Qormi local council granted mall’s displaced Knights-era farmhouse

The Qormi local council will not be objecting to the removal of a landscaped public space with planters and benches on the roof of the new Qormi shopping mall Centerparc.

Council minutes refer to a meeting with the management of the mall in which the council will take over the reconstructed Knights-era farmhouse, which was demolished in breach of PA permit conditions and the directives of the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage.

Qormi mayor Renald Falzon informed the council that during the meeting of council members with the management of Centerparc, “it was agreed that the council issues a no-objection for changes to the development” if two conditions are respected. These conditions are that “the development does not have a negative visual impact on the entrance of Qormi” and that “the old building is reconstructed and is handed over to the council for its use.”

When asked by MaltaToday whether the council agrees with the changes which include the removal of the landscaped area, the council simply referred MaltaToday to the minutes of the meeting.

The application seeking changes to a permit issued in 2018 was presented in June, but has only been made publicly accessible in the past week.

The application foresees the sanctioning of the old farmhouse as already reconstructed and its use as “offices”. Plans submitted to the PA also show that area around the farmhouse, previously identified for grass blocks, planters and benches, will now have a concrete flooring without any of the previously approved planters and benches.

The Knights-era farmhouse opposite the Maltapost headquarters in Qormi, now touted as a local council office, was demolished instead of being carefully dismantled and reconstructed as specified in permit conditions for the new Centerparc shopping mall.

The permit conditions, approved in October 2018, specified that the farmhouse was to be carefully dismantled, with the building blocks being numbered and stored in an approved store; and then reconstructed, preserving the original plan and layout, using the original materials.

And as it turns out, the demolition of the original structure was confirmed during a site inspection by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage last month.

None of the original materials, except for Grand Master Pinto’s coat of arms, were salvaged.

“This is not acceptable,” the Superintendence which described the reconstruction of the historical stone features in concrete and cladding with stone as a “pastiche”, said in a memo presented to the Planning Authority.

“It is in clear breach of the approved conditions, since it is not in keeping with approved methodology and the Superintendence had not consented to its replacement.” According to the restoration method statement presented by project architect Charles Buhagiar, the farmhouse was demolished due to “the purportedly heavily deteriorated state” of the building.

The retail complex is developed by Centerparc Holdings, a company owned by Silvan Fenech’s Tum Operations Limited and V&C Developments, which is owned by Charles and Vincent Borg.