Updated 3pm
The controversial demolition of the British barracks at Fort Chambray has been approved by the Planning Authority.
The application was part of a wider redevelopment of the Għajnsielem landmark, including a 5-star hotel and apartment blocks.
The redevelopment plans were also approved during the same sitting.
The application was filed by Gozitan developer Michael Caruana on behalf of Fort Chambray Ltd. The decision by the PA is about two planning applications that are tied to each other: one for the demolition of the historic British Barracks and the other to construct an aparthotel, residential units, and commercial facilities.
The full development includes the construction of 105 residential units, as well as a 5-star aparthotel with 64 ensuite rooms and 50 apartments.
The proposal was recommended for approval by the PA’s case officer last week.
The two applications were approved in two separate votes, each passing with five votes in favour and two against.
Mario Borg, of the Gozo Regional Development Authority, and NGO representative Romano Cassar were the only votes against, with the rest, including the Għajnsielem local council ,voting in favour of the development.
PA Board Chair Emmanuel Camilleri noted that while both applications had received voluminous objections, there were none from internal consultees, including the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.
Cassar objected to the order of the agenda, which saw the board taking a vote on the master plan before the demolition plan, arguing one was dependent on the other.
He also expressed reservation at deciding on the matter before appeals on the decision to schedule the site are definitively decided.
The marathon three-hour sitting saw several people speaking either for but mostly against approving the project.
Architect Antoine Zammit explained that the project had begun in the 90s and that this was a planned third phase of the masterplan.
All of the plans follow the letter of the local plan, he said and the project will include enough public open spaces that will allow the public to access the historic site without interfering the scheduled sections of the fort.
Din l-Art Ħelwa president Patrick Calleja said that the iconic scenery that greets visitors approaching Gozo by ferry will be marred once the façade of the barracks is moved.
“The unique identity of the barracks that the architect mentioned is going to be completely lost,” he said.
Ruth Mercieca from Moviment Graffitti called the open spaces “pathetic” as they will be promoting commercial use and not available to the public.
She noted how enough development took place during the first and second phases of the project, and asked why more development was being proposed rather than restoring the site and turning it into a tourism site.
“We are destroying the history of Gozo. Do you have any idea what we are doing?” said Daniel Cilia said, on behalf of DLĦ Għawdex.
Members of Għawdix, Wirt Għawdex, Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, Archaeological Society Malta and other citizens also spoke against the project.
Heritage NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa has appealed the PA's decision to refuse the scheduling of Fort Chambray.
Despite attracting a lot of controversy and with will over a thousand objections, according to NGOs, the project was recommended for approval by the PA's case officer.
NGOs Din l-Art Ħelwa - Għawdex, Wirt Għawdex, Għawdix, and Moviment Graffitti slammed the PA for its “haste to recommend the destruction and development” of the fort.
They accused the PA and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage of treating the Fort Chambray site as "simply an infill building site”.
The proposal says that the facade of the barracks will be built elsewhere within the fort. According to the Malta committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), this falls far short of good conservation practice.
Controversy over the development of Fort Chambray has persisted for over three decades.
In 1993, a 99-year concession for the fort was granted to Fort Chambray Ltd, controlled by Italian lawyer Roberto Memmo, but construction stalled midway due to a lack of funding.
In 2004, the government transferred the project to Caruana, owner of the Calypso Hotel, who transformed the fort into luxury apartments and a residential area.
Back in June, a bipartisan parliamentary committee unanimously agreed to amend the Fort Chambray concession which would allow for extensive parts of the site to be transferred to new investors. This effectively means that Caruana can sell the concession to a group of unnamed investors.
Several objectors complained that the development brief had been ignored.
They noted that while the development brief stated that the “Knights and British barracks buildings set in a commanding position with uninterrupted views over the sea must be retained”, the main argument made by the team behind the project was that the local plans were being respected and that the local plans superseded the development brief.
Objectors argued that while there was no mention of the barracks in the local plans, the same plans states that, in the case of modification the “historic and scenic integrity of [Fort Chambray] is respected”.
Disappointed but not surprised: il-Kollettiv
In a statement, NGO il-Kollettiv said that it was “disappointed” at the outcome of the hearing but said that, considering the board is stacked with members loyal to Planning Minister Clint Camilleri and the Opposition being in favour of it, it was a foregone conclusion.
The PA had once again decided against common sense and for the destruction of national heritage, they sad, setting a dangerous precedent.
“The lack of creativity and appreciation of historical heritage among the Maltese business community is alarming, to the point where the facades of historical buildings have to be moved to accommodate the construction of more apartments,” the group said.
Il-Kollettiv also slammed the PA for scheduling the hearing on the eve of a public holiday just before Christmas accusing it of attempting to “distract” the public from the matter.
They said that such decisions enable the PA and the Minister to guarantee work for friendly developers while ignoring the promise of more open spaces.
“It is a shame for the Labour Party, after its years of opposition to the development of Fort Chambray, to finish what the PN couldn’t; further proof of how both parties are competing between them solely for the attention of the development lobby,” they said.
“It is high time for a serious challenge to developers’ power in Malta. A new, vigorous political action is needed so that this sector, its operators and their excesses are regulated; among others, by bringing about changes in the planning policies and further safeguards for our towns in the Local Plans, seeing that both PL and PN are putting developers before the people.”
SCH must ‘do the right thing’
Following the verdict, FAA appealed to the SCH “to do the right thing and schedule the buildings”
“This would mean that any prior permits would drop. This was the case with the baroque palazzos of Ħal-Għaxaq which had permits when FAA’s campaigning had brought about their scheduling, after which the palazzos were preserved for posterity," Co-ordinator Astrid Vella said.
“The SCH must recognize its responsibility to protect Malta’s heritage and not be complicit in its destruction”
Graffiti’s Ruth Mercieca meanwhile called the order of the voting “the most absurd thing that happened during the hearing”.
In comments to Times of Malta, she noted how Gozitan board members Charles Hili and Marica Borg - who both work in Gozo’s cultural sector - voted against the preservation of Gozo’s heritage.
Hili is a project leader at the Gozo ministry and is currently responsible for the upcoming Gozo Museum.
Borg is actively involved in Fondazzjoni Belt Victoria and Il-Ħaġar – Heart of Gozo Museum, the first cultural centre of its kind in Gozo. Borg is also involved in the day-to-day running and executive decisions of the museum.
Independent candidate Arnold Cassola meanwhile warned in a statement that "the uncultured people who approved this monstrosity, together with the PL and PN politicians who backed them, should be held personally responsible for the destruction of Maltese historical memory and identity”.