Meaningless Grade I scheduling by Mepa

The Chamber of Architects has very good reason to be concerned that the Grade I scheduling of Manikata church “may have come too late”. As the one who first raised the alarm about the misinformed and insensitive permit for the storage and catechesis facilities, I feel in duty bound to join in its concern. Unless the permit is rescinded, the Grade I scheduling will be meanigless. I speak with the hindsight of the person who, in the early 1990s, was responsible for the first drafting of the then planning authority’s scheduling criteria. A Grade I building means that its architectural integrity (and this includes the building and its footprint) can in no way be compromised. My absence from the island when the Malta Environment and Planning Authority scheduling of the building took place prevented me from commenting earlier. The “significant amendments to the original design” mentioned by Mepa chairman Austin Walker are still within the church’s footprint, which is an essential part of its architectural integrity.