Nine NGOs have expressed their intent to appeal the Planning Authority’s “outrageous decision” to demolish the historic British Barracks at Fort Chambray to make way for 105 residential units, an aparthotel with 64 rooms and 50 apartments, and other commercial facilities.

The organisations are calling for the public’s support to help them fund the appeals to save Fort Chambray. The public is being encouraged to make donations to raise the funds needed by clicking here.

The organisations slammed what they describe as “the Planning Authority’s blatant disregard for our historical heritage to allow greed to triumph and stressed that the decision to demolish the British Barracks is nothing short of a travesty.”

The organisations argued that “the absurd statements by the Ministry for Culture that the Fort Chambray development plans align with the vision of the Knights show that politicians have completely lost the plot.”

“The growing chorus of protest over the desecration of our land and the anger over the evident collusion between the political class and developers are undoubtedly justified,” the NGOs said.

The NGOs stated that they are “ready to make use of any means provided for by law to stop the Fort Chambray development plans, which constitute a manifest violation of the laws safeguarding our cultural heritage.”

They went on to point out that “the demolition and dismantling of the British Barracks, which date back to at least 1895, go against the Fort Chambray Development Brief, which clearly states that the Barracks, along with other historic sites within the Fort, are to be retained, restored and conserved.”

The organisations stressed that the British Barracks is the most iconic building inside the Fort that is first seen when approaching Mgarr Harbour from the sea. “It is inconceivable that anybody would want to eradicate this image from our collective memory and identity.”

They also highlighted the fact that “the proposal not only seeks to bury the façade of the Barracks behind a myriad of dwelling units, but includes a proposal to construct another three storeys over a new building sporting the re-assembled façade.”

“The omission of the British Barracks from scheduling – despite the various requests by Gozitan organisations to grant them due protection – and the decision of the Planning Authority’s CEO to take a vote on the application (PA 3884/23) for the development of Fort Chambray before a decision was taken on the application (PA 2454/16) proposing the demolition of the Barracks are some of the planning irregularities that characterised the Chambray saga. These irregularities seriously call into question the legal validity of the decisions concerning Chambray,” the organisations said.

They insisted that “Fort Chambray stands as a symbol of the failures of both Nationalist and Labour administrations, who have left Fort Chambray to rot over the past 30 years of failed concessions.”

“The betrayal of the Gozitan and Maltese people could not have been clearer last June, when both the Government and the Opposition voted in favour of a Parliamentary resolution to allow the original concessionaire Michael Caruana to sell the government concession and transfer extensive tracts of land to a new consortium.

“Although the Government had the right to take back Chambray since Caruana had not met the terms of the 2004 concession, the Government and the Opposition instead chose to hand it over to a new group of developers,” the organisations said.

The organisations noted that according to the latest agreement, the Government will also be responsible for the consolidation works of the terrain underlying the Fort, the restoration works, and the maintenance of the Fortifications. “What this means, essentially, is that the people have not only been deprived of the right to enjoy their heritage, but they will also be funding the Fort’s restoration to allow developers to make huge profits out of it.”

“Neither the government nor any developer has the right to destroy part of Gozo and Malta’s history.” The organisations insisted that “they are ready to fight the wanton destruction of our heritage by any legal means available, and reiterated their call on the public for their support.”

The nine organisations:

BirdLife Malta

Din l-Art Helwa

Din l-Art Helwa – Ghawdex

Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar

Ghawdix

Moviment Graffitti

Ramblers’ Association of Malta

The Archaeological Society Malta

Wirt Ghawdex.

Photo: NGOs

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