Editorial

Last Monday Government published plans for the development of No. 1 Dock, which is expected to cost Lm12 million. An international call for tenders will be issued for this major regeneration project which among other things will link Senglea, Cospicua and Vittoriosa through a continuous waterfront.

The dock, which dates back to the time of the Knights, covers an area of some 13,000 square metres, but most of it is in a dilapidated state, having long been unused now - like a sore thumb in the heart of Cospicua.

The Ministry of Urban Development was entrusted with drawing up the development brief for the old dock. This foresees the restoration of buildings covering a total of 2,138 square metres and landscaping covering 13,000 square metres of quays.

The project calls for the compatible use of the buildings (presumably for both social and commercial purposes) and of the area which would turn it into an attraction for locals and foreign visitors. There is much room for innovation and imagination here, and it would exciting to see what local and foreign architectural firms can come up with.

Dock No. 1 was not included in the Cottonera waterfront project which has been taking shape since it still belonged to the Drydocks at the time. As part of that project various historic buildings such as Couvre Porte and St Anne's Gate have been restored.

These projects complement the ongoing regeneration of the Cottonera area, with the opening of the Casino di Venezia, the rehabilitation and development of new and existing property and the opening of bars, restaurants and catering establishments, together with cultural initiatives by the central government, local councils and individuals.

All this has given a breath of fresh air to an area long considered as the island's Cinderella - perhaps because of its proximity to the dockyards but also because of the sub-standard housing and the various social problems still afflicting it. Yet the Cottonera can boast of a rich architectural heritage, bequeathed to it by the Knights of St John, and later by the British Services, and splendid churches - some of them rebuilt after they were destroyed during the war - containing rich treasures.

The regeneration of the Cottonera, even without the boost this is expected to receive with the completion of the No. 1 Dock project, on which work may start in two years' time, is already palpable, and waterfront property prices have been rising in an area long considered depressed. Quite a few foreign residents have moved there.

It is mostly to the credit of the Nationalist government that the long awaited regeneration is taking place. The opening of the Maritime Museum at Vittoriosa, the creation of a yacht marina, the siting of the Malta Centre for Restoration in the former Bighi Hospital - all these and other initiatives have been gradually contributing to the change and to make the Three Cities and the Cottonera generally, better appreciated. Other initiatives include the holding of festivals and re-enactments in Vittoriosa, the reopening and rehabilitation of the Inquisitor's Palace, also in Vittoriosa, and the partial (thanks to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta) rehabilitation of Fort St Angelo.

Mention of St Angelo reminds us that there is still a lot to be done to eliminate eyesores there and in other parts of the Cottonera. And restoration and rehabilitation of old buildings has to be accompanied by measures to uplift social conditions, which remain a cause for concern.

However even here the present government has taken initiatives by opening homes for the elderly and providing social housing.

The Labour Opposition too has taken a praiseworthy initiative and set up a commission to promote literacy in the Cottonera area and has donated books to local councils (which, since this is, historically, a Labour stronghold, are dominated by the party). But Cottonera's regeneration should not be a question of party politics, although this is inevitably drawn in and comparisons are obviously made. The local councils have indeed generally co-operated with the government on the various initiatives and have come up with their own.

It is good to see that this historically and culturally rich area, which declined after the destruction of World War Two and the social upheaval it caused, not to mention the ship-repairing (and inevitably polluting) activity, is finally enjoying a well-deserved regeneration.

It is an ongoing regeneration, one hopes, which fits in with the programme of the rehabilitation and restoration of historic buildings which the government has undertaken in other parts of Malta and Gozo.