Becoming the European Capital of Culture in 2018 has provided Valletta with an opportunity, and a challenge, to derive cultural and economic benefits and to act as a catalyst for regenerating itself.
The government has grasped that winning the accolade presents real opportunities to stimulate regeneration of the capital. It has issued three expressions of interest, “calling for a master plan for Valletta and the surrounding areas, for the regeneration of Strait Street, and the restoration of the old market in Merchants Street”.
There are two striking issues about these calls. First, it is unusual in apparently being led by the Parliamentary Secretary for Planning. Even stranger, the head of the civil service also seems to have a finger in the pie as he is reported saying he hoped the master plan would be concluded by the end of the year and that the government’s vision was to place the capital “on a pedestal”.
What is odd about the involvement of the parliamentary secretary for planning and the principal permanent secretary - in an issue fundamentally about infrastructure development and cultural heritage - is that neither of them has any proper business dabbling in this area. Indeed, the parliamentary secretary for planning, who is responsible for Mepa, the planning regulator, could be opening himself to a future conflict of interest if the expressions of interest elicit proposals that run counter to the planning regulations and cultural heritage imperatives of this World Heritage city.
Secondly, it is surprising to find yet another call for expressions of interest on a master plan for Valletta and the surrounding areas when the capital has been the subject of countless such studies over the last 60 years. Does Valletta really need another, or is this just political spin? Regenerating Valletta is a worthy cause but it is too important a matter to be treated simply as a construction planning issue. Thus, the call in the expressions of interest for “innovative façade designs and street furniture” in Strait Street has a garish ring about it, matched presumably by the misplaced call to turn it into “another Paceville,” transformed from “a dead city into one that remains alive, possibly around the clock”.
The key point, which the government appears to have missed, is that regeneration of a 448-year-old city involves a range of disciplines reconciling infrastructure requirements, cultural heritage, architectural aesthetics and the city’s historic imperative, business, commercial and transport requirements and the housing, employment and social implications for Valletta’s inhabitants
There can be no quick fixes to Valletta’s regeneration. Regeneration is an organic process that must be encouraged to grow and evolve. It would be extremely short-sighted not to acknowledge that Valletta’s regeneration is well under way, and has been for at least 10 years.
Notwithstanding these calls for expressions of interest, whatever improvements arise from the implementation of plans for Valletta 2018 should be used as the catalyst for encouraging developments without a need to re-invent the wheel.
Preparing to be the Capital of Culture will entail the most meticulous coordination and planning, both by the Valletta 2018 Foundation and by a range of government departments, from culture and environment to infrastructure, local government and resources.
The capital investments now moving apace in Valletta must be completed to showcase this outstanding historic capital city in all its splendour and beauty. At the strategic level, liaison between the government, the local councils and the Valletta Foundation must be close and seamless in its execution.