Church Commission awaits EIA on St John's museum development

The Church Commission on the Environment in a statement today about the proposed development of St John's Co-Cathedral Museum said today that the issue needs to be reviewed from a genuinely sustainable perspective by all quarters.

"The Commission feels that the next logical step is to await the publication of a truly objective Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and for the open debate following it. While we appreciate what St John’s Co-Cathedral represents to most of us, we should do our best not to let our emotions cloud our reasoning, to the detriment of making the right and most sustainable choices in the long-term. Let us not rush into any uninformed decision."

St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation has made two proposals for the extension of St. John`s Museum: underground halls beneath St John Street or the erection of structures and roofing of the church yard.

The Commission said that everyone agreed that the current space at St. John’s Co-Cathedral museum urgently needed to be improved both in terms of its physical extent and the quality of the museum environment.

The Commission pointed out that an EIA in itself was not meant to ensure that no impact would occur. An EIA should provide decision makers with an assessment of the significance of any impact(s) of the proposed extension so that they could objectively decide whether to go ahead with the proposal or not.

"On the other hand we cannot assume a priori and without the benefit of a complete and technically sound EIA, that any options being proposed are unacceptable. This does not imply that the question will be settled ‘only by the experts’. Sustainable development and sustainable choices require the active participation of an informed civil society including environmental NGOs."

The Commission said that if the extension project proposed by the Foundation was found to pose unreasonable risks (as identified through an EIA), then it stood to reason that one would have to look for additional space elsewhere.

"St. John’s Co-Cathedral is the heart of a whole living city that is in urgent need of regeneration, attention and support. Any proposal opted for should form part of a Valletta Master Plan which would encompass any future plans for the underground use of our Capital City (such as transport and water collection among others). Furthermore a close-working collaboration between the Cathedral’s Foundation and the Valletta Rehabilitation Committee will be essential to ensure the long-term sustainability of any proposals."