one way or the other, may affect its activities.

The diversification within the Group has continued during the past year, as can be noted from the subject material of the inside pages of this publication.

To highlight this event, a new format has been agreed with our publishers and we trust that, together with the contents of this newsletter, will be found agreeable with to our readers.


Developments within the Planning Authority

These last months must have been particularly busy for the officials of the Planning Authority with the launching of the Draft North Harbour Local Plan, the drafting of the Building Development Act, the preparation of draft revisions to the Structure Plan and the new Policy Guidelines which have at last superceded the over-abused DC 1/88 form. It is worth highlighting the above because unfortunately the popular understanding of the Planning Authority relates to the issuing (or refusal) of building permits, and related activities.

The release of the draft North Harbour Local Plan, as expected, instigated a democratic participation of the public particularly where it was evident that its implementation could affect their properties. The reaction of the Madliena residents readily comes to mind, but such a participation should be considered a healthy interface between the relevant sides, which would be conductive to the proposals becoming more widely acceptable.

The 'Policy and Design Guidance 2000' which came into effect on the first of November 2000, is a welcome addition to the Planning Factbook to partly "fulfill the intention to produce design guidelines for all types of use zone within urban areas". This document, although requiring some fine-tuning as conflicts and misunderstandings start to arise between some of its sections, has clarified many areas which, up to now, were always the bone of contention between developers and the Directorates' officers, and which have given rise to innumerable stop notices and enforcements. The commitment of the Hon. George Pullicino, Parliamentary Secretary for the Home Affairs and the involvement of the Chamber of Architects in arriving at this document are greatly commendable, and auger well for the future.

While we have always been firm believers in the need for a body like the Planning Authority to control sporadic or abusive development, we nevertheless expect that it should strive to establish and maintain a positive rapport with developers whether big or small. The construction industry is, in spite of common belief to the contrary, a rather volatile industry, and is easily affected by negative attitudes or by ambiguous policies. As such we cannot but welcome these initiatives by the Planning Authority to streamline its operations into a more transparent one.



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