Top officials at the planning authority were highly critical yesterday of the way the new lighting system was installed at the Auberge de Castille and put the blame on the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.

Mepa’s CEO Johann Buttigieg and chairman Vince Cassar both expressed disapproval at the damage done to the facade and said the method used was “not on”.

Mr Cassar said he had not yet found the time see the installation for himself but from what he had seen in the newspapers it appeared “the work could have been done much better”.

Mr Buttigieg was more direct when pressed on the issue: “The work is strange and not acceptable.”.

Whoever approved this – and it’s not Mepa – should shoulder full responsibility

Asked how he justified that fact that no planning permit was needed to drill sizeable holes in the facade of the historic building, when a permit was required merely to open a small aperture in an ordinary dwelling, an uncomfortable Mr Buttigieg said the responsibility was not Mepa’s.

“Whoever approved this – and it’s not Mepa – should shoulder full responsibility,” he said.

Admitting that nothing could be done to reverse the situation, he added: “It is the Superintendant of Cultural Heritage who gave all the clearances needed and approved what has been happening.

“He should carry all the responsibility,” he repeated.

According to the planning authority, the lighting installation did not require a Mepa permit but only a simple development notification, better known as a DNO.

However, Mepa underlined that this would need the green light of the superintendence before it is issued.

Mr Buttigieg stressed that, after learning from this bad experience, Mepa was going to further restrict the use of DNOs so that, under the new rules, what had happened at Castille would not happen again.

Amendments to be proposed in Parliament would oblige such interventions to be discussed, if necessary in a public meeting, before approval is granted.

The superintendent, Tony Pace, has so far refused to answer this newspaper’s questions regarding what has been described by experts as a ‘travesty’ done to Castille’s facade.

The illumination system, which is still in a testing phase, has cost taxpayers €300,000 so far.

Parts of the facade of the building, built by the knights, were damaged when 5cm- wide holes were drilled directly through the stone cornices to make way for the wiring system.

Wires were also stuck to the facade with clips and are clearly visible to whoever walks in front of the majestic auberge.

PN reveals conditions for Castille lighting works

The Nationalist Party revealed yesterday that the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage had laid down two conditions for the lighting system to be installed at Castille.

The routing of wires had to avoid interventions on the historic fabric and had to follow existing routes which had been closed during the recent restoration.

Furthermore, the interventions had to be reversible.

This newspaper previously asked the superintendence about the conditions but received no reply to its questions.

The party spokesman for planning and the infrastructure, Ryan Callus, yesterday said the government’s silence reflected its contempt for Malta’s cultural heritage.

It was worrying, he said, that the superintendence had failed to publish the conditions it had itself issued, more so given it was evident that they had not been respected.

It was also unacceptable that a building enjoying the highest level of protection had suffered irreversible interventions and no one was assuming responsibility.

The silence of the political leaders and the regulatory authorities seemed to show how the two had become one, to the detriment of Malta’s heritage, he added.

FAA CONDEMNS 'IRREVERSABLE DAMAGE' CAUSED

In a statement this morning, environmental organisation Flimkien għal Ambjent Ahjar strongly condemns “the irreversible damage” caused .

It said the law was blatantly ignored by the very persons responsible for protecting the nation's heritage who hurriedly approved this highly sensitive project in 24 hours, instead of scrutinising it properly to ensure correct practice.

In so doing the authorities violated the Heritage Act which stipulated that the State in Malta has “The duty to protect, the duty to conserve, maintain, restore and to intervene whenever deemed fit, including in circumstances of misuse, lack of conservation or application of wrong conservation methods”, it said.

MEPA SHOULD NOT PASS THE BUCK - PN

In a statement this afternoon, the Nationalist Party said Mr Buttigieg's comments were just an attempt to exonerate himself from all responsibility.

Environment spokesman Ryan Callus said it was Mepa which chose the procedure that had to be used for the works, opting for a DNO which did not offer profound and detailed study of the works so could not offer the necessary precautions for a grade one scheduled building.

Mepa, he said, should shoulder responsibility for this decision and not pass the buck to the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.

He asked whether there had been any political pressure and called for an explanation from the contractor who carried out the works.