Matthew Xuereb
A regeneration tale of three cities
Xatt ir-Risq in Vittoriosa and the Dock 1 area in Cospicua are included in a €9.3 million regeneration programme of The Three Cities that will include the semi-pedestrianisation of the main thoroughfare and the upgrading of two housing estates. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi
A €9.3 million regeneration project of the Three Cities will include the semi-pedestrianisation of the main thoroughfare and the upgrading of two housing estates in Cospicua.
The project, divided into five parts, was expected to be completed by the end of next year, project leader Hector Chetcuti said.
Themed Stronger Cottonera Communities: The Citizen’s Right To Accessibility, the project is 85 per cent financed by the European Regional Development Fund and 15 per cent by the government.
The first part of the project involves the regeneration of Xatt ir-Risq and Dock 1. The entire dockside of the locality will be upgraded, creating a continuous pedestrian access all the way from Fort St Angelo to Senglea.
Moreover, the enclosed area around the dock and quay will be opened up and integrated with the two central squares of Cospicua, Gavino Gulia and Paolino Vassallo. The development includes landscaping of the St Theresa church parvis and redesigning the regatta club façade.
Another part of the project deals with social regeneration and will consist of the upgrading of St Nicholas Married Quarters and the Verdala housing estate. About 94 families live in these areas in scheduled Grade 1 government property, which form part of the fortifications.
The Housing Authority, which is responsible for this part of the project, has met all the families involved to explain the project. Chairman Charles Borg said the remit of the project would be limited to an upgrade of the façades and the reorganisation of access to the housing estate as well as organised parking facilities. A sum of €1.4 million was allocated for this.
He said this was a project with an integrated approach. The authority had committed itself to provide affected families with alternative accommodation. This was being dealt with on a case by case basis.
Land Commissioner Albert Mamo said the tenants were given until the beginning of October to remove any illegal additions, including walls, rooms, washrooms and even kennels.
The third part of the project, which is already under way and is expected to be completed by the end of this month, entails the landscaping of the San Ġwann t’Għuxa area, having a budget of €134,000.
The fourth part consists of the regeneration of the area around Dar Andrew, an independent living centre for disabled people.
The present paving, which is a mix of asphalt, concrete and slabs, will be standardised and the parking reorganised. The project, with a budget of €76,000, will improve accessibility to the home, which is impaired because of high pavements.
The last project is the creation of a feeder bus route for the Cottonera area as part of the national bus transport system.
Mr Chetcuti said the permits for the regeneration of Dock 1 and Xatt ir-Risq were already in hand and the tenders had been issued and were being adjudicated.
Tenders for the remaining works would to be issued pending planning permits, which were expected to be issued in the coming weeks.
He said that while the San Ġwann t’Għuxa project would be completed by the end of this month, the rest of the project would be ready by the end of next year.
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adrian formosa steel
Nov 27th 2010, 01:32
san gwann t'ghuxa kull ma sar hu bicca hajt gdid madwar dawra hamrija vojta li kull meta taghmel ix-xita tfur u thammeg t-triq kollha.
Daniel Mercieca
Sep 6th 2010, 00:39
i remember reading in the papers about this Dock 1 project 14 years ago before i moved here from Sliema. Since then all that was done was replacing the stone wall with a useless gadget - ie. high metal bars. Looking at the rendering included here it seems like the project wasnt worth the wait! The only pleasant thing about it is the removal of boats (I suppose they're not really the bleaching the sea!) If it took 7 years to build the metal gate, will it only take a year to build canopies around the buildings? Is there a website with more pictures of the project? What will happen to the arches along the bormla - birgu waterfront (the blue doors in the photo included and many others to the left of the regatta club)? The last of these spaces was squatted last month and turned into another garage/warehouse. If the residents were really warned about the project, would they steal this space now?! Shouldnt the council be dealing with these real problems instead of closing the public 'foss' garden
cos they found a couple of syringes??
Roderick Mamo
Sep 3rd 2010, 17:42
Progett li ahna il- Bormlizi ilna snin nistennew specjalment il- progett tal- bacir numru wiehed huma ukoll interessanti il- progetti kollha l- ohra li minnom se jgawdu ir- residenti Bormlizi. Imma l- iktar u mhux l- inqas il- progett tal- bacir numru 1 ghax ahna ghadna l- unika belt fil- kottonera li l- bormlizi m' ghandomx fejn jirikrejaw ruhom grazzi lil kull min kellu sehem biex dawn il- progetti se jsiru f' Beltna Kunsillier Roderick Mamo Bormla
Joseph Scerri
Sep 3rd 2010, 15:47
Indubbjament dan huwa progett pozittiv li se jkun ta gwadan kemm ghal poplu tal-Kottonera kif ukoll ghall-poplu Malti ingenerali, mod specjali il-progett ta Bacir Nru 1 li se jkun ukoll ta attrazzjoni ghat turisti. Barra minhekk il-progett tal-kwartieri San Nikola u Verdala huma wkoll zewg progetti fil-lokalita ta Bormla fejn il-kunsill lokali hadem bis-shih mal GHRC u r-residenti sabiex jigu diskussi u solvuti xi diffikulatajiet li setghu jinqalghu. Il-kunsilll okali ta bormla jinsab kuntent bl-andament... Issa nistennew bil-herqa li jitwettaq dan il-progett li tant ilna nistennew! Grazzi lil kull min ta s-sehem tieghu.
Sindku ta Bormla
Joseph Scerri
john cassar
Sep 3rd 2010, 14:37
We have been seeing a lot of different plans since we recived a booklet fromJohn Dalli when he was a candidate for the second district. I hope that this time this regeneration will materialse. Or is there an election coming up?
P.Cassar
Sep 3rd 2010, 11:48
"A regeneration TALE of the three cities"
MAN, YOU REALLY HIT THE RIGHT WORD.................A TALE.............. LAST TWO DECADES WITH SLIGHT MODIFICATIONS.................NEXT YEAR WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER ONE.
CONSISTENTLY TAKING PEOPLE FOR A RIDE.
Connie Demicoli
Sep 3rd 2010, 10:06
Why not remove the wall from the Cospicua side to make the whole area from Dock No 1 to Xatt ir-Risq accessible without having to go to one end or the other?
iCocker
Sep 3rd 2010, 09:34
So it's just this the regeneration of Dock No.1, just linking up the squares and embelishing the promenade, what shall happen to and in the dock itself and the warehouses adjacent, some of them date from the Knights period?
What shall happen to the Verdala Barracks, are we again creating a honeycomb of dwellings in our military architecture heritage?