The public outcry to save a townhouse in Victoria has escalated, with more than 200 representations filed with the planning authority and an online petition getting at least 3,300 signatures.

“Tourists don’t come to see car parks. Look at alternatives for a car park. Let’s not become another Malta,” one objection reads.

“Do we have to park right beneath the Cathedral? Aren’t we capable of walking up to it? It is true that with money you can pave a road in the sea [bil-flus tagħmel triq fil-baħar]… and in Victoria, Nadur and anywhere you want?” another one read.

The Magro House stairs. Photo: Daniel Cilia

The house was built in the 1950s by Ġużè Damato, the same architect who designed the Xewkija and Paola parish churches and the MUSEUM headquarters at Blata l-Bajda.

It was sold to the Cathedral Chapter in 2003 and the Gozo Ministry recently filed an application with the Planning Authority to demolish the building and build a three-storey car park and a pedestrian walkway to the Citadel. 

Meanwhile, an online petition calling on the planning authority to stop the transformation of the townhouse into a car park has collected more than 3,000 signatures over two days.

One signatory to the petition noted that the parking lot will increase traffic on roads that were not built to handle a large number of cars.

This mirrored comments by architect Conrad Thake, who earlier this week said building a three-storey car park instead of this townhouse was not the solution, as it would generate more vehicular traffic to the area.

He suggested a park-and-ride system and called for the preservation of the house in its entirety, while fellow architect Edward Said appealed for the application to be turned down and the property put on the antiquities list.

Other representations to the authority – which can be recommendations or objections – rose to more than 200 by yesterday. Many said the house should be preserved for future generations, while tourists wanted to see beautiful buildings, not concrete structures.

“Don’t forget, our ancestors built the foundation for the future generation. If you don’t care about the present, then you kill our history and eradicate any future heritage,” one objector insisted.

ARCHITECT INSISTS CATHEDRAL'S NEEDS HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED

In a reaction today, architect Joseph Bugeja, speaking on behalf of the Cathedral Chapter said that the Cathedral, located as it is on a hill, needed to make access by the faithful easier.

"The Cathedral's needs need to be considered in this argument," he insisted.

"The needs of the cathedral outweigh retaining the house in its present state."

He said that improved access to the Cathedral was one of the points in the 2010 masterplan of the Citadella and this area was earmarked for parking. That was why it was the Gozo ministry which applied for the car park permit.

He said the facade of the house would be retained but the interior would be demolished. Some years ago a permit was issued for the same property to become a parish centre. The permit had included the replacement of the staircase, he said, but there was no outcry at the time. 

Asked if other alternatives had been considered, such as a park and ride, the architect said the authorities had been speaking of this possibility for years but nothing was done and the parish therefore needed to act. 

He said the consultation process in terms of PA regulations was still open.