Moviment Graffitti calls for Fort Chambray to be given back to the people

by Gozo News · September 13, 2024

Moviment Graffitti is calling for Fort Chambray in Gozo to be given back to the people.

It said that the latest development application is proposing to build an aparthotel with 64 rooms and 50 serviced apartments, 105 residential units, and two levels of underground parking with 319 garages.

“The latest phase of the development of Fort Chambray – which after 30 years of controversial concessions to the private sector is still in a state of total abandonment – wants to transform the Fort and the historic sites within it into a huge complex consisting of a hotel, apartments, restaurants, shops, clubs and bars, among others,” the organisation said.

Graffitti argued that “fort Chambray, which was built by the Knights and was originally meant to be a fortified Baroque city, was left to decay by both Nationalist and Labour Governments, both of whom were complicit in handing the Fort over to the private sector in very questionable circumstances. After years of neglect, it is now being handed over to a group of business and construction tycoons.”

The Organisation went on to say that “despite the fact that the Government had the chance to take back Fort Chambray after the original concessionaire Michael Caruana repeatedly failed to honour the terms of the 2005 concession, the Government failed to do so, instead allowing Caruana to transfer extensive parts of the site to a group of developers and businessmen.”

According to Graffitti, the areas which can be transferred include almost 37,000 square metres of land earmarked for the aparthotel and apartments, and another 21,000 square metres of land that contains structures of historical value, including the Naval Bakery and the Knights’ Barracks.

It said that the British barracks will be partially dismantled and demolished to accommodate the development. The Knights’ Barracks will be turned into retail outlets, restaurants and other facilities. The Knights’ Polverista, a historic and unique architectural structure, will be transformed into a bar, while the Naval Bakery is set to become a clubhouse.

Graffitti stated that “despite the prevailing sentiment of the people against insensitive and unrestrained development, against the havoc wreaked on the infrastructure and on our quality of life due to the excess of development, and against the senseless destruction of our heritage, the Government is refusing to change direction and continues to appease developers’ interests.”

It stressed that “the present Government could easily have seized the opportunity to restore and breathe life into the Fort after the terms of the concession were not met. Contrary to misleading statements by a Nationalist MP who voted in favour of the last concession, it is the Government who is responsible for restoring the Fort’s bastions with taxpayers’ money, and not the private sector. The private sector will simply be given free rein to make a fortune out of the Fort.”

Moviment Graffitti concluded by saying that “the Fort, which deserves to be protected for its historical heritage value, can be regenerated and transformed by the Government in a way that respects its historical context. But instead, the Government and the Opposition want us to have more boring and uninspiring blocks of apartments that will serve only the interests of business and construction magnates.”