Heritage authority objects to gutting of Sliema houses

The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage is giving its thumbs down to a proposed development in Sliema that would tear down the insides of two art deco houses to make room for six-storey apartments, leaving just the façades.

Contacted yesterday, superintendence official Nathaniel Cutajar said the office was in complete agreement with the Development Planning Application report, referred by the Planning Directorate, which was issuing a very clear refusal on the principle of the project.

The applications, to build six-storey apartments behind the façades of the two houses, are expected to be discussed by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority's Development Control Commission Board tomorrow.

The proposed development has received objections from both the Mepa directorate, the authority's Heritage Advisory Committee and Integrated Heritage Management Unit.

Mr Cutajar explained that the approach of retaining the façade was of value when it was the streetscape that mattered, rather than the building itself.

In this case, the two buildings in Sir Adrian Dingli Street are "rare surviving examples" of art deco houses in Sliema.

"This goes beyond the impact on the streetscape and is no longer an issue of keeping the façade," he said.

Mr Cutajar said the superintendence had written to Mepa stating its position, which was in line with the DPA report.

"We have aligned ourselves with the DPA report, which we find entirely satisfactory and a good assessment even from the cultural heritage point of view," he said.

Environmental lobby Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar said the two buildings, together with similar buildings, formed a row of high quality town houses which provided the uniform skyline and streetscape, and in turn contributed to the high quality of Sir Adrian Dingli Street.

"These two houses are both very fine examples of architecture and merit to be retained. House number 10, in particular, should be preserved in its entirety," the FAA said.

It said both houses would merit at least a Grade 2 protection under Mepa's Structure Plan policy UCO 7, with house number 10 meriting a higher grade.

In a statement, FAA said Sliema local council and heritage NGOs had also objected to the development.

The council is currently contesting the validity of the Sliema Local Plan, especially with regard to the inadequate protection of the Sliema Urban Conservation Area, which the FAA described as "the only village core in Malta where development has been allowed to rise up to six and nine floors".

The environmental lobby said the fact that one of the houses was almost equivalent to Grade 1 scheduling placed it on a par with national monuments.

"But we have seen cases, such as that of the Qala school, where all the heritage authorities objected to a demolition and it was still granted by Mepa's DCC board."

The lobby also wants the Heritage Fund, set up some 20 years ago, to be activated by Mepa to compensate the owners of such properties and help with the maintenance costs in order to preserve Malta's fast-dwindling architectural heritage.