FAA criticises assessment of proposed work at Sacra Infermeria

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar said today it welcomed the restoration work to take place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, but expressed concern about the assessment of works to be carried out.

The eNGO said that the Planning Authority had granted the permit for the proposed work before the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage had given its final approval.

“This was compounded by the illegality of withholding information from the public, since the UNESCO report on the subject was not available to the public before the hearing, while PA Board members were given incomplete information, as has happened in the past,” FAA said in a statement.

It insisted that a building like the Sacra Infermeria, “the Knight’s hospital which was the embodiment of the Order’s raison d’etre,” did not need to be tampered with to convert its roof into a viewing platform.

FAA questioned why the option of adapting under-used areas of St Elmo was not looked into.

“While the roof is not to be used as a cafeteria, the hearing revealed that the roof is expected to hold up to 1,000 people, opening the way to mass events in the future.,” it said. “Serious concerns on safety issues were raised during the hearing.”

FAA said it had not been reassured by the PA Board’s claim that security was the responsibility of the architect. Architects’ responsibility spanned 15 years, it argued, while the country was duty bound to preserve such a noble structure for centuries.

FAA asked whether the ICOMOS/UNESCO report had been suppressed due to the embarrassing points it raised.

“UNESCO has alerted the World Heritage Centre about a lack of a Heritage Impact Assessment in the case of a number of major projects in Valletta – Lower Fort St Elmo, the inter-Harbour Sea Link, the Landfront Ditch and Triton Square, National Museum of Fine Arts as well as the Mediterranean Conference Centre – which would have allowed all parties to assess the projects’ impact on the Valletta World Heritage Site.

FAA claimed that the UNESCO report stressed the need for Valletta to complete its management plan in order to sustain its Outstanding Universal Value.

It also urged the Planning Authority to guard against intrusive additions to buildings within the Valletta World Heritage roofscape, and called for clear policies on strict building height controls in order to protect the city’s skyline and streetscapes.  

“Valletta’s protection includes that of its immediate surroundings, with the report calling for the protection of views from and to the city, as well as information on proposed large-scale projects in the area,” FAA said.

“The Planning Authority is reported to have assured UNESCO that a long-standing commitment to a Views and Vistas analysis would be honoured, however the granting of a permit for the Townscape high-rise project that falls within the Valletta buffer zone, shows otherwise.”

FAA noted that the ICOMOS report’s conclusion was particularly telling, warning all those involved in the development process to foster awareness and understand the values that must be preserved if the Valletta World Heritage Site is to continue to be enhanced and not endangered.