At an investment of over €12 million, the conservation and restoration work undertaken by MIDI plc at both Tigné Point and Manoel Island are still considered the largest restoration initiative of local heritage, ever carried out by the private sector in Malta.

The restoration works completed to date include the magnificent Fort Manoel and surrounding areas, Fort Tigné, the Garden Battery, the Cattle Shed, St George’s Chapel and the Garrison Chapel. The extensive restoration works kicked off in 2001 and have included intensive studies, planning and conservation works by a team of experts.

The latest completed project is the Garden Battery located at Tigné Point, between Fort Cambridge and Fort Tigné. Built by the British administration between 1889 and 1894, this coastal artillery fortification was constructed as part of a line of defence for Marsamxett Harbour and Grand Harbour. It remained in use up to the early years of the 20th century, but after World War II, the defensive unit became obsolete with the battery being built over to accommodate the British Services buildings known as Tigné Barracks.

The disused battery was rediscovered in the early 2000s, when excavation works at Tigné Point commenced. Although the Outline Development Permit envisaged that the Garden Battery would be demolished as part of the Tigné Point development, a decision was subsequently taken to retain and preserve the battery and to incorporate the entire area into the Tigné Point development.

This decision necessitated the redesign of the Tigné North phase including the underground Trunk Road, delaying the development by circa five years and costing MIDI plc an additional €7 million. Apart from the works associated with the recovery and restoration of the battery, the single most challenging task was the construction of the Trunk Road, linking Qui-Si-Sana to Tigné Seafront, which had to be diverted under the gun emplacements.

The restoration works associated with the Garden Battery were complex due to the various site constraints and the development of the Q2 residential block and The Centre commercial block which were undertaken concurrently. The prime objective of the restoration works was to retain and reinstate as much of the original fabric as possible, in particular the raised gun platforms and the inclined masonry hoods.

Although portions of the original fabric have been lost over time, the restoration project has successfully preserved the original layout of the battery. In order to complete the area, MIDI has recently submitted an application (PA09938/18) to the Planning Authority for the final phase of the development of Tigné Point, which also includes the landscaping and proposed reuse of the Garden Battery area.

The application contemplates that MIDI will create an accessible open public space together with amenities, measuring circa 2,500 square metres, for the residents of Tigné Point and Sliema to enjoy. Once completed, this space will form part of a heritage trail which will link Fort Cambridge to Fort Tigné and which will connect to an uninterrupted pedestrian promenade around the Tigné Point peninsula, from Qui-Si-Sana to Tigné Seafront.