Draft master plan for Cottonera launched

The Cottonera draft master plan has proposed the removal of parking spaces from Vittoriosa's Victory Square and the creation of two parking, structures.

The plan, drawn up by Israeli architects and commissioned by the Cottonera Rehabilitation Project within the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry, was presented to stakeholders yesterday.

Traffic is considered to be a major issue and the master plan suggests removing the 40 parking spaces from Victory Square - "the most important public open space" - and upgrading, landscaping and paving it, making it as traffic-free as possible.

Its transformation from a parking area into a meeting place, with a focus on shop fronts and façades, was essential for the total rehabilitation of Vittoriosa, architects Giora Solar and Arie Rahamimoff said.

Vittoriosa has about 600 parking spaces and 100 garages, according to the study, and it was possible to increase parking availability by 10 per cent by removing parking from the square and creating two other parking structures.

Santa Margherita, by the school playground, and Fortini, which together would add another 600 parking spaces, have already been earmarked.

An application for the Santa Margherita parking area was already in progress, said Cottonera Rehabilitation Project executive co-ordinator Ray Bondin.

However, he had some reservations about it due to archaeological remains. Another negative factor he mentioned was that visitors - attending activities on the waterfront, which were expected to increase - were more likely to use the car park, rather than the residents.

The clock tower, once a main feature of Victory Square and still an important one, would be rebuilt. It was demolished during World War II and the Cottonera Rehabilitation Project has already agreed to its reconstruction. It was now waiting for approval from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

The architects have been working on the draft plan for nine months, studying the social, cultural and economic aspects of the Three Cities, apart from the architecture.

They even referred to and analysed ancient maps of the area for a deeper understanding of the locality and said much of the work was based on the Grand Harbour local plan so that it would fit into existing policies.

The final report is to be presented to Cabinet in September and, hopefully, approved, said Mr Bondin. Meanwhile, comments from the public are invited over the next three months.

The master plan aims at preserving the cultural heritage, improving the quality of life of residents, stimulating economic activity, attracting young and new residents and establishing it as a major tourist attraction, among others.

The plan recommends and lists a series of interesting walking tours. The Armoury, where the meeting was held yesterday, could be transformed into a visitors' centre for information on city walks, the architects recommended.

It suggests the use of some of the many vacant buildings as 'paradors' and B&Bs, and estimates the addition of around 300 jobs in Vittoriosa alone through such activity.

Officially opening Fort St Angelo to the public would extend the average stay in Vittoriosa and generate more activities, such as eating out, pumping more money into the town.

Vittoriosa enjoyed a world-record number of museums per capita and deserved to be established as a citadel of culture in Europe, they said.

The report mentions the open spaces in the area, which few are aware of, are inaccessible and not used for public purposes. Many of the Vittoriosa's gates are also inaccessible - either in private hands, or falling apart.

It suggests a colour code for houses, doors and shutters, while traditional Maltese balconies should be conserved.

The plan also considers accessibility to Vittoriosa from Valletta by ferry and a number of landing locations have already been identified. The current approach was long and unpleasant, the architects said.

They believed the plan would be implemented and have already identified sources of funding for a project that would integrate private and public institutions.

More funding from Europe and other sources would be looked into after the final phase in September and proper cost estimates were, therefore, important.

The Cottonera Rehabilitation Project was insisting that the government's application to Unesco for the fortifications to be nominated a World Heritage Site should be extended to include Vittoriosa.

The government had already applied to nominate the fortifications, but a request from Unesco for more information and a management plan had not been followed up.

A master plan was another necessary criterion and that had now been completed, Dr Bondin said.