In 10 years, new dwellings on green sites equalled houses in B’kara and Qormi

Between 2014 and 2024, 21,951 new dwellings were approved on greenfield sites – almost the same number as the total dwellings in Birkirkara and Qormi combined, according to the 2021 census.

Greenfield sites refer to areas that were once undeveloped, mostly within designated development zones.

Greenfield development in Malta is on the decline, with the percentage of new dwellings approved on these previously undeveloped sites steadily falling in recent years. From 25% in 2022, the figure dropped to 22% in 2023 and further to 19% in 2024.

This data emerges from statistics published by the Planning Authority in its annual review of residential permits issued in 2024, which includes figures for different categories of new dwellings approved each year since 2007.

The data shows that the largest number of dwellings on greenfield sites was approved in 2019, with 3,535 new dwellings accounting for 28% of all approvals that year. In contrast, 1,649 new dwellings were approved on greenfield sites in 2024, representing just 19% of the 8,716 total new dwellings approved—the lowest percentage since 2007. Numerically, the 2024 figure is also the lowest since 2016.

The latest statistics also show that the total number of approved dwellings increased from 8,112 in 2023 to 8,716 in 2024, largely due to a rise in development on brownfield sites, i.e., areas already built up. Between 2023 and 2024, while new dwellings on greenfield sites decreased by 9%, development on brownfield sites increased by 12%.

Deciphering the trends

One reason for the decrease in units approved on greenfield sites in the past two years is the gradual exhaustion of sites added to development boundaries in 2006, which had previously accounted for a significant number of approvals.

Additionally, several zoning applications for large rationalisation sites remain pending, including two in Swatar and another in Mosta. One reason why development on greenfield sites peaked after 2015 is economic. Although the ODZ extension took place in 2006, developers were hesitant to buy or develop these sites during the following financial crisis.

However, the decline in approvals on rationalisation sites is now being partly offset by the acquisition of undeveloped sites and green enclaves within development zones by major developers.

For instance, in 2024, the Planning Authority approved 109 new units on a greenfield site in Mellieħa leased by the government to a private developer. Another major development is pending on land previously owned by Enemalta in Qajjenza. Other significant developments in the pipeline include privately owned tracts of land in localities such as Msida, Paola, and Qormi. The development of these open spaces is often facilitated by the approval of pedestrian roads, granting access to new dwellings and thus overriding the ban on internal development, which is not accessed by existing roads.

The shift towards brownfield site development is also encouraged by policies favouring higher buildings in urban areas, including areas in or in close vicinity to village and town cores. However, despite the percentage decline, the number of dwellings on greenfield sites in 2024 remains higher than in any year between 2008 and 2015, a period marked by reduced construction activity due to an economic downturn.

Statistics also reveal that the number of new dwellings approved outside development zones (ODZ) increased from 86 (1.1%) in 2023 to 104 (1.2%) in 2024. Over the past decade, 1,164 new dwellings have been approved in ODZ areas. However, the number of ODZ dwellings approved in 2024 remains significantly lower than the record 147 such dwellings approved in 2017, suggesting a greater reluctance to issue such permits in recent years. Permits for ODZ dwellings typically involve the conversion or redevelopment of existing rural structures. The increase in such permits between 2015 and 2019 coincided with the introduction of a rural policy allowing the conversion of countryside ruins into fully-fledged villas, provided proof was submitted that these had previously been used as residences.

A decade of highs, lows, and rebounds

The data shows that following a peak in 2019, when a record 12,474 dwellings were approved, the total number of new dwellings dropped to 7,831 in 2020 during the pandemic and further to 7,578 in 2021. Numbers rebounded in 2022, with 9,599 dwellings approved, only to decline again to 8,112 in 2023.

Official statistics show that 127,781 dwellings have been approved in Malta and Gozo since 2007, with 90,738 approved between 2014 and 2024. The total number of dwellings approved in the past decade is nearly equivalent to the total number of dwellings recorded in the 2021 census for the entire North Harbour region (91,145), which includes Malta’s main urban towns such as Birkirkara, Qormi, Sliema, St Julian’s, Msida, and San Ġwann.