Heritage Malta is exploring funding opportunities to repair damage caused by Storm Helios last weekend when a boundary wall beneath its headquarters in Kalkara collapsed.
A spokesperson told Times of Malta that the state conservation agency’s projects department had carried out a thorough safety assessment.
They found that the damage was localised to the area of the collapse and that none of the buildings or other areas of the compound had sustained any damage.
The heavy rainfall, gale force winds and rough seas brought down a significant part of a historic wall which crumbled into the Kalkara sea, leaving an exposed façade of soil with the historic Bighi hospital towering above it.
The complex, which served as a major medical centre in the 19th and 20th centuries, now serves as Heritage Malta’s headquarters.
The spokesperson said the agency was working to secure the necessary funds to commence the reconstruction operation, even possibly utilising European Union funds.
Local heritage NGO Assoċjazzjoni Wirt il-Kalkara said following the collapse that it had spent the past four years warning various ministers about the dilapidated state of the building and its surrounding walls, to no avail.
We urge the competent authorities to this time pay attention to our warnings- NGO Assoċjazzjoni Wirt il-Kalkara
All its warnings had fallen on deaf ears, it said, despite part of Rinella Bay having been acknowledged as unsound and in dire need of restoration.
The storm wreaked further damage to another historic building in the vicinity: Villa Portelli. A boundary wall surrounding the abandoned villa collapsed as a result of the weather, damaging a parked car.
The association said it had also warned about the state of this building, only for ministers to ignore “and sometimes reject” their calls.
“We urge the competent authorities to this time pay attention to our warnings, to ensure everyone’s safety. We also urge the public to take all the necessary precautions when in the area,” it said.
Historic buildings were among the biggest victims of last week’s Storm Helios. Apart from the structures in Kalkara, damage was also reported to an iconic 17th-century watchtower in Għajn Tuffieħa as well as to walls leading to the Ċittadella ditch in Gozo.