Historic vaults to be restored

The De Guiral Battery beneath Fort St Angelo, the sea gate vaults overlooking Dockyard creek and the 1.5 kilometres of rock-hewn tunnels beneath the fort should be restored to their former glory thanks to a Lm1.5 million restoration project embarked upon by the Cottonera Waterfront Group.

About 70 truckloads of rubbish and debris have already been cleared from inside the historic vaults that were left in complete shambles since the departure of the British services.

The second phase of the project involves recording the current state of the fort, including the tunnels and the vast vaults. Restoration, expected to take a number of years, will follow.

As with the restoration of the nearby Caraffa Stores, that have been recently restored by the Group at a cost of Lm150,000, the masonry and the flooring of the vaults will be restored by hand.

Consulting architects Edward Bencini and Michael Ellul said the limestone would be restored using pressurised "second class" water, the kind that contains no chemicals that could damage the stone. The vaults will be restored by hand as sections of the tunnels require careful intervention because a couple of vaults that housed a discotheque in the 1980s had been damaged by fire.

The De Guiral Battery will be tackled first, followed by the sea gate vaults and then the extensive network of tunnels.

The work has uncovered the upper part of the sally-port stairway that descends from the first tier of bastions to the battery at sea level. The stairway had been built in the 16th century but was filled in and covered in 1942, after receiving a direct hit during an air raid.

Once restoration is complete, the Cottonera Waterfront Group should equip the vaults with conference facilities, putting them at the disposal of destination management companies interested in organising large conferences and events here.

There are also plans for a bistro and a chandlery that will cater to supply requirements of the increasing number of yachts berthed at Vittoriosa.

The vaults open onto a creek that lies between Fort St Angelo and the newly built flats, an area that the consortium wants to turn into a recreational promenade with shops and cafes.

Once the extension of the existing wharf beneath Fort St Angelo is ready, the Cottonera Waterfront Group will build small apartments for the leaseholders of the super yacht berths.

The developers are awaiting a public hearing of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority before they can proceed.

Save for the uppermost level, that was recently restored when it was granted to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta on a 99-year lease, Fort St Angelo was completely left to rot since the end of British left in 1979.

Amidst the vandalised property and the tall grass at the sides of passageways, passers-by can see the remains of a swimming pool, also built in the 1980s.

At the uppermost part of the fort, behind the section held by the Order, a number of British buildings lie in a dilapidated state.