Rural recreation: improving outdoor recreation through public participation

Every Maltese resident has their preferred outdoor pastime and activity which they carry out in their favourite spot – a picnic with a view, valley walks or camping and caravanning under the stars. As varied as the choices may be, Malta’s countryside often features prominently. It is a place for people to escape urban life, where eyes can stretch to the horizon and absorb the beautiful vivid colours of the Mediterranean.

Being confined indoors during the pandemic has amplified the appreciation for the country’s rural side – natural land that is to be enjoyed, but also protected. So, until 30 March 2021, the Planning Authority is empowering all who live in Malta to do just that: to have their say on how the island’s rural recreational areas, as identified within the approved Local Plans, can be improved, preserved and managed for the enjoyment of current and future generations.

To do so, the Authority has released its “Camping, Caravanning and Picnicking Sites on the Maltese Islands” discussion paper to inform the public of Malta’s existing policy framework within the Local Plans related to recreational land use. The document also raises issues to consider in the designation and implementation of rural sites for recreational use. One main issue remains that land in Malta is limited, implying that recreational land uses predominantly need to be planned for in a sustainable and shared manner. Calling on Malta’s Strategic Plan for Environment and Development (SPED), the Authority outlines its vision to create a rural environment where urban dwellers can reconnect with nature and find respite away from the hubbub of town life.

People’s right to enjoy Malta’s open, natural and undeveloped spaces is already supported in the SPED, which also protects Malta’s agriculture, environment and cultural heritage. The framework adopts a sustainability approach that tries to limit development within the island’s established rural areas to prevent sprawl and conflict with other rural activities. By the same token, though, if not planned well, the recreational use of land may also lead to incompatible activities, particularly if land is allocated on an ad hoc rather than planned basis.

Using the discussion paper, the Authority is inviting the public to share their opinions on a way forward for the use and management of rural sites for three types of recreation: camping, caravanning and picnicking. While these activities are often grouped, their characteristics and implications on land use vary, so the discussion paper defines each one clearly.

Caravanning is an outdoor recreational, short-term activity using a structure, such as a campervan, designed for temporary human habitation and can be moved from one place to another. Similarly, camping refers to overnight stays away from home in a tent, typically in the countryside. Lastly, picnicking is a daytime excursion for people to enjoy a meal in the open countryside air normally with family and friends.

These activities demand specific land use considerations. Caravans and camps take up substantial space and may impact the surrounding environment, particularly fauna and flora, if carried out in an unmanaged manner. They may also lead to visual intrusion, unwarranted waste and noise and other pollution if void of a management system. This is why it is better to have allocated and managed sites rather than uncontrolled roaming and stopping. Designated areas can be better managed, monitored and improved, all of which would be difficult to do with a free-for-all approach. The result would undoubtedly be an increasingly more enjoyable recreational experience for the user.

To date, a number of recreational sites have been earmarked in Malta’s Local Plans. For instance, the Gozo and Comino Plan contains a campsite in Comino; the Central Malta Local Plan includes camping and caravan sites at Għallis and Baħar ic-Cagħaq; and, the North West Local Plan covers some 11 picnic areas.

While the government is aiming to make more open recreational spaces available for families, through the implementation of the sites approved in the Local Plans, the SPED highlights that the protection of open space for public recreation is crucial. These spots, particularly those on public land, are earmarked for temporary use only, to safeguard the option for future alternative uses, and the retention of the distinct open characteristics of the natural landscape. Camping, caravanning and picnicking should not occur within environmentally sensitive areas unless management plans are followed that identify specific sites where such land use may be considered without risks to the important environmental assets of the Island.

Besides detailing Malta’s current recreational land use framework and policies, the discussion paper also raises a lot of food for thought including the need to start thinking afresh on our cultural habit even where recreation is concerned and finding more sustainable ways for rest and recreation closer to the localities themselves. This is where public opinion is essential. The Authority is seeking people’s views on the types of facilities that could be added to upgrade recreational areas – caravan sites in particular – and how their management could be improved.

Furthermore, landowners whose rural sites have been pinpointed in Local Plans for recreational use are invited to express their interest to have their land rehabilitated for such purposes, and to outline how their site could be managed and what role they could play in such management of the site.

The “Camping, Caravanning and Picnicking Sites on the Maltese Islands” discussion paper is available at www.pa.org.mt/consultation. To contribute to this important national conversation, submit opinions, suggestions for changes and improvements, and expressions of interest to the Planning Authority via [email protected]. Submissions are open until 30 March 2021.