The re-location of the Valletta open market is another piecemeal decision which adds to Valletta’s intrinsic problem – the lack of holistic urban management of our capital, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar said.
It said in a statement that the choice of Ordnance Street was far from ideal, but nor was the Merchants’ Street site, right behind the Magisterial Palace, with hawkers hanging their wares directly on the Palace walls.
“Is a uniform design for the stalls planned, plus inclusion of local arts and crafts which would upgrade the market and widen its appeal? The hawkers’ representative’s statement that some of the stalls will have to be located between the new Parliament building and the old Opera House, indicates the worst possible planning.”
FAA said that Valletta’s problems extended far beyond the market: since the relaxation of change of use regulations, Valletta real estate was targeted for offices or foreign buyers.
“While it is positive that foreigners are restoring heritage properties, this is pushing them beyond the price-bracket of Maltese families. Since many foreign-owned homes are only used for a few weeks a year, in the evening parts of Valletta are becoming more of a ghost town than ever since its population has now dwindled alarmingly.”
The organisation criticized the Malta Environment and Planning Authority for repeatedly permitting the construction of extra floors without considering the negative impact on narrow streets where extra floors blocked residents’ natural light and air.
“These extra floors also ruin heritage streetscapes such as St George’s Square, prime heritage buildings such as the Auberges and Valletta’s supposedly protected skyline.”
It noted that since the introduction of the CVA, traffic increased alarmingly, as did pollution. “The demolition of the road across City Gate has directed further heavy traffic into the residential inner core of Valletta.”
FAA said that Valletta was not being given its historic and cultural importance as a World Heritage Site, with MEPA recently permitting the setting up of a fishmonger in the original Carmelite convent, one block away from the Manoel Theatre and St Paul’s Cathedral. “This decision is deplorable, especially given the vacant shops at the food market just three blocks away.”
It said that the hasty decision to move the ‘monti’ to Ordnance Street showed politicians’ refusal to treat Valletta in a considered, holistic manner.
“Upper Valletta continues to be crammed with commercial and legislative uses cheek by jowl, while lower Valletta is abandoned and crumbling. The draft Valletta Management Plan, which took years to prepare, was never ratified by our politicians, still less followed.
“The management of Valletta needs to be coherent, consistent and co-ordinated. Instead, the lack of planning, lack of studies and of organisation to meet residents’ needs is fuelling the exodus from Valletta. Malta already has one Silent City. Valletta must be kept alive,” FAA said.