Council architect advises against excavation of St John's Square

The Valletta local council has been advised by its architect that the proposals to excavate parts of St John's Square to increase exhibition space for the museum at the St John's Co-Cathedral may pose an "unacceptable risk".

The two applications to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) by the St John's Co-Cathedral Museum involve the construction of a three-storey building in the courtyard along Merchants Street, meant to provide additional exhibition space and a canteen at roof level, and an extension of the co-cathedral's museum by excavating chambers under St John's Street and connecting them to the underground water reservoirs.

The architect, Siġġiewi Nationalist mayor Robert Musumeci, says in a professional opinion he was asked to draft about the proposal, that the clearing and excavation for the project may threaten the underlying archaeological and architectural features of the site.

The project, which has become the centre of a controversy, was red-flagged by the environmental NGO Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) late last month.

The co-cathedral foundation stressed that the proposals are aimed at creating additional space for the museum's priceless collection of antique artefacts. The FAA lambasted the plans and managed to rally public opinion against the project - to a point where Mepa's e-mails were clogged at one point with a stream of objections pouring in from members of the public. But not everyone is against the project. Last Sunday, the heritage NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa gave it guarded support.

Besides pointing out the risks posed by the excavations, Mr Musumeci said the project goes against the Structure Plan regulating Mepa.

Mr Musumeci made a proviso that should the permit go ahead there would be the need for constant supervision and for excavations to be approved by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, the Director for Environment Protection within Mepa and the council itself.