Naxxar farmhouse heads for demolition

A terraced house and retail shop will replace an old Naxxar farmhouse on Jean de la Vallette Street, which will be demolished despite meriting protection according to heritage authorities.

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage had inspected the property in 2018 and concluded that the old building had vernacular value and should not be demolished.

The SCH advised the architect to amend the proposal, to preserve and integrate the historical fabric and traditional architecture in the proposed development. The Planning Authority followed the advice of the SCH and rejected the application.

But subsequently, owner Victor Chetcuti appealed to the environment and planning review tribunal, arguing that several buildings near the development had committed the streetscape.

While the PA insisted that the farmhosue was part of a stretch of existing vernacular buildings in the existing streetscape, its decision was reversed by the EPRT, which argued that the farmhouse’s context had been altered by neighbouring developments and its vernacular value “inevitably undermined”.