Another 'master plan' for crafts village

A new "master plan" is being drawn up for the Ta' Qali Crafts Village after the last one was scrapped in 2008 having failed to qualify for EU funding.

The new plan will make the place look "more like a theme park than an industrial estate" and will be a joint investment by the government and the tenants of the village's workshops, a spokesman for the Finance Ministry said.

He said everything was being done in full consultation with the tenants and, during a recent meeting with Finance Minister Tonio Fenech, about 80 craftsmen were given the chance to air their views.

The crafts village has been on the agenda for years with different ministers proposing various options of embellishment but very little has been done to stop the deterioration of the place (see timeline).

The latest master plan was approved by the planning authority and Cabinet but, instead of adjusting it to cater for any new needs, the government has decided to redesign the project all over again and opt for a "new concept".

"But one needs to wait for the master plan to be developed in order to assess the gap between what was planned before and what will happen now," the spokesman said when asked what changes will there be to the old plan.

He said the budget for the project would be decided once the designs were submitted by Malta Industrial Parks, which was responsible to draw up the plans.

The designs were expected to be released by October, after which tenants would be given the chance to enter into a new contract with the government. All the promise of sale agreements made in 2007 would be extended till December and all provisions of previous agreements would be honoured by the government, the spokesman said.

"The government will be responsible for the common areas and will provide the tenants with standard features for the factory's façades. The tenants will be responsible for the interior. The emphasis will be on business sustainability and tourism," he said.

The tenants will be able to invest in their own workshop spaces for which they will enjoy a 65-year emphyteusis. Otherwise, they can opt to rent the space from MIP once it undertook the work.

One of the tenants said when contacted he was pleased that everyone had finally come to an agreement and a decision had finally been taken. However, he wondered whether time and money would have been saved had the government simply adjusted the new proposals rather than scrapping them altogether.

The Labour Party spokesman for the self-employed, Gavin Gulia said craftsmen at Ta' Qali were in the dark about what was happening because of the government's broken promises.

Timeline

1992. Finance Minister George Bonello du Puis announces plans to rehabilitate the area.

May 1994. The Planning Authority approves plans for a crafts village.

June 1998. Permits for the Ta' Qali Crafts Village project are issued and the Malta Development Corporation issues letters of intent to owners of shops at the village.

July 2000. The government says all the necessary plans are approved and the crafts village can kick off through a public private partnership.

January 2001. During a presentation of the plan for Ta' Qali, Minister Tonio Borg announces that the public consultation period on the crafts village will be ready in March. Dr Borg says the Cabinet has to approve the project within six weeks and award tenders for the work to begin.

2002. Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo assumes responsibility for the Ta' Qali Crafts Village project. An approved development brief on the project is issued.

November 2003. In the budget speech, Finance Minister John Dalli promises that the government "shall now construct the Ta' Qali Crafts Village".

August 2004. Mr Vassallo says the consultation process of the Ta' Qali project with 80 families and the Land Department is over and families will soon be called to sign the promise of sale agreement.

April 2005. Labour appeals to the government to take up the crafts village project again.

January 2006. Mr Vassallo announces that the government will issue plans for the refurbishment of the crafts village in Ta' Qali.

September 2006. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announces that the project will soon start.

February 2007. Urban Development Minister Jesmond Mugliett says the project will be launched soon.

July 2007. Mr Mugliett and Mr Vassallo launch the new Ta' Qali Crafts Village project.

February 2008. The Nationalist Party says in its electoral programme for the general election that "everything is now ready to begin the €28 million project on the crafts village at Ta' Qali. This will take four years to complete".

February 2008. The Ta' Qali crafts village tender for construction works close. Eight submissions are made.

October 2008. Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt announces in Parliament that the Ta' Qali Crafts Village project is being revised after an application for EU funding was refused.

January 2009. Dr Gatt announces that plans for rebuilding the Ta' Qali crafts village have stopped and the government plans to transform the Dock No.1 area in Cospicua into an Arts and Crafts Centre. Tenants hate the idea and so does Mr Mugliett.

May 2009. Finance Minister Tonio Fenech says the Artisan centre proposal in Dock 1 will be a separate project and will not mean that anyone will be forced to move their workshops there. Consultation process begins with tenants to pave a way forward.

cperegin@timesofmalta.com