Richard Cachia Caruana is on record stating that the decision taken by the government to abandon the €14 million EU-funded St John's Co-Cathedral museum project is sad. His reasoning is backed by the fact that technical decisions should be taken by professionals.
When, in my professional capacity as a conservation architect engaged to advise the Valletta local council on the project, I was asked by the media to give my initial reactions, I said that high consideration must be given to Structure Plan policy ARC 2 (which places a presumption against development within the buffer zone of sensitive archaeological sites) and policy ARC 3 (which does not allow development if it is likely to adversely affect ancient monuments).
However, I was careful to highlight that, at that stage, it was still premature to discredit the proposal in the absence of a properly-conducted environmental impact assessment. At that point I had suggested to the Valletta council to adopt a precautionary approach and await the outcome of the EIA before committing itself with a position in favour or against the project.
The methodology of works involving vibrations was yet unknown and it was not certain whether the established minimum peak particle velocities imposed by heritage standards were to be respected. One could not state with certainty whether structural damage was likely to be caused to the co-cathedral and its environs.
Given the indications that the underground environs consisted of a complex archaeological site, it was equally prudent to establish whether the extent of works was likely to affect any underground structures, which, according to available dossiers, could possibly form a network of storm water (and possibly change the underground drainage pattern of Valletta). This could be achieved if a geotechnical survey was conducted as part of the EIA process. It was also important to consider how the business and social community were about to be affected during the operation of works should the project have taken off.
I also wanted to enquire whether the project made good economic sense in relation to enhancing the heritage value of Valletta. It was important to note a priori whether visitors could have been discouraged if they were aware that part of the original context had been sacrificed in constructing the underground space or whether the number of visitors would increase if it were known the site had been actually improved.
I also insisted that a full set of detailed drawings and representations of how the proposed excavation works interrelate with the existing underground infrastructure be available in order to enable a full and informed debate on any alternatives.
A final decision also warranted a study indicating whether there were any other options available (in terms of construction and funding). In this way, one could weigh the short-term requirements and aspirations (including costs) against the long-term expectations in order to avoid the need to make further dramatic alterations to such a very sensitive setting.
As in normal circumstances, the St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation was directed to conduct an EIA. If the overall outcome of the EIA was negative, my next step would have been to recommend to the Valletta local council to take a stand against the project.
It transpires that, in this case, a parliamentary motion was presented, asking the government to abandon the project before the terms of reference regulating the EIA were even compiled! The motion was driven by the pretext that the "considered many" were not in favour of the idea.
The right for an applicant to submit a planning application (of whatever nature) and have a fair planning process has been highly prejudiced. This saga has set a negative precedent, which could possibly see more public undertakings turned down limitedly on the basis of public outrage. This is sad! Very sad indeed.
Mr Cachia Caruana is perfectly right.
Mr Musumeci, who holds a Masters degree in conservation technology for masonry buildings, is architect to the Valletta local council.
robert.musumeci@rmperiti.com