Planning gain : recommendations for the Maltese development planning system

Abstract

Planning gain plays a major role in achieving a satisfactory development solution, acceptable to the developers, planners and the community. The concept of planning gain would therefore be one of the important issues in the development planning system in Malta. Since the existing legislation, which was amended in 1997, barely makes reference to the principle of planning gain and due to the total lack of related practical policy guidelines to be followed, I have decided to write my dissertation on this particular subject, in order to bridge this weak gap. In this dissertation, I intend to explain the 'planning gain' system used in Britain on one hand and on the other hand 'impact fees', its American correlate, highlighting the various case studies and questionnaires on the subject. A similar approach will be taken for the Maltese situation, whereby, case studies, interviews and questionnaires on this topic will be analysed in detail to be able to outline the various possibilities available to build an appropriate framework on planning gain within our planning system. By way of comparison I will be submitting a series of recommendations for the introduction of the planning gain concept in Malta.