Works start this week to make safe the dangerous facade of a government building in Strait Street, Valletta.

Employees from the Works Directorate last week inspected the site and will start intervention works on the facade of the building situated in the stretch of Strait Street between Archbishop and St Christopher streets.

The perilous situation there was highlighted by resident Rose Spiteri, 70, who last week told Times of Malta that stones, rubble and pieces of rusty metal often fell on to the road, especially when bad weather or strong winds prevailed.

She lamented the lack of action by the authorities, saying she had informed the police several times about the matter but the only measure taken was cordoning off the falling stone by police barriers and striped blue police tape, leaving just enough space for one person to squeeze by.

An Infrastructure Ministry spokesman said the Works Directorate would remove all dangerous items from the facade of the government-owned property such as stone, wood and metal that could fall down and pose a danger.

The owners of the police station building should take the necessary measures to remove the danger posed

There are rusty iron balconies and a rotting wooden balcony with parts hanging precariously.

The building, which belongs to the Justice Ministry, is located adjacent to the Valletta police station. When asked about the safety of the police station, the spokesman said an architect’s evaluation report “does not indicate that the station is unsafe to use”.

The report indicated that part of the neighbouring government-owned premises may represent “some form of concern” to the privately-owned building used by the Valletta police.

In its conclusions, the report also proposes that the police instruct “the owners of the police station building in Archbishop Street to take the necessary measures to remove the danger posed by deteriorated architectural elements and to ensure that the building façade does not pose a danger to the public”.

With regards to Strait Street, it urges the police “to cordon off the area with barriers and appropriate signage indicating that there is danger”. These should be kept in place until remedial works were carried out to ensure the public was not at risk, the spokesman said.