The 18th century church dedicated to St Francis de Paule in Qormi will undergo restoration works after the planning authority agreed to fund a substantial part of the costs.

The works, which will cost over €68,000, and are being undertaken by the Qormi council and will be monitored by the authority, according to a restoration method statement that was approved as part of the planning permission.

Due to various ageing characteristics, the Church building developed a number of deterioration problems which affected the well-being of the structure. The most predominant deterioration stemmed from rising damp through the foundations and the application of cement rendered to affected areas led to further degradation.

The church was built in 1707 and its architecture follows closely to that inspired by the style introduced by Lorenzo Gafa, the predominant architect of the Maltese baroque period.

The plan of the church is centralised, having one altar and topped by a cupola that acts as the main lighting source of the building. Although the church is not used nowadays, the authority obliged the Qormi council to open it up for the public on special occasions.

The authority has also given financial commitment to replace the damaged fence which surrounds the protected marshland in Marsaxlokk, known as Il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk. The fence was severely damaged by the weather.

Il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk is designated as a Special Area of Conservation with its saline coastal wetland scheduled as an Area of Ecological Importance and as a Site of Scientific Importance.

The site is also protected as a Bird sanctuary through the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations. The site is now one of the few remaining salt marshes in the Maltese Islands.

The funds for these projects are from the Environment Initiative Partnership Programme fund, initiated by the authority in November 2001.

The aim of the EIPP is to enhance and protect Malta's natural environment and cultural heritage using funds secured through what is known as 'planning gain'.

Planning gain is often sought by the authority as a means of social, environmental and economic benefits to the community as a compensation for impacts that may result from a particular development, which impacts cannot be reasonably mitigated.

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