Broadcasting houses demolition decision delayed

Television House and Rediffusion House in Guardamangia will not bite the dust certainly for the time being after the Malta Environment and Planning Authority yesterday postponed its decision on whether the two buildings should be pulled down.

Public Broadcasting Services wants to tear them down, build a new headquarters and have an adjacent complex of apartments and commercial premises.

The application was recommended for refusal by the authority's internal consulting bodies and by the Planning Directorate, which makes the technical recommendation for planning applications.

However, the authority decided to postpone the decision on account of the fact that submissions by PBS's architect countering the directorate's recommendation had been handed in at the eleventh hour. The authority's board said it wanted more time to review the response and also asked for the comments of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.

The broadcasting landmarks, which heralded the advent of mass telecommunications, may not look like much at the moment, largely because they have not been maintained properly for a while, but they are both scheduled buildings on account of their value as examples of quality modern architecture.