Unique charm of Mdina.

Unesco is being asked to recognise Mdina and the Ċittadella in Gozo as World Heritage sites.

Winding up the debate on an Opposition Private Member’s Bill to protect Ta’ Ħaġrat Temples in Mġarr, Culture Minister Owen Bonnici said the process to have the old capital and the Gozo attraction named World Heritage sites was being handled by a team of architects.

Upon taking office, the Labour government had realised that Valletta risked no longer being considered a World Heritage site, Dr Bonnici said.

Unesco was on the verge of sending an evaluative mission to assess the situation. However, Malta’s new ambassador to Unesco, Mgr Joe Vella Guaci, convinced the international body there was no need of such a mission.

The necessary documentation was sent to Unesco confirming that the capital city would retain its status of a World Heritage site.

Malta had also applied to regsiter the Maltese language and feasts as World Heritage cultural phenomena.

It is culture and history that distinguishes Malta from other countries and not passports

Dr Bonnici said Unesco was satisfied with the action taken to conserve Ta’ Ħaġrat Temples. He gave the background to the expropriation of land around them, which went back to 1927, pointing out that, by the late 1960s, the land around the temples had been developed and in the late 1980s urban development was already close to the temples’ boundary wall.

The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage had imposed conditions on the building permit for a tenement near the temples but, later, the government issued a conservation order with the proper expropriation now taking place.

The government was striving to make use of historical buildings that were being restored. A case in point was the Inquisitor’s Palace, in Vittoriosa, which would house the American International Law Institute. The government also was considering plans to use part of the palace for international arbitration sittings. Malta’s collective memorial history museum would also be housed in Vittoriosa.

Dr Bonnici said it was culture and history that distinguished Malta from other countries and not passports, whose notion had now been superceded.

Other works were in hand, under the umbrella of Heritage Malta, which was using EU funds. These included Ta’ Kola windmill, the Ġgantija temples and heritage experiences at Forts St Angelo and St Elmo.

Speaking on the emergency conservation order issued for the area around Ta’ Ħaġrat Temples, Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon said the government sought to conserve a bigger area than the contested part.

The area surrounding the temples formed part of the development zone in 1989 and then within the framework of the rationalisation exercise carried out in 2006. However, at no point did the previous administration try to take the area “out of the development zone”.

The government took the “unanimous and convincing” decision to halt the planning development and issue a conservation order due to the importance of the land, even though the project would have happened in a development zone. There was no need for political pressure to make such a decision, Dr Falzon noted.

The expropriation process had already started and talks with the owners to agree on compensation were ongoing.

Opposition deputy leader Mario de Marco said all Maltese governments had committed mistakes to the detriment of the cultural heritage.

Listing certain old houses puts a burden on the owners

Usually, these occurred in the name of progress. He said the Opposition welcomed the emergency conservation order issued on Ta’ Ħaġrat Temples.

The cultural heritage did not only consist of the bastions and the temples; there was also much character and cultural value in the core of many of the villages.

Mentioning foreign schemes such as the National Trust in the UK, he said that listing certain old houses put burden on the owners.

Living in an old house of character was expensive and the maintenance demands were high. Hence, the government should try to compensate such individuals by having at least a tax rebate to maintain the standards set by a legal schedule, he said.

Similarly, old houses in Vittoriosa and Valletta, which were government-owned and which remained closed, should be reopened or given to the private sector so that regeneration could commence quickly. The obligation to maintain houses with character in good condition also rested with the government as an owner.

Dr de Marco referred to the Prime Minsiter’s statement that he wanted to make Malta a new Singapore or Dubai and said he had no obejction to development as long as this was sustainable.

Such development ought to increase Malta’s cultural and natural heritage potential. He called on Mepa and the Superintendence of the Cultural Heritage to submit a list of recommendations on how to safeguard Malta’s heritage for future generations.

The report should be presented to Parliament within six months, Dr de Marco said.