The Chamber of Architects again strongly objected to the siting of monti stalls close to the new parliament building in Valletta.

It undermines the objective of promoting an ethos within society that values quality

Relocating the open market to any part of the urban spaces forming part of the City Gate, Parliament and the opera house ruins was completely unacceptable, irrespective of the quality of the design of the stalls themselves, because it undermined the objective of promoting an ethos within society that valued quality, especially in public buildings and public urban spaces, it said.

Doing so also simply served the unjustified requests of a specific interest group to the detriment of the overarching importance of the quality of urban space for all to enjoy.

It also failed to acknowledge that the new Parliament/City Gate project was an important statement of the national built and social heritage and, therefore, made a mockery of the significance of the project to the national identity, the architects said.