Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar (FAA) is heartened to note that the restoration of Fort St Angelo is picking up momentum and augurs that the 10 million Euros required for the urgently-needed repairs are made available as soon as possible, just as funds have been found for other, less urgent projects.
It is regretted that while laudable efforts are being made in one direction, other heritage areas are being destroyed instead of being rehabilitated. The demolition of a whole area of old Bormla is being planned in order to make room for a social housing project. What has become of the Housing Authority’s enlightened programme of some years ago to rehabilitate old buildings rather than building new stock? With over 76,000 empty units available, is it not possible to come up with other solutions rather than the wholesale destruction of a neighbourhood that is ripe for rehabilitation as a heritage area that would provide urban core housing and enhance Malta’s touristic potential as is done overseas?
Architectural restoration using traditional Maltese building and finishing skills can be undertaken by Maltese workers who are nowadays less keen to undertake arduous reconstruction work, which is being assigned to foreign workers. Although FAA has nothing against foreign workmen being employed and paid legally, government’s first priority should obviously be to provide work for Maltese workers, to foster local expertise and conserve our traditional embellishment methods, preserving architectural heritage wherever possible.
The Housing Authority’s developer zeal has already caused the destruction of a whole row of Msida’s original old urban core houses, demolished to make way for new housing instead of being rehabilitated as a creative re-use of old housing stock. Although these houses suffered from seasonal flooding, this problem is due to be solved by the major flood relief project being undertaken, which would have made the old houses’ rehabilitation more viable. Instead, MEPA has downgraded this area from its previously protected Urban Conservation Area status and permitted the infringement of the Police Law establishing the height of buildings in relation to the width of the street. This means that the old vernacular houses that lie behind the project are to be engulfed by tall buildings a few metres away from them as happened on the opposite side of Msida Valley. Have we learnt nothing from the misguided Valletta slum clearance projects of the 1970s?
Even if the Msida demolition is unavoidable, it is condemnable that tons of old stone, such a precious raw material, are being discarded instead of being recycled (see more photos on http://www.faa.org.mt/ [1]). It is all the more condemnable that the clearance being conducted by a Government agency is contravening basic EU regulations on disposal of construction waste. The stonework is mixed with iron pipes and building hardware which developers are obliged to separate before dumping. Dust prevention measures set out in the Environmental Management of Construction Site regulations are also being ignored. Where are the construction site enforcement officers? Do they turn a blind eye to infringing Government projects which should be the ones to set the example?
Cars passing through the area are being covered in dust, let alone the homes and lungs of residents in the area. Does the Housing Authority not care about the distress and increase in asthma that their flouting of the law is causing to residents? FAA wonders what is being registered by MEPA’s air quality monitoring situated at Msida. Or will heightened levels of air pollution once again be blamed on Sahara dust?
www.faa.org.mt [2]