Almost exactly five years ago, on November 21, 2019, the Planning Authority refused to grant permission to Sadeen Education Investments for the proposed second-phase development of the main campus of its American University of Malta (AUM) in Cospicua.
A sustained campaign by the local community, including NGO Azzjoni: Tuna Artna Lura and Labour MP Glenn Bedingfield, had vociferously opposed the development.
The rejected proposal – PA/07496/16 – contained various components, including turning a site on St Paul’s Square just outside Senglea into a multi-level underground parking space underneath a student accommodation building, which is now being transformed into a public garden with public parking below.
However, the main reason and instigation for strong public opposition was the intent to “change of use of the disused building known as the Knights Building into an educational institution consisting of internal alterations and construction of additional floors…[plus] the construction of a new educational building along 31st March 1979 Street as a new wing to the Knights Building”.
In December 2022, AUM confirmed that it had withdrawn its appeal from the PA’s 2019 decision.
Instead, it declared that it would “revise the infrastructure master plan”.
However, via a parliamentary resolution, the government had retaken the parcels of public land earmarked for AUM in Cospicua and Marsascala (including the St Paul Square site) in exchange for a plot measuring some 31,500 m2 at Smart City. That leaves the future of the Knights Building still in doubt.
Five years after the PA decision, the so-called Knights Building languishes in limbo. Lying alongside the former British Dockyard building restored by AUM during the first phase of its development, it serves as a permanent reminder of how the adjacent British-era building had itself stood ruined, derelict and neglected, before being transformed into the functional AUM ‘campus’ it is today.
The names of four of the Order’s galleys have been etched in stone over their respective wintering stores on the ground floor of the Knights Building; but all four names are in ruins and risk permanent obliteration.
What is being referred to as ‘the Knights Building’ has existed for quite some time. It was in 1689 that Grand Master Adrien de Wignacourt commissioned its current lower floor. The Order of St John used the site as an arsenal to service their fleet of galleys. Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc added arcades to the structure in 1776. The upper level of this building was used for sail-making and rope production, and was added during British rule.
Just imagine the impact of a restored Knights Building with an even less intrusive skyline
Today, this building is a shabby eyesore and a health hazard. It is in an acute state of deterioration. Stone is regularly dislodged from its crumbling façade and falls to the ground, especially after heavy rains.
A large but weather-beaten AUM banner is affixed to the building, impossible to miss. That the building is part of the AUM concession is palpable; but the weathered banner is a clear testimony that nothing is happening, while the clock is ticking.
What proposals will AUM come up with? And will they be received any differently by local stakeholders?
A redevelopment that is likely to meet wide community support would be a restoration of the Knights Building on the same lines as the current AUM campus, but restricted to two floors instead of the current three.
It is only in this way that the magnificent entrance and bastions around the fortified city of Senglea can regain their unique splendour and unobstructed command of the townscape.
And imagine the effect of such an option on local sentiment: AUM would be likely to find itself in the good books of the local community in Cospicua and Senglea.
When rejecting the development application back in 2019, the Planning Authority board had cited the need to preserve cultural heritage, maintain public open space and ensure the continued view of the Senglea fortifications as its main justifications. Just imagine the impact of a restored Knights Building with an even less intrusive skyline.
AUM’s proposed expansion into a restored Knights Building would help it attract prospective students, consolidating its social and economic boost to the locality and region. It would also be giving the building itself a badly needed new lease of life.
We look forward to a ‘win-win’ solution soon.
Godfrey Baldacchino is professor of Sociology at the University of Malta; Francesca Bartolo is a student of sociology at the same university. The above are only our personal views. Comments welcome at godfrey.baldacchino@um.edu.mt.