Seven major cultural entities wrote to the government last summer to try and stop the controversial monti stalls’ move to the City Gate area but their pleas fell on deaf ears, according to Valletta 2018 chairman Jason Micallef.
The letter, signed by the heads of the Manoel Theatre, Heritage Malta, St James Cavalier, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Arts Council, V18 and Pjazza Teatru Rjal, was sent to Small Businesses Minister Chris Cardona in July in a failed bid to stop 75 monti stalls from being moved to Ordnance Street from Merchants Street.
Addressing the press along the stretch of paving between the new Parliament building and the open-air theatre – which Mr Micallef said had been earmarked for hawkers’ stalls – he said he drafted the letter when he first heard about the plans to move the stalls.
He said he received a reply two weeks later from the monti relocation committee, chaired by architect William Lewis, informing him that his plea for the stalls to be moved elsewhere had not been accepted.
It was at this point, he said, that he learnt that the stalls were in the process of being designed.
Mr Micallef said he then wrote a second letter, this time asking to be involved in the design process but, to his dismay, he never received any reply.
The finalised designs of the stalls emerged last week, causing a wave of public disapproval, which got fiercer when it became apparent that the monti was likely to spill beyond Ordnance Street to the area between the new Parliament building and the opera house ruins.
We still have time for common sense to triumph and for this decision, which would go against the spirit of the project, not to go ahead
Hawkers have long been promised the move to Ordnance Street and the major bone of contention – apart from the unsightly stalls – was the fact that the hawkers would spill over to the other side of the road, marring the entrance to the capital, designed by acclaimed architect Renzo Piano.
Mr Micallef said he found the proposal “unacceptable” and was glad to see that the people and not just the artistic community had voiced their concerns.
“We still have time for common sense to triumph and for this decision, which would go against the spirit of the project, not to go ahead,” he said, making a “passionate” appeal for all projects in Valletta to respect the capital’s old and modern architecture.
Referring to a story in The Sunday Times of Malta, in which the government hinted it was bowing to pressure on the controversial stalls proposal, Mr Micallef said he was optimistic Dr Cardona would see reason and reverse the committee’s decision.
Dr Cardona reiterated this point in yesterday’s Times of Malta and said he was doing his utmost so that, if physically possible, he would fit all the stalls to the left of Republic Street (from the perspective of one walking into Valletta through City Gate).
“I am glad to hear of this change of heart and hope we see a change in the plans,” he said.
Asked what the foundation would do if his pleas were not heard, Mr Micallef said he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
The government has already returned the controversial new stalls to the drawing board and, as of yesterday, 50 designers and architects had submitted expressions of interest to redesign them.
Following a meeting with hawkers at the ministry yesterday, a spokesman stressed that the stalls would be dismantled on a daily basis.
He also said there would be no reserved parking for stall owners. To set up their stalls, hawkers would have to drive in to offload their merchandise and drive out again daily. Every evening, the stalls would have to be dismantled.
The aim of the meeting with hawkers was to ensure that the call for expressions of interest would result in stall designs that catered for their needs. “Specifications were discussed to accommodate the exigencies of the operators,” a spokesman said.