Sunday, 18th May 2008

PM stops demolition of broadcasting houses

Herman Grech

PBS in Guardamangia... The building will not be demolished after all. Photo: Ray Attard

The Prime Minister has requested the management of Public Broadcasting Services to withdraw an application to demolish the existing premises in Guardamangia.

Television House and Rediffusion House, constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, will not bite the dust after all, after Lawrence Gonzi urged the management to pull the plug on the application, through a letter sent by Education Minister Dolores Cristina. It is understood that the letter was sent to PBS chairman Joe Fenech Conti on Friday evening.

Public Broadcasting Services was planning to tear down the buildings, build new headquarters and have an adjacent complex of apartments and commercial premises.

But the government stopped the application on the grounds that the buildings are considered to be examples of quality modern architecture as well as broadcasting landmarks.

It is the first time that a government application has been halted by the Prime Minister. Since the March 8 election, Dr Gonzi has assumed responsibility for the reform of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

The broadcasting landmarks off St Luke's Road, which heralded the advent of mass telecommunications, appear run down, largely because they have not been maintained properly. But they are both listed buildings on account of their value as examples of 'quality modern architecture'.

The application is expected to be withdrawn by tomorrow and the file at Mepa closed.

A Mepa board held on April 24 had decided to defer the application by four weeks. A one week timeframe was conceded to the architect for the final submissions of the reactions by the applicant. During the four-week period, the Planning Directorate was to consult with the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and request a detailed individual report on the scheduling of these two sites.

Comments

PAUL BUSUTTIL (on 19/5/08)

A GHASTLY LOOKING BUILDING WHICH RESEMBLES A FACTORY ON THE MARSA INDUSTRIAL ESTATE GETS THUMBS DOWN AND YET MEPA GIVES THUMBS UP FOR BUILDINGS TO BE DEMOLISHED WHICH ARE OF GREATER HERITAGE VALUE, WHERE ARE WE GOING?

laurence schembri (on 19/5/08)

The best thing of what to do with PBS is to privatise it. In its form it is not a State TV Station, it is purely commercial. All programmes shown on PBS are farmed out, apart from the News the rest is run and managed by private entities, and it is them who are raking the benefits.
PBS is nothing but a controversial noose around the government's neck. Salaries alone are costing the taxpayer a bomb and I may ask, for what? Apart from Telesales, Advertising and the habit of thanking sponsors (another form of advertising), what do the taxpayer get in between, nothing! It might become a good station if it is ran by a private enterprise, I`m sure it will. Besides it will be another headache away from government.

Joseph I. Camilleri (on 18/5/08)

To be honest, it is not at all clear as to what features in Broadcasting House merit being classed as examples of "quality modern architecture". Historical, perhaps, but quality architecture is a point which can look a bit stretched. Nevertheless, one can let this pass. On the other hand, a problem has yet again been pinpointed : buildings very often look ugly and run down largely because they have not been maintained properly. It is of course the owner's responsibility to maintain the outside of his property, and this because of the surrounding area and its users. Most owners however care a lot about the interior but hardly give any attention to the exterior, which, when it is not maintained, exercises a very negative effect on the environment, the view presented to neighbours and users of the road, etc. Because of this attitude, it usually becomes necessary for regulations to be imposed for proper and regular maintenance. This is of course the rule in most European countries, where buildings are required to have a face-lift every so often - a practice which is really a necessity here in Malta.

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Tuesday, October 7, 2008. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

PM stops demolition of broadcasting houses

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