I have been reading with great interest the articles and letters concerning the Parliament Project - one cannot seriously consider it as a "City Gate Project" - with special regard to the plans for the old theatre site. It has been obvious from the start that the vast majority of people who value theatre or music on this island considered the idea of a roofless entertainment centre as a farce, when everyone who values the arts in whichever form knows how desperately we need a venue with modern acoustics and facilities. It is the least requirement of any major city, even more so of a capital city of the importance of Valletta.

Our Prime Minister now says it was not his idea, but that of Renzo Piano! Well, Prime Minister, Mr Piano does not speak for the people of Malta, who should not be subjected to his romantic notions, totally lacking in practicality, at the taxpayers' expense. The government is there as servant to the people, not as dictator, who considers it a right to indulge in attempts to impress the "Big Boys" of Europe.

I sincerely trust that pressure will be put on government to provide the Maltese people with a long hoped for and long overdue centre of the arts, home for our National Philharmonic Orchestra and possible National Opera and National Ballet - the Maltese people have the talent to carry out this dream. Please don't tell me that "the site is too small" - the old Opera House functioned famously, staging full-scale and world-acclaimed productions for many years. Standing as I did last week looking from the police station end of the ruins, it is absurd to say that a perfectly adequate concert hall/theatre could not be designed within the space, by an architect who knows how to design such things - so far as I am aware,Mr Piano knows nothing about theatre design, and certainly nothing about audience requirements.

Keep the front steps as a reminder of past glory, but remove the surrounding tatty perimeter "bits" which are of no real merit at all, and you have the perfect place for a performance centre to be proud of, and not some quirky shadow of a building which will be out of date before the project is even completed, as will the rest of this mundane "vision for Valletta".

I am sure the architectural "Luvvies" will swoon with dismay at my comments, but this is far too important a matter to be allowed to be decided upon by a few influential modernist snobs.

Come on Mr Prime Minister, give the people what they want.

Good luck to Joseph Calleja and the other experts in the world of entertainment; fight for what is sensible, you have the support of the vast majority of both residents and visitors alike.