New foundation aims to help save Fort St Elmo

Every day means more decay, former Labour party general secretary Jimmy Magro said yesterday during a meeting called to set up a foundation dedicated to saving Fort St Elmo, which has fallen into a dire state of disrepair.

Saying he was not seeking publicity or to be some kind of hero, Mr Magro said he had felt the need to bring an immediate rescue plan to the forefront of the national discussion on the fort.

Although others have written to the local media and used their blogs to try and bring about change, he said he wanted to do more and set up a foundation to restore the fort to its former glory.

He said that people were demanding change and he was able to bring about that change, having brought positive results to institutions he has worked for in the past.

An executive committee was set up yesterday made up of five members out of the small number that were present for the meeting.

A discussion was held to determine whether or not the foundation should be a pressure group. The general consensus was for it to be a foundation so as to have more legal clout.

Fort St Elmo has found its way onto the World Monuments Watch List of the 100 most endangered heritage sites.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Mario de Marco, has been quick to embrace the issue, calling the fort a "national shame" and listing a three-step action plan to conserve what exists, restore certain parts and decide on a use.

Last week, launching the project to rebuild City Gate and the Opera House at the entrance to the city, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi spoke in terms of turning the fort into a centre of culture and the arts, using it also to attract tourism.