The Planning Authority is poised to approve MIDI's massive plans for Manoel Island on Thursday, and NGOs fear any such decision could prove disastrous for Valletta's UNESCO World Heritage status.
Approval of the project without considering a Valletta buffer zone proposed by the Culture Ministry would be a slap in the face to UNESCO and jeopardise Valletta’s status, two organisations warned on Wednesday.
In a statement, Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar and Moviment Graffitti questioned why the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage was not calling for a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) for the MIDI project, despite it being within the Valletta buffer zone.
They noted that the Planning Authority board will on Thursday discuss MIDI’s latest application for Manoel Island, which is recommended for approval.
They said that the board is “ignoring the fact” that the new plans are significantly different to those approved in the outline development permit covered by an Environmental Impact Assessment prepared in 2021.
“MIDI’s new buildings will now take up 7.3% of Manoel Island, up from 6% or 16,553 square metres in the plans of three years ago, plus a considerable 10,125 square metres increase in gross floor area of apartments compared to the masterplan, through reducing commercial floor area.
“Public spaces too will be reduced by 5,000 square metres, while private open spaces will be increased by the creation of a gated community of 12,500 square metres.”
The organisations said that while the latest plans have shifted development away from archaeologically sensitive areas, the original old plague hospital “is to be exploited by turning it into a restaurant with an additional floor built on top, instead of respecting and valorising the Lazzaretto’s original historic role as other countries have done”.
They noted that, in spite of this, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage approved the project “that has already illegally demolished one of the heritage buildings - the Bovile quarantine cattle shed”.
'PA should not approve before Valletta buffer zone established'
They noted that the development was completely within the buffer zone proposed by the Culture Ministry as part of the management plan for Valletta to preserve Valletta’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“If this project is approved before the Valletta Buffer Zone is ratified, it would flout UNESCO’s communication with the Maltese authorities, where ‘UNESCO noted that in the masterplan for the proposed redevelopment of Manoel Island in the immediate vicinity of Valletta, was approved before the completion of the Views and Vistas analysis’ and that the authorities should ensure that the Views and Vistas analysis is finalised before the masterplan is approved’.”
FAA and Graffitti said that this “Views and Vistas analysis” has been withheld from the public, and the ministry had refused FAA’s official request to release it.
“This study is vital as the MIDI project impacts the Views and Vistas analysis, as well as Valletta’s buffer zone. Is this why the authorities are keeping the analysis hidden? Did government drag its feet for 14 years since its 2010 proposed buffer zone was rejected by UNESCO, in order to first approve the MIDI project?”
The organisations drew parallels with a recent planning application close to the UNESCO-protected Ġgantija Temples in Gozo.
In that case, the permit was sent back to the drawing board until a Heritage Impact Assessment concerning the development's potential impact on the site was presented.
“Why is the SCH not calling for an HIA for the MIDI project which will be within the Valletta buffer zone,” the organisations asked.
The organisations said that the national interest would be to suspend any permits within the Valletta buffer zone and only consider such projects after the buffer zone is established.
“Approving now, then establishing the buffer zone, would amount to shutting the stable door after the horses have bolted,” they insisted.