Controversial plans to turn the Carmelite priory garden in Balluta into a supermarket are being strongly opposed by the Archbishop who is not ruling out legal proceedings to stop the development.
Mgr Charles Scicluna told The Sunday Times of Malta he is “dead set against” the development application submitted last August to build an underground three-storey car park, a supermarket at ground floor level and overlying offices on the first floor to be located in the priory’s garden.
The proposal is being opposed by residents who are concerned about traffic congestion. The proposed car park entrance for the supermarket is on one of the busiest roads in Sliema, right next to a bend in the street, with traffic lights in constant use by pedestrians, and a bus stop.
A petition opposing this development has already collected close to 400 signatures. And the Archbishop has echoed the residents’ concerns.
“A garden should be a garden and should not be used for other things,” he told this newspaper.
The spacious grounds of the Carmelite priory in Balluta are among the last green spaces in the area. The site of the proposed development is within the urban conservation area of St Julian’s.
The proposed development would abut the buildings of the Carmelite convent that is scheduled as Grade 2 and would be in the immediate vicinity of the Carmelite parish Church, a protected building scheduled as Grade 1, which is the highest degree of protection given by the planning authority.
“The Archdiocese does not rule out judicial proceedings to implement its policy,” Mgr Scicluna said, keeping in line with his strong stand in favour of conservation since his appointment.
The project will also include the uprooting of 11 oleander trees and an araucaria. Nine olive and three palm trees will be relocated.
The Archbishop’s stand suggests strained relations between the Archdiocese and the Carmelite order on this project. It is understood that the developer has even filed a judicial protest implying the Order should not follow the Archdiocese orders on this matter.
While different Orders within the Church do not necessarily need to request the permission of the Archdiocese on every project, the history related to this land and its inheritance complicates matters.
The Church inherited the land in question in the 1700s, according to a book on the Carmelite Order in Balluta written by Fr Serafin Abela in 2006. He refers to the will of Maddalena Schembri who died around 1756 and left the land she owned in the area to the Carmelite Order.
The Order asked for the approval of the Archbishop of the time, which was granted. When the Carmelites wanted to build a church on site in 1857 they did not have the required funds, so they asked Archbishop Publio dei Conti Sant for the money.
If the project goes ahead, a large statue of Our Lady now located in the priory garden and a landmark in the area will have to be relocated to the roof.
The planning authority’s cultural panel said it found no objection to the development from a cultural heritage point of view provided that all excavations are monitored and that the design and materials of the façade be toned down to blend with the surrounding scheduled buildings.
The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage declined to pronounce itself at this stage, asking the applicant to furnish more information on certain aspects. In particular, it noted that no photomontages of the development had been submitted.
Transport Malta said it was waiting for the required Simplified Traffic Statement (STS) before submitting any response.