Fort Chambray ruling sparks call for heritage watchdog’s resignation

Din l-Art Ħelwa has called for the superintendence of cultural heritage, Kurt Farrugia, to resign after a tribunal cleared the way for the demolition of British-era barracks at Fort Chambray.

The heritage NGO, the lead objector to the project, condemned the decision by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal, which rejected its appeal against the Planning Authority’s approval of the fort’s wider redevelopment.

The ruling means plans to redevelop the Għajnsielem landmark can proceed, despite objections over the loss of historic military buildings.

Din l-Art Ħelwa expressed utter dismay and indignation at the decision, saying the tribunal had dealt a grievous blow to Malta’s military and architectural heritage.

The decision, it said, was an insult to the very concept of European heritage protection.

The application – filed by Gozitan developer Michael Caruana on behalf of Fort Chambray Ltd – includes a five-star hotel, apartment blocks and commercial facilities. 

The plans approved in 2024 allow for the dismantling of the barracks, with parts of it to be reconstructed elsewhere within the site. 

The barracks have also drawn international attention after being included on a list of Europe’s most endangered heritage sites earlier this year. Campaigners warned that the planned demolition represents an irreversible loss of cultural heritage and urged authorities to reconsider the approved plans. 

The PA's decision triggered a coordinated response from organisations including  DLĦ, Wirt Għawdex and Moviment Graffitti, and in November 2024, activists stormed the site, calling for the landmark to be returned to the public, before carrying out a similar action in February 2025.  

A parliamentary decision earlier in 2024 approved changes to the original concession governing the site, effectively paving the way for parts of the project to be transferred to new investors. 

DLĦ said on Friday that the "unfolding tragedy" is the result of two decades of deliberate neglect and institutional failure.

In 2005, when the rest of the fort and its buildings were scheduled as Grade 1 and Grade 2 monuments, the PA and the Superintendent had inexplicably excluded the British Barracks from protection, it said.

"This gaping omission left the Barracks legally vulnerable to exactly the kind of predatory development we are now witnessing. More recently, when DLĦ urgently requested an emergency conservation order for the barracks – a last-resort tool to halt imminent destruction – both the Planning Authority and the Superintendent once again ignored the request, effectively green-lighting the developer’s plans."

"Once again, the Superintendent played a decisive role in steering this permission towards approval. Rather than acting as the guardian of our irreplaceable cultural assets, the Superintendent appears to have acted as a rubber‑stamp for the Planning Authority and the developer’s ambitions," it said.

It added that this is not an isolated lapse: it is a pattern of failure spanning nearly two decades, from the 2005 scheduling omission to the recent refusal of an emergency order, culminating now in the effective sanctioning of the only 19th-century British Barracks in Gozo.

"DLĦ holds the Superintendent directly responsible for this latest heritage catastrophe. By failing to schedule the barracks when the SCH had the chance, by ignoring an emergency conservation order request, and by failing to object substantively to the development permit, the Superintendent has betrayed the public trust and the very purpose of the office.

"We therefore call unequivocally for the immediate resignation of the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage. His continued tenure is incompatible with the protection of Malta’s cultural heritage."

The NGO also registered "profound disappointment" with the PA, which it said had once again prioritised commercial gain over historical preservation.

Din l-Art Ħelwa said it is now studying the full text of the EPRT decision and will pursue every available legal and administrative avenue to prevent the destruction of fort and the barracks.