The planning authority has put on hold proposals to restore the Manoel Theatre façade but gave the green light for internalrefurbishment.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority approved the rearrangement of ground-floor seating in the middle of the theatre to include space for disabled theatre-goers.

But it decided that the restor-ation and reconstruction of the façade would remain a reserved matter for a year until more research was carried out about the original appearance of the lower central area around the main door.

During a public hearing last month, architect David Drago, from Architecture Project, explained that the plan was to restore the façade to what it is believed to have looked like when it was built in 1731. The proposal included a reversible free-standing, hardstone screen laid around the main door and the two lateral doors as there were doubts about the original appearance of this part of the façade.

The screen could be removed if new evidence emerged of how the façade was originally built.

Using hardstone for this and other interventions on the façade, including the windows, would help create a contrast between what was being altered and what was not. But the case officer’s report had raised concerns, saying cladding within urban conservation areas, and on scheduled buildings like the theatre, was not allowed because it was considered to be an alien addition to the fabric of historic buildings and Mepa had postponed the decision.

In the meantime, architects will do more research on the façade.

They had originally submitted proposals based on a depiction of the Manoel Theatre in the Cabreo de Vilhena, a register of properties that showed the façade as it looked in 1734.

The case officer said yesterday that the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage objected to a “hardstone screen wall” and the proposed treatment for the façade was not based on secure documentary evidence.

It also agreed with the Planning Directorate that the treatment of the façade should be kept as a “reserved matter” to allow more research.

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