Last December the Victoria Local Council announced details of two new projects with a total investment of over €2 million. They are part of the historic city core revamp EU funded project. The announcement was made during a visit to the city [1] by the Prime Minister, Dr Lawrence Gonzi.
The projects are for Independence Square and Savina Square, which will be revamped and the roads leading to Saint George’s Square upgraded. The second project is for the upgrade of the children’s play area [2] near the Victoria Bus Station.
The details of the projects were given as part of the celebrations surrounding the 125th anniversary of the city of Victoria which has been celebrated during 2012 with a number of events, including the publication of a book ‘Victoria a Portrait of a City.’
Victoria is the official name of the only city of the island of Gozo. On 10 June 1887, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of the accession to the throne of Queen Victoria of the British Empire, the town of Gozo was renamed Victoria and raised to the status of a city.
The video below is what the two squares will look like.
4 Comments To "Two Victoria squares to be revamped in EU funded project"
#1 Comment By James A. Tyrrell On February 10, 2013 @ 4:07 pm
Perhaps I’m missing something here but the Independence Square in the video above has been repaved and a few street lights added. Is that what passes for revamped? The only real difference I see is that all the old ficus trees have been removed and replaced with little shrubs. Isn’t that the real reason behind this ‘revamp,’ another excuse to cut down what few trees are left on the island?
#2 Comment By Saviour Tabone On February 11, 2013 @ 7:35 am
Nothing for St. Augustine Square and St. Francis Square?
#3 Comment By Marit Pedersen On February 10, 2013 @ 5:49 pm
I think what you are missing Mr Tyrrel is thats its a video, and its not for real
#4 Comment By James A. Tyrrell On February 10, 2013 @ 8:13 pm
Marit it’s not a video, it’s an animation and it clearly shows short stunted shrubs rather than mature trees which means that as usual they plan on dealing with the trees in the normal manner. Either they will cut them down with a chainsaw or they will do what they like to do to give the impression that they are going to be replanted somewhere, that is attach a chain and drag them out of the ground with a bulldozer! It’s time they started to treat trees with a bit more respect than they do at the moment. I mean it’s not as if the island is swamped with them. Revamp the area by all means. It won’t make any difference to the tourists as we prefer things that look like they have been there forever, but it may be nicer for the locals. The point is it can be done without destroying the trees in the process.