€1.5 million 'not enough'

The €1.5 million allocated for emergency repairs at Fort St Angelo would barely scratch the surface as the bill to restore the dilapidated fort was expected to run into million of euros, a spokesman for the planning authority said.

Similarly, two heritage associations - Heritage Malta and Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna - said the amount allocated in the 2010 Budget was inadequate for the fort's restoration, which instead required an injection of millions of euros.

The funds will be used to restore parts of the main gate and the ramp that form part of the emergency work for which Heritage Malta had applied. Heritage Malta is responsible for the fort.

Chairman Joseph Said explained that the emergency funds were enough for the immediate repair works listed in the application. However, these were for emergency works and, obviously, more was needed for the rest of the fort, he said.

FWA said the allocated funds were not enough. Although CEO Mario Farrugia refused to comment any further, he said much more was needed to repair the fort.

Only last month, Heritage Malta filed an urgent application for repair works on the fort in Vittoriosa - the oldest forts on the island - which is at risk of collapsing.

The application is aimed at restoration works on the main gate, repairing the access ramp and reconstructing the vaulted entrance and the De Guirial Sally Port.

Even Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat said he was not impressed with the €1.5 million allocation. This was not enough to restore the damage caused by years of government neglect, a job experts believe would amount to about €20 million, he said in his reply to the Budget Speech.

Saving the fort was not the Prime Minister's priority who, instead, wanted to be remembered for building a new Parliament, Dr Muscat said.

Instead of their weekly meeting, the planning authority board recently carried out an onsite visit to Fort St Angelo to inspect the extent of the damaged and deteriorating stonework.

In September, government architects installed small sheets of glass across dangerous cracks that appeared in the stonework and advised anyone who lived in the fort to evacuate if the glass broke.

Responsibility for the fort's restoration was not an easy matter as the whole area falls under the wing of three entities: the government, the Sovereign Military Order of St John and the Cottonera Waterfront Consortium.

The entrance to the fort was closed off for safety reasons in July after the walls along the covered ramp leading to the bottom part of the fort developed serious fissures.

Moreover, the roof of the tunnel beneath the road that leads up to the fort collapsed, leaving a gaping hole several metres deep. The stonework has been worn away by the weather and heavily damaged in some parts by the sea spray. Parts of the fortified walls are being pushed out by tree roots that have become deeply embedded in the bastions.

Nine applications have been filed with Mepa since 1998 - several to restore the fort, two to build a health farm and another for a change of use from the unused disco to wine cellars.

Three years ago, the Cottonera consortium was given Mepa's go ahead to build a thalasso health therapy farm, which included 40 bedroom suites, health fitness and sauna facilities, a reception area, a main restaurant, a lobby bar, a health food restaurant and related services and facilities.

Although building has taken place, the project was put on hold especially after entrance to vehicles was barred this summer.