Emergency conservation order issued for ‘Sliema Gate’
Resources Ministry urges Environment Authority to issue an emergency conservation order for an arch built in 1796 due to it being in danger of damage or collapse.
Upon insistence of the Resources Ministry, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority has issued an emergency conservation order for an arch situated at Msida Road, near Rue D'Argens.
Posting the picture of the arch on his Facebook wall, Resources Minister George Pullicino said that the arch, built in 1796 by Baron Testaferrata, couldn't be restored by government since it was built on private land.
"However, we insisted that MEPA issues an emergency conservation order according to the law. The conservation order was published yesterday in the Government Gazette," Pullicino wrote.
Last year, the Sliema Heritage Society (SHS) had raised the alarm that the arch would soon be on the point of collapse due to neglect.
According to the SHS, the arch was constructed when the road from Msida to Sliema was widened. Owners of the surrounding estates, the arch carried the coat-of-arms of the Testaferrata family.
The heritage society that the structure was said to have been dismantled and relocated to its current position to accommodate further infrastructural improvements, sometime during the last century.