Fort St Elmo: From dilapidation to resuscitation

Politicians on both sides of the political divide have been roundly castigated several times for their neglect of Fort St Elmo. Today, we are not in the business of casting blame for the dilapidated state of the fort, probably one of Malta's prime historic sites. That is a luxury we can no longer afford.

We wish to offer solutions to the way ahead. The government, in the shape of the new Minister for Urban Development, appears to be stirring. Welcome first steps have been taken to begin the clean-up of Lower St Elmo. Some cultural activities have recently been held there against the romantic night-time back-drop of faded military fortifications.

Furthermore, initial moves to make Lower Fort St Elmo secure - Upper St Elmo is safely in the hands of the Police Academy - from predatory squatters have been made, albeit the carnival floats are still inexplicably and inappropriately housed there.

It is axiomatic that the next step by the government should be the relocation of those with supposed residual rights, such as the owners of carnival floats. Carnival interest should be no bar to future progress at St Elmo. In the wider scale of things those storing carnival floats there should be expendable. Another area has to be identified for them.

If the political will exists, then there is no reason why the clean-up, security and evacuation of Lower St Elmo should not be completed and consolidated by the end of 2004. The way will then be clear for the vital next stage in the resuscitation of St Elmo. This is to start restoring it and to re-inhabit the fort with organisations which can use it productively and in a manner which is dignified and fitting for a monument of this historic importance.

The need to re-inhabit St Elmo is fundamental to its future successful conservation and use. Unless the fort is lived in and used on a day to day basis and, most importantly, is totally accessible to the general public, Fort St Elmo will die through neglect and abuse - as has happened in the last 30 years.

What, therefore, should be the principles to guide the way ahead? In my judgment there are three. First, that the solutions we should seek are simple to execute. We must adopt an incremental approach. Solutions must be practical, unambitious and feasible. Previous attempts at a plan for Fort St Elmo have foundered through being over-ambitious and too complex, embracing not only a huge capital project within the fort but also the rehabilitation of the whole of Lower Valletta. We must not make that mistake again.

Secondly, they must not entail huge capital expenditure and should, so far as possible, attract private as well as public funding.

Thirdly, the solutions should provide a fitting and dignified use for this historic fort. This means, in my judgment, that its use as a hotel would be incompatible with its historic status since, by definition, this would entail the physical alteration of these outstanding fortifications. To repeat the failed hotel project of Fort St Angelo would be to pile error upon botched blunder.

St Elmo is large and rambling. Who is to use it? Our proposal is that the War Museum - which is probably the most visited museum in Malta - should be allowed to expand into the prime parts of St Elmo. The area selected will have to be self-contained, easily accessible to the public, with sufficient space for all the equipment to be properly displayed and include a visitor centre. It must be capable of being properly secured.

We are in no doubt that the War Museum should have pride of place in a newly rehabilitated St Elmo. We are also confident that this is a project which Heritage Malta - with an injection of both public (including EU) and private funding - could turn into a most imaginative and successful museum of which we could truly be proud.

However, we do not think that the War Museum on its own could fill Fort St Elmo - nor, more importantly, would it be practical or financially viable for it to attempt to do so alone. The costs, as well as the responsibilities, need to be shared. What, therefore, should we do with the rest of the space?

Much as one would like to see the Armed Forces of Malta in Fort St Elmo, I do not think this would be a practicable solution. However, the Police Academy should stay where it is. It provides a presence and uses the fort in a way which is broadly compatible with its original scope as a military barracks. But the Police Academy must itself be given the resources to maintain and conserve the space it occupies in a proper manner. Moreover, the Police Academy must be obliged to make Upper St Elmo accessible to the public and to form an intrinsic part of the Fort St Elmo experience.

As to the remaining space, our suggestion is that this should be given over for use by appropriate and approved organisations in the heritage, performing arts and other cultural fields. We are confident that there are many such organisations which would welcome having a headquarters in the grounds of such a historical site. Rents would have to be pitched at a pepper-corn rate in order to make it a viable proposition for such organisations as well as to encourage this use. We are not attracted to the idea of using St Elmo as a craft village as we believe this would not be compatible with such a historic site. But the opening of heritage shops, art galleries and bookshops specialising in Melitensia should be encouraged. Nor would we be averse to suitably designed coffee shops or restaurants being located there.

The advantage of such an arrangement is that not only is there, as we know, a crying need for such facilities but also it would lead to the rehabilitation of Fort St Elmo by broadly like-minded groups whose one obligation would be to ensure that their allocated space was restored to a proper standard using their own resources. And thereafter properly maintained and conforming to whatever strict standards of use and appearance were laid down.

Furthermore, having re-inhabited Fort St Elmo, its use for historic re-enactments, military tattoos, proper guided tours of the historic fort and its environs, son et lumiere and other such activities by the Malta Tourism Authority would be a relatively straight-forward matter.

The approach outlined above is simple and pragmatic. It is aimed primarily at making Fort St Elmo accessible to the public so that its historic significance and architectural military attractions can be fully explored and enjoyed. If it were pursued we would be able, in a relatively short space of time, to turn St Elmo from the current neglected, abused, shamed, shameful and alienated area of Valletta to one which is a monument to some of the great military episodes in the history of our country as well as bringing it culturally to life again.

Mr Scicluna is the president of Din l-Art Helwa.