Superintendence blasts proposed Cittadella carpark

A 'pastoral' project proposed by the Gozo Cathedral Chapter involving the construction of a 3,000m2 car park area outside the Cittadella and the stabilisation of adjacent slopes in the area is known as 'Ir-Raba' ta' Wara s-Sur' has been shot down by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage.

An Environment Impact Statement published this week on the Malta Environment and Planning Authority website itself states that the "proposed development will not only irreversibly change the historical fabric and visual integrity of the features close to the area of proposed development and of the Cittadella as a whole, but also of the Gozitan cultural landscape in a negative and permanent manner".

The aim of the development - which is set to create 80 car park spaces - is to improve the accessibility and parking facilities to the Cittadella in order to attract further visitors, to the benefit of its religious, cultural and commercial establishments.

Use by other persons (visitors to the Law Courts, and other commercial establishments in that area) will be allowed against a nominal flat-rate fee, which will not be related to the duration of stay.

Another aim of the project is the stabilisation of the slopes around the Cittadella and redress the impact of erosion, mainly due to water percolation and exposure to the elements, which has destabilised the slopes. According to the EIA, this has created a dangerous situation for the public.

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has blasted the proposed car park on the Cittadella slope.

The EIA itself states that "the current site is already being used as a makeshift offroad car-park, creating an area of disturbed land", thus describing the environment impact of the car park as "minor" even if it deems the loss of an area outside development zone  as a major impact.

But the SHC criticised the EIA for "missing the point" that the present car park on the same site is illegal. "It is to be remembered that this illegal parking was the result of unauthorised and unmonitored development that amounts to a "veritable rape of the cultural landscape of the Cittadella and its environs".

According to the SHC, the proposed development seeks to perpetuate the existing illegality of the car park and "exponentially increase the damage already caused to the cultural standing of the Cittadella".

"The very presence of the car park in its current state is senseless, while the proposed increase of the projected extension undermines not only the values of the Cittadella, but also its potential for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List."

One of the impacts foreseen in the EIA is the potential threat to the stability of the slopes and the fortifications. The Superintendence considers that such a threat is unacceptable.

"The Precautionary Principle should be used to guide planning decisions, which should safeguard the stability of the slopes and summit of the Cittadella".

According to the SHC, the mitigation measures suggested in the study are purely cosmetic and totally inadequate because they are designed to hide a car park, whose illegal origin has already damaged the Cittadella environs, adding that the proposed development would have a negative, irreversible and unacceptable impact on the cultural landscape.

The SCH is calling on MEPA to make sure that the illegal works as already executed are reversed, and the site is rehabilitated.

"MEPA should ensure that following its refusal of the application, a programme to rehabilitate the damaged landscape of the Cittadella is imposed."