Access at Palace Armoury

I refer to Glorianne Mizzi's letter entitled State Rooms and the Armoury (August 22).

Ms Mizzi uses a sarcastic tone to criticise the ongoing works on sanitary facilities at the Palace Armoury. She probably wrote her letter when works were still in progress and adequate signage (in six languages) was put in place. The new sanitary facilities are equipped with all amenities as approved by Mepa permits. Only mirrors and nappy changing facilities remain to be installed.

As for the toilet for disabled persons, Ms Mizzi failed to specify that this is located on the same floor as the ticketing office and a person with special needs does not need to navigate any flight of steps to use the sanitary facilities. This toilet is also used by those who require nappy changing facilities.

Entrance to the Palace Armoury is through Merchants Street and two steps lead to the ticketing office. It is not the first time that Heritage Malta personnel have helped wheel chair users navigate these two steps until a permanent solution is found. In fact, Heritage Malta has been discussing this issue with the relevant authorities for a number of months.

Ms Mizzi also takes Heritage Malta to task for setting up a retail shop at the far end of the Palace Armoury. The display cabinets have been set up against the walls and as such are not obstructing the passageway leading to the staircase. These museum shops are an added attraction to visitors rather than a hindrance as Ms Mizzi may lead readers to believe. Heritage Malta officials have carried out regular spot checks to assess visitor flows and to date no major bottlenecks have been reported as a result of the retail shop.

Finally, Ms. Mizzi, as president of the Malta Union of Tourist Guides, is aware that Heritage Malta has been actively seeking a permanent solution to visitor flow at the Palace Armoury and State Rooms. The Palace also serves as the administrative offices of the President of the Republic and houses Parliament and ancillary administration offices. Therefore, issues relating to security are of paramount importance.

Numerous meetings have been held with the various authorities and the national agency is confident that an agreement will be reached that will be acceptable to all parties concerned.