Evans Building should be turned into an elderly people’s home, or be utilised for some other civic purpose, as long as it remains for the use of the people, Valletta residents said in a protest on Saturday.

The protest was held on the steps of the Evans Building.

No political party was interested in protecting the rights and needs of residents in the past decades, and unless residents stand up and demand action, things were only going to get worse, speakers during the protest said. 

Residents were protesting after the government announced plans last month to award Valletta Luxury Project a 65-year concession for Evans Building after the company made the most advantageous bid of €1.2 million annually.

“In the past, they would say Valletta is dying because there is no nightlife. It is now dying because of that same nightlife, because residents cannot stand the noise,” said Astrid Vella, from NGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar.

“Yesterday I counted 250 restaurants and 95 new hotels in Valletta, and that figure doesn’t even include the Airbnb apartments. The Knights built streets wide enough to transport canons, yet you can’t even walk through them with a stroller nowadays.

“A city is made by people, not hotels.”

Residents showed up with placards calling on authorities to respect their needs. Photos: Matthew Mirabelli

Although Evans Building is considered to be located in a valuable tourism site, the area is primarily residential and the building is immediately surrounded by several social housing blocks and a primary school.

The protestors commented how every bit of Valletta is being milked for money, with politicians only striving to squeeze as many businesses into it as they can, all the while failing to consider residents’ needs. 

Valletta is one of the few localities in which there is no clinic, kindergarten or a home for the elderly, they said. 

‘The noisy city’

“Do you remember how much we applauded Pawlu l-Pampalun at his funeral last year? You all know how much he loved Valletta, yet he was forced to spend his final months in a home outside of his beloved city,” resident Paul Mizzi said. 

“Whatever happens in Valletta is usually a warning of what’s to come for other towns and villages. Local councillors must be more vociferous because turning Evans Building into a hotel is a precedent. More children and families are being forced out of Valletta and soon the city will become simply a museum. Mdina will be the silent city and this one will be the noisy city.”

Arist Cordina said Valletta residents have been stripped of their right to sleep. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Arist Cordina, another Valletta resident, said residents have been stripped of their basic right to sleep at night. 

“What did PN and PL ever do for the residents? Where are the mayor and the vice mayor this morning? They took away our right to sleep at night.”

PN local councillor Vince Fabri attended the protest and urged residents to show up for council meetings to mount pressure. He opposed the Evans Building project during those meetings, he said.

Members of a newly-formed independent party, Residenti Beltin,  were also present, along with members from Moviment Graffitti and independent candidate Arnold Cassola. 

“It must be clear to all people that residents have a right to sleep,” Cassola said.

“And how many developments can residents take? One big development takes five years of inconvenience to complete. How many subsequent periods of five years do residents have to put up with?”

Caption: Residents and several NGO members gathered outside Evans Building in Valletta. Photo: Mark Laurence Zammit