They say that familiarity breeds contempt, and certainly, we have treated our familiar old buildings with contempt. It began with the obliteration of towers by wrap-around hotels and continues to this day with the profanation of our Unesco World Heritage fortifications by the massive Armed Forces of Malta concrete bunker at Pietà.
Foreigners look on in horror at the contempt with which we treat our heritage. While the rest of Europe has recognised that cultural heritage is a key driver of development across different sectors, Malta acts like an ignorant, third-world country in the 1960s, destroying its heritage to ape foreign countries that have nothing in common with us.
Sadly, we seem to have learnt nothing, and our perennial inferiority complex has caused successive prime ministers to aspire to turn Malta into Dubai, Singapore or Hong Kong instead of having the self-confidence to achieve greatness through our own image.
Following extensive studies carried out for the Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe project, EU policy is now guided by the knowledge that cultural heritage works as a multiplier through which correct investment in heritage can have positive impacts beyond what is initially intended – multiplying the benefits. The benefits are not limited to the project’s direct job creation but extend to the increase of businesses in the surrounding area. Other benefits include investment in preventive medicine, as healthier lifestyles and fewer cars in heritage zones reduce the costs of treating illness and disease.
Additionally, such projects have unplanned beneficial impacts in the form of enhanced competitivity, as the service industry has a strong track record of setting up in heritage areas. Degraded districts with rundown buildings are visually appealing in terms of ambience and a unique spirit of place, attracting cultural and IT entrepreneurs and start-up companies looking for favourable conditions.
The 18th-century warehouses at the corner of Timber Wharf, Marsa, come to mind. The regeneration of the area has started, and this building could be the jewel in the crown. Instead, it has been granted a demolition permit to build a characterless, incongruous commercial block that will erode the character of the area.
The development mania is giving developers and their architects the audacity to apply to mutilate protected buildings
Even more worrying is the destruction of scheduled buildings. The development mania that has gripped Malta is giving developers and their architects the audacity to apply to mutilate protected buildings. One of the earliest areas to be protected in Malta was the row of five grand historic scheduled houses at the Pietà sea-front, beneath Villa Frere. This whole row is now in jeopardy, due to an application to replace one of the houses with a six-storey block of apartments. If that is approved, the rest will no doubt follow and Malta will have lost its only remaining historic seafront in the North Harbour area.
Similarly, a developer is proposing to create a six-storey apartment block in the middle of a row of grand urban conservation houses in Cathedral Street, Sliema, built 150 years ago to accommodate Church grandees. This row of houses is being lovingly restored by homeowners, investing heavily to preserve the character of this heritage area, only to see their efforts ruined by greed.
The case of the Cloisters in St Julian’s is extremely worrying. This ancient grand house was scheduled on its own merit, as well as being a landmark in an area that has, against all odds, retained a unique character, thanks also to the enlightened and sensitive redevelopment of the row of old houses facing the Cloisters.
Instead, the Cloisters’ redevelopment is anything but sensitive, adding an extra storey to this already massive house, which will ruin its elegant proportions, creating an unsightly massing, since the additional floor is not stepped back. Under the guise of a heritage redevelopment, a six-storey apartment block is being planned by stealth in the mansion’s garden.
For years, Mepa heritage officials assured us that gardens in urban conservation areas were protected, but apparently, protection is selective.
Crossing over to Gozo, the campaign run by Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar seems to have saved the heritage house beneath the Citadel, however, the untouched village square of Żebbuġ is now under attack by another unscrupulous architect-developer combo. This demolition of fine old characteristic Gozitan houses to build a hotel slap bang on the square, just metres from the church, will fill the area with bars and cafés like so many other squares in Gozo.
The very reasons tourists travel to Gozo – to seek tranquillity and authenticity – are being destroyed by shortsighted developments that the authorities often approve.
These are just a few of the heritage threats that Malta is facing – destruction of cart ruts, Roman remains and WWII pillboxes in San Ġwann, destruction of a heritage school building in Xgħajra, damage to Valletta’s palazzos and skyline. The list is endless, while the silence of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage is stunning.
This also affects the quality of life of residents, because every time an old building is demolished, residents suffer in terms of damage and loss of light and air, basic human needs.
Today’s Planning Authority session will tell us whether the Cloisters, its garden and neighbours are to be added to the list of Malta’s heritage casualties.
Unesco has concurred with the EU study that cultural heritage provides European countries with a unique identity that creates compelling communities, and therefore provides the basis for effective tourism marketing strategies and attracting diversified economic investment.
Are we to throw all that away?
Astrid Vella is coordinator of Front Għal Ambjent Aħjar.