During a visit to the new social housing site in Triq l-Għenba, in Attard, Minister for Social Accommodation Roderick Galdes announced that the development of this site has entered its final phase. Mechanical, electrical and finishing works are currently underway, with an investment of €570,000, an investment which is to make a significant difference in the lives of eight families.
Minister Roderick Galdes reiterated that this social housing project in Attard is a clear example showing that the government is not building large-scale social housing in one area, and that the largest investment in works related to social housing in recent years is being translated into high-quality buildings which are sensitive to and which integrate with the surrounding community.
“Our vision as a government is not simply to carry out the largest social housing project in recent years, but to build quality and sustainable apartments which blend in seamlessly with the surrounding community. This is not an empty promise, our commitment has also been acknowledged by the Planning Authority, which has recently given the Housing Authority the prestigious ‘Urban Planning Concept Award’ for its new social housing project in Cospicua. This project is serving as a best practice for how we should design social housing. This innovative design shall preserve the architecture found in Cospicua while offering adequate accommodation for 68 families, whilst also including a childcare centre, a community centre, as well as a new village square for the neighbourhood.”
He added that every new social housing project is being built on the same principles, which are that of changing social housing from the conventional estates we were accustomed to, to seeing to developments which have a positive visual impact on our towns and villages, all the while making sure that disadvantaged or marginalised areas are not created in our urban centres.
“I cannot stress this enough, for us everyone deserves the opportunity to move forward, and the work being carried out to build 1,700 new social accommodation units is precisely aimed at those Maltese and Gozitan families who are genuinely in need of our assistance. The accommodation we shall be providing will serve as the cornerstone upon which they can rebuild their lives step by step and be able to move forward.”
Minister Roderick Galdes concluded by saying that despite these positive results, in light of the fact that several new social housing buildings are approaching their final stages, government will never rest on its laurels but will continue to do more to ensure a better quality of life for the Maltese and Gozitan people.
For his part, the CEO of the Housing Authority Leonid McKay expressed his satisfaction at the social housing projects progressing well.
“We are taking a holistic approach to utilising every possibility to increase the stock of social housing buildings.”
He also announced that additional measures are being taken to further address the abuse that is taking place in this sector. McKay announced that the Department of Social Housing within the Housing Authority is set to begin conducting an additional exercise to update all existing information on all applicants. This shall be done through extensive research which shall be carried out on the income and assets of applicants, both new and existing.
He concluded by saying that, “these measures are clear proof of how much we care about people who are genuinely in need. All this is being done in their best interest.”
