NGOs request emergency conservation order to protect Chambray's British barracks

A coalition supported by environment and heritage NGOs, as well as hundreds of citizens, including academics, historians, and artists, has submitted a request for an emergency conservation order to protect the British barracks at Fort Chambray. 

The request follows repeated, unaddressed calls to grant scheduling protection to the 19th-century structure. The Għajnsielem Local Council has also backed the initiative.

In a joint statement on Monday, the NGOs said that the absence of scheduling protection allowed the Planning Authority to approve the barracks’ demolition on December 12, 2024, to make way for an aparthotel and residential apartments within the mid-18th-century fort originally built by the Knights of St John.

The NGOs advocating for preservation noted the barracks’ historical, architectural, cultural, and typological significance. 

The two-storey building, featuring a series of arched doorways and openings, presents a continuous façade overlooking the Gozo Channel. It is believed to be among the first, if not the first, married quarters in the British Empire. 

Constructed entirely of Globigerina Limestone, the barracks were built by the same master mason who worked on the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu. Research by Din l-Art Ħelwa – Għawdex confirms their existence as early as 1895, as shown in a map from the National Archives of Malta.

Despite the scheduling of most historical elements within Fort Chambray in 2005, the British Barracks were excluded, reportedly to facilitate their eventual demolition for the fort’s redevelopment into a residential and commercial complex. 

“In view of the fact that most of the British barracks buildings in Malta have been granted scheduling protection, even when they are not as historic as the Fort Chambray British Barracks, the exclusion of the only British barracks in Gozo from such protection remains perplexing.”

The NGOs also dispute claims by developers and architects that extensive modifications made in the 1980s diminished the building’s authenticity. 

Their research indicates that the internal layout remains largely intact, with only minor changes compared to the original British architectural plans.

The NGOs argue that the British Barracks should be protected not only for their historical, cultural, and architectural value but also for their potential integration into a sustainable development plan for Fort Chambray. 

“The need to safeguard our historical heritage must come before any interest to generate private profits,” they concluded. 

The statement was signed by BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Din l-Art Ħelwa – Għawdex, Għawdix, Wirt Għawdex, Friends of the Earth Malta, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Moviment Graffitti, and The Archaeological Society Malta.