Mepa's auditor raps heritage committee

Planning Authority auditor Joseph Falzon has rapped the authority's own Heritage Advisory Committee for dismissing a detailed heritage report on an 18th-century building in Qormi without any justification.

Mr Falzon criticised the committee for ignoring a 2005 report by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage that recommended against the demolition of an extension to an armoury built at the time of the Knights.

The HAC had also dismissed recommendations to protect the building in High Street, Qormi, made by another section of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, the Integrated Heritage Management Unit. Mr Falzon drew up the report after environmental organisation Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar asked him to look into several planning applications filed with regard to the site.

On the property in question there is an old building dating back to the 18th century which is an extension to the Qormi district armoury built by the Knights. At present, the armoury houses the Qormi police station. FAA claimed the building was in danger of being demolished and replaced by flats.

The site was first inspected by the Heritage Advisory Committee in 2004 after an application was filed to demolish an existing old single-storey building and replace it with basement garages.

The committee did not object to the demolition and did not make any other comments about the proposed permit because it was outside an urban conservation area. But this was contested by the IHM, which said the building was a proposed Grade 3 structure and was close to the armoury, which was another proposed Grade 2 property.

In 2005, the SCH inspected the site and informed the planning authority that the building "has a high degree of cultural heritage significance". It also pointed out that the property was in the immediate vicinity of the 18th-century armoury and called for an internal courtyard to be protected and advised that any permits to demolish should not be granted.

Mr Falzon condemned the way the situation was handled, saying it was far from ideal if Malta wanted to protect its heritage.

"The HAC dismissed the recommendations of the IHM in a one-line sentence and gave no justification whatsoever for its disagreement with the stand taken by the IHM. This is definitely not an acceptable situation," he said.

The HAC should have clearly indicated where it disagreed with the IHM report and why, he said.

He also expressed concern at the way the advice of the SCH, responsible for protecting Malta's cultural heritage, was ignored and said that accepting such advice should be the norm.

Such advice should be refused only in very exceptional cases and only when there was a very clear justification for doing so, he added.

Mr Falzon pointed out that it was not his office's role to see who was correct but said he was concerned about the HAC's attitude that simply dismissed the report without giving any reasons.

After several amendments based on the SCH's recommendations, the development permit was granted in 2008 by a Development Control Commission board.

The controversy over the armoury was raised by FAA in June. Together with Fondazzjoni Ulied Ħal Qormi, they held an on-site press conference and claimed the structure adjacent to the armoury was in danger of being demolished and replaced by flats.

FAA insisted that the building formed part of the armoury but a planning authority spokesman clarified it was "an extension" and not the armoury.