Buildings vacated in Galle Fort will be put to 'adaptive reuse', says Education Ministry
The buildings to be vacated by Government institutions inside the Galle Fort will be put to “adaptive reuse”--or different uses and functions while retaining their historic features--the Ministry of Education said this week.
The Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO recently raised concerns about a directive of the Law and Order Ministry to vacate 15 Government offices from historic buildings in the Galle Fort which is designated a ‘Living Heritage Fort’ by the UN agency. The instructions were issued by Law and Order Ministry Secretary Jagath P Wijeweera in early October.
But the Secretary- General of the Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO said her office first learnt about the development from the agency’s headquarters in Paris. Dhammika Wijayasinghe then wrote to the Secretary to the Ministry of Education--which is the line Ministry-and the Department of Archaeology, raising concern.
“Galle Fort and its fortifications have been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Property in 1988 and the competent authority for conservation and protection of the property is the Department of Archaeology with the assistance of other stakeholders,” Ms Wijayasinghe pointed out. “However, I regret to note that the Cabinet paper quoted in the aforementioned letter and the subsequent action has been taken without proper consultation of the Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO or the line Ministry.”
In a statement this week, the Ministry of Education said the decision to move out the 15 institutions was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management ( CCEM). The Archaeology Department had, for the past 19 years, raised concerns about 35-40 percent of the buildings in the Galle Fort being allocated to Government institutions. A survey had identified that 43 offices in 37 buildings were occupying such space.
“The primary concern of having these buildings in Galle Fort is that they not only create congestion in the Fort area but also that they cannot be expanded to accommodate current needs due to strict archaeological regulations imposed in the area to protect the UNESCO World Heritage status,” the Education Ministry said.
Some of the Government buildings were moved out of the Fort during the past few years. “It was also highlighted that the benefit of inscription of this site as a World Heritage Property and related tourism development should reach the local community as per UNESCO requirements,” the statement said.
After several discussions on the condition, management and use of the premises, the CCEM decided to relocate the 15 premises in the Fort. They are Police Residence, Police In- Service Training Institute, Magistrate’s House, Magistrate’s Court, All Saints’ College, Galle Fort Post Office, Bank of Ceylon Office in Hospital Street, E Court’s Building, Tea Small Holdings, Southern Provincial Passenger Transport Authority, Port Authority Official Bungalow, SIPNARA Building, Maritime Archaeological Unit, Harbour Master’s Office and Sri Lanka Telecom.
The CCEM’s decision will be implemented, said the Education Ministry which, through the Department of Archaeology, is responsible for the preservation, protection and conservation of the historic city. This will be done in consultation with the Law and Order and Southern Development Ministry and District Secretary of Galle.