Mepa clears conversion of Old Treasury

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority yesterday approved an application for the restoration of the historic Old Treasury in Vittoriosa and its conversion into commercial outlets.

The Mepa board approved the application by six to one votes.

Apart from the restoration of the historic building, its conversion into commercial outlets and internal and external structural alterations, the application also included the addition of two wings on the second level of the existing building.

The application, submitted by John Ripard on behalf of the Port Cottonera Consortium, had been rejected by the authority board in a hearing last month when the board members were against the proposed wings. However, they were not against the project as such.

Mepa senior planning officer Robert Vella explained at yesterday's hearing that the main change from the previous design was the addition of fixed louvers between the vertical steel elements in the two additional wings.

He said this was considered to be a further improvement to the original design since the intended architectural form would be more apparent from a distance.

Mr Vella said the original design was in line with the overall design philosophy adopted for new interventions along the Vittoriosa waterfront. He said the proposed alternative provided a better definition of the design features and could also be deemed as acceptable.

Although the board approved the application, it had reservations with regard to the colour of the material used for the louvers. The board decided that the colour would be determined at a later date after samples are submitted.

During the hearing, a board member said he disagreed with the proposed grey colour of the louvers, adding that these should be stone colour.

The development permit is valid for five years.

Built in 1545, the upper part of the Old Treasury was used as a treasury and the lower part was the Order of St John's bakery. The treasury was under the responsibility of the head of the Auberge de Provence.

Historian Lino Bugeja said the bakery was known by the people of Vittoriosa as "il-fran tas-sinjurija" (rich men's ovens).

He explained that when the order moved from Vittoriosa to Valletta in 1571 the site was converted into a store for maritime activity.

The Old Treasury lies between the current Maritime Museum and the Carmelite church. Mr Bugeja said the museum used to serve as the arsenal of the Order and was renowned throughout Europe. The church was built by the order in 1611 and run by the Carmelite friars.