If the GSLP Liberals win the next election one of its main
policy initiatives will to give Gibraltar to really open and
transparent government as a matter of priority.

Joseph Garcia, Shadow Minister with responsibility for

Planning and the Leader of the Liberal Party, said: “We have
already issued policy statements on a Ministerial Code, a
Freedom of Information Act, a Citizen’s Charter which
provides for responsive government, a Whistleblowers Act
and a “20 Year Rule” for the disclosure of government
documents. Despite that, if any process effectively shuts out
the public at present, it is the planning process and this must
be opened up to public scrutiny. Indeed, whilst we
acknowledge that reforms have been made – but they do not
go anywhere near far enough. Indeed some of the provisions
we have proposed in our policies in respect of ‘responsive
government’ and ‘freedom of information’ will also cover the
planning process.”

Speak to anybody on the street and they will tell you
Gibraltar has been converted into a concrete jungle.

- In Opposition the GSLP/Liberals have been
very critical of the development and planning
policy of the GSD.

- In Government, we are determined to address
these very valid concerns and to open the
planning process up to the ordinary citizen in
order to ensure that people are kept informed and
that their views are taken into account.

Development is undoubtedly an important part of the
economic progress of our people and our nation, but it must
be done sustainably. The United Nations defines
“sustainable development” is set out in a report of as far
back as 1987 which provides that:

“…sustainable development is development that
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.”

We believe that unless something is done about the planning
process in Gibraltar it will continue to be slanted too much in
favour of developers and will continue to ignore the core
principles sustainability and respect for the environment.

The central aim of a modern planning policy for our nation
must be to marry sustainable development with the best
possible use of the environment; providing economic growth
and making Gibraltar a better – and not a worse – place to
live.

Under the present system there are many instances of
unpopular planning decisions that have been taken
regardless of the strength of feeling of the residents of
particular areas.

The decision to demolish the Rosia Tanks, in the face of
considerable opposition, instead of simply moving the
development to another site, is a case in point.

The more recent example of the development just south of
Eurotowers, referred to as a ‘data centre and office
development’, is another which will even affect a children’s
play zone in the area of Edinburgh House (despite
government assurances to the contrary).

There is also serious concern that access to our seafront is
being lost. Many years ago people would complain that the
MOD denied access to civilian residents, now it is the
planning policy of the GSD Government that is responsible.

It is incredible, for example, that in a country that is
surrounded by water on three sides, there are still many
people waiting for berths for their small boats; although we
have no doubt that the GSD will once again, as it does at
every election, soon be promising again to do something
about this.

Gibraltar does not belong to the GSD, to the GSLP/Liberals
or to any other party. It belongs to the people of Gibraltar
who must therefore be entitled to have their voices heard
and taken into consideration when planning decisions are to
be taken because those decisions affect us all and our
quality of life.

The planning process in Gibraltar at present is secretive and
the Government has an overbearing influence over planning
decisions. This needs to be addressed.

There are nine voting members in the development and
planning commission (DPC) as presently constituted.
Government Ministers, officials and contractors to the
Government have a numerically unbeatable majority. The
remaining three members represent the Gibraltar Heritage
Trust, GONHS and the Ministry of Defence.
A GSLP/Liberal Government will reform the planning system
in Gibraltar. This will be based on the four stage process of
application, exhibition, presentation and consultation.

- The first step will involve an application being made.
- The second step, which will apply to projects and
developments, will require the applicant to hold a
public exhibition of the project.
- The third will require a presentation to be given to
the DPC which members of the public will be able to
attend.
- The fourth involves a public consultation process
with residents in the vicinity of the area where the
proposed project will be located.

This means that applications for planning permission will be
given wider publicity than they are being given now and the
public will be given greater opportunities to express their
views and influence the Development & Planning
Commission.

A GSLP/Liberal Government will be committed to implement
the following reforms.

- The first major change will be the entire planning
process will be accessible online. Therefore the
regulations can be consulted and a submission made
along with the required plans at the click of a bottom.
The public will be able to access and study the plans;
make comments or lodge objections. The minutes of
the meetings of the DPC will be available online and
its decisions will be accessible online. Indeed at any
time the progress of the application will be shown on
the planning website. It will be possible for interested
parties to download plans and other documents
relating to planning applications for proposed new
projects. At present documents can be examined at
the DPC offices but they cannot be copied.

- For small projects and internal works to the peoples
homes, there will be an expedited procedure that can
be carried out online. In this respect, the most
important issue will be Building Control standards to
ensure the integrity of structures is not affected by
refurbishments being improperly carried out.

- In addition to the entire process being online,
meetings of the development and planning
commission will be open to the public.

- Objectors to a particular project will be heard and
therefore will have the right, as a matter of course, to
make oral representations to the development and
planning commission in public hearings. Those who
make oral or written representations to the
development and planning commission will be
informed in writing whether the project (or any part
thereof) that they have complained about has been
granted planning permission or not with the reasons.
Unsuccessful applicants for planning permission will
also be given reasons in writing for the DPC’s
decision.

- Notices of the award or refusal of planning
permission in respect of projects will be published by
the development and planning commission within 14
days of their decision. This information will also be
shown online.

- A new “public exhibition” stage will be introduced for
all applications for planning permission in respect of
large developments (the definition of which will which
will require developers to exhibit the project on line for
two weeks) in order to allow for further public
consultation and comment. The plans and other
documents, which are now available only at the
offices of the development and planning commission,
will also be available on line.

- The facilities available for members of the
public who choose to attend the offices of the
development and planning commission in order to
examine plans and documentation will be improved.

- The views of professional civil servants in the
town planning and building control sections will be
essential, valued and will be REQUIRED to be taken
into account at the deliberation stage with the Minister
only in charge of policy.

- A development plan will be produced every
ten years. The replacement for the 1991 development
plan, which was due in 2001, was not approved by
the GSD until September 2009. This was eight years
overdue.

- Additional seats on the development and
planning commission will be offered to various
properly constituted NGOs that have important input
to provide. One of these will be offered to the
Environmental Safety Group (in recognition of the
good work that they have done in this field over the
years). This would go some way towards redressing
the imbalance that exists at present.

- Finally, but perhaps most importantly, the
GSLP/Liberals will make the Town Planner the
Chairman of the Development and Planning
Commission – with the Minister retaining a seat
on the Commission but not chairing. The Minister
is not an expert in Town Planning. It is right that a
minister should be on the Commission as an
elected representative of the people, but he has
no need to chair it in order to make views known.

Dr Garcia added: “A GSLP/Liberal Government is fully
committed to public participation in planning decisions both
in person and online. People have a right to be able to
express a view on different projects and a right to have that
view taken into account. The veil of secrecy which covers
the planning process needs to be lifted and the process must
be brought into the 21st Century by being put online insofar
as possible.”

ALL CITIZENS HAVE THE RIGHT TO DISAGREE WITH GOVERNMENT!

Following reports in Panorama that a Civil Servant has been told to remove
her comments from a Facebook page on local politics, the Leader of the
GSLP Liberal Opposition, Fabian Picardo, reminds people that free speech is
the right of all citizens and must be respected and upheld, in particular by
Government.

Fabian Picardo stated: “It is accepted that Civil Servants should not make
public statements about their own departments. However it is a basic human
right that they should be able to speak freely on any other issues be it on
Facebook or other media outside of working hours. The new types of “social
media” which are becoming increasingly popular offer opportunities for
expression which have not been so accessible before; and they also create
new issues that we as a society have to understand and address.
“If the GSLP Liberals form the next Government we will ensure that no-one in
Gibraltar is afraid to speak their mind. As the problem of perceived censorship
is seemingly more acute in our Civil Service we shall – in close consultation
with Civil Servants and their representatives – establish and implement a
specific protocol for guidance on the exercise of the freedom of expression
within the public sector that will explicitly set out that public employees are
free to exercise their right of free speech on general issues whilst honouring
the accepted norm that they do not speak about issues relevant to the work
done by their departments. If there is already a clear code on this we shall
ensure it is adhered to and that no-one within the Civil Service feels that they
are being restricted beyond the terms of any such agreed guidelines.

“In the GSD’s last manifesto under “Citizens Rights – progress so far” that
party stated: ‘civil service given much greater freedom of political activity and
public comment’.

“The recent events reflected in the Panorama reports suggest that there are
still clearly problems manifesting themselves in the way that Civil Servants
rights to free speech is being curtailed.

“Indeed, more generally, there are instances of people even outside the Civil
Service telling the Opposition that they feel unable to make comments which
are unfavourable to the GSD for fear of retribution. Not only do I believe that
Civil Servants should have their rights of free speech protected (subject to not
making public statements about their own departments) but that we have to
specifically as a society understand, protect and promote the right of people to
disagree with the government and the Chief Minister of the day. That is the
beauty of democracy. It is true that the existence of such “fears” has been
talked about before, when the GSLP were first in Government and even
before then.

I therefore believe that what Government needs to do is to be the explicit
promoter of the freedom of people to express themselves without fear of
retribution from the government or any of its agencies. If we don’t
nurture such rights and if the government is perceived as seeking to
curtail dissent rather than to encourage debate, we are moving
backwards and not forwards. Some people feel that their free speech in
Gibraltar is under attack, and we must respond to that by encouraging
free speech, so that people feel free to make their views felt on issues.”

A BETTER FUTURE FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE : A GSLP LIBERAL DISCUSSION DOCUMENT

Fabian Picardo: “We must provide the resources for Civil Servants and other
public sector workers, including GDC employees, to be able to provide a modern
Public Service. As we lay down the wide ranging political reforms proposed, the
Civil Service must evolve in tandem to enable it to interface properly with our new
social, economic and political vision for Gibraltar.”

Joseph Garcia: “In order to deliver on our manifesto commitments we will need a
modern Civil Service that is confident about its ability to do the job Gibraltar is
going to entrust us to do if we win the election.”

The GSLP and Liberal Parties have issued a Discussion Document on a better
future for Gibraltarʼs Civil Service. It has been drawn up based on information
supplied by Civil Servants and public sector workers at meetings which the
Opposition and GSLP Leader Fabian Picardo has held with:

- the Committee and Section Reps of the GGCA;
- the District Committee and the Shop Stewards of Unite;
- the Committee of the Gibraltar Teachers Association (some concerns of which
are relevant to the Civil Service generally and not just schools and education);
- the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce; and
- various existing and previous members of the Committee of the Gibraltar
Federation of Small Businesses.

The work done in respect of the Discussion Document has included talks with
serving and retired senior civil servants.

Fabian Picardo stressed: “The time has come to work with the Civil Servants to
bring about a rebirth of the Service steered by the watchwords of Respect,
Support and Commitment, which I have previously referred to when explaining
our attitude to the Civil Service.”

The document includes consideration of flexible and changed working hours in a
modern context, making getting the job done in the required time and not being in
the office the priority. Reference is made to the important work of Human
Resources management, the need for Ministers not to interfere in such matters
and opening up the Civil Service to the main Opposition parties in the run-up to a
General Election (an issue already highlighted by Mr Picardo).

Joseph Garcia said: “Everything in the document is designed to be for discussion
with the GGCA, Unite and the GTA. Nothing in this document is to be imposed on
anyone; it is to be discussed further to enable us together to build the best Civil
Service for the task and which Gibraltar needs.”

Fabian Picardo stressed: “We have no intention of being secretive about our
ideas. We want to share our views about the future of the Service and work with
the people within it to shape the Civil Service this community needs and Civil
Servants want to deliver.

“I know that there are so many talented people within the Civil Service and the
GDC that one of the things I am most looking forward to, if we do win the
election, will be working with the people who are in the Service and who will be
responsible for working alongside the GSLP LIBERAL team to deliver on the
exciting and positive manifesto that we will propose to the electorate.

“I believe that we can resource the Service, make it the best employer in
Gibraltar and an exciting place to work on delivering our programme for the
future. Much of what we have already talked about in respect of freedom of
information, changing the Development and Planning Process, reforming
Parliament and making government fully responsive to the citizen will require new
systems of work. This document is about making those things happen and giving
new impetus to the Civil Service and GDC and especially the people within
them.”