Updated 4.45 pm with government statement
The Paola parish has dropped controversial plans to have a rooftop cafe on top of the Christ the King Basilica after securing government funding for urgent restoration work.
The cafeteria will instead be relocated to the ground floor level.
In a statement on Saturday, parish priest Fr Marc André Camilleri said that, following meetings with ministers Byron Camilleri and Owen Bonnici, the government has agreed to allocate €400,000 towards the project.
In view of this, the parish will be amending its plans to build a cafeteria on the rooftop and will instead keep the portico as a viewing platform for visitors, with the site also being used to host events or fundraising activities.
Camilleri said that the outcome is a “win-win” situation for all.
“The parish secures its objective of restoring the portico while visitors will get to enjoy the spectacular view from the roof. While the cafeteria will be located at ground level, we have achieved our overarching aim to make the maintenance of the church more sustainable,” he said.
Restoration works have already begun by the parish and they hope to complete the project by next year.
In a statement, the Culture and Home Affairs Ministry said it was funding restoration not only to preserve the building's “priceless” cultural heritage but also to allow part of the basilica to become a tourist attraction.
Culture minister Owen Bonnici said Paola’s parish church is unique because of its extraordinary size, while Home Affairs minister Byron Camilleri said the government has an obligation to maintain Malta’s cultural heritage in the best state possible.
Kommunita Malta and the Arts council are jointly funding the project.
News of the parish’s plans to build a rooftop café on top of the historic church building raised eyebrows in April, particularly as the permit type the parish initially applied for, which allowed cooking on site, led some to believe a restaurant was planned for the site.
However, the parish later clarified that it only planned to build a small cafeteria to accommodate visitors and later amended the permit type to reflect this.
The plans even prompted Prime Minister Robert Abela to speak out about the issue, as he publicly urged the parish to drop the plans.
Fr Camilleri later took Times of Malta on a tour of the areas earmarked for restoration and highlighted the dire state some areas of the heritage building are in.
He also pointed out that managing one of the largest churches in the country came with a significant cost and the proceeds from the cafeteria would help to alleviate some of those expenses.
Previously, Camilleri confirmed that he had been in talks with the government to receive assistance with the church’s restoration and that as a result, the location of the café could be moved.
“The minister understood our plight, namely that we don’t have enough resources to keep up with a building of this magnitude,” Camilleri had said at the time.