Momentum proposes making Fort Chambray Gozo's new national park
Party takes inspiration from WhatsApp video to add to its manifesto
Momentum has added a proposal to turn undeveloped parts of Fort Chambray into a national park to its electoral manifesto, taking its total number of pledges to 260.
The party said the proposal would safeguard unrestored sections of the Għajnsielem fort, including the British barracks overlooking ix-Xatt l-Aħmar, and return the area to the public.
It said the idea was added to its manifesto after a widely shared WhatsApp video called for a major green space in Gozo.
Gozo's Fort Chambray is targeted for major development after the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal upheld planning permits linked to its redevelopment, rejecting appeals filed by NGOs and residents.
The permits allow the British barracks to be dismantled and relocated, with their arcade, façade and flanks incorporated into a new hotel development. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage did not object to the relocation.
The wider project for the area includes a five-star aparthotel, hotel rooms, serviced apartments and residential units.
Momentum said Gozitans deserved the same sort of ambition for public open spaces that is being proposed for Malta in projects for the White Rocks complex, Fort Campbell and Manoel Island.
“Gozo cannot be left behind,” said Carmel Asciak, a Momentum candidate on the 12th and 13th districts.
“We are completely in favour of returning Fort Chambray to the public. Inheriting heritage may be inevitable, but protecting it is always a choice.”
The party said the barracks were the only surviving example of British military residential architecture in Gozo and should be protected as part of the island’s social and military history.
Heritage organisation Europa Nostra has also described Fort Chambray as a site of “high historical and symbolic value” and warned that the 19th-century British barracks face imminent demolition to make way for dense residential development.
Momentum said its proposal would ensure the site is used for cultural, educational and sustainable tourism purposes rather than commercial exploitation.