FAA calls for protection of the MCC and Valletta’s World Heritage Status

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) yesterday welcomed the restoration of the Mediterranean Conference Centre, but expressed concern on the assessment of work to be carried out.

The problem was that the Planning Authority had granted the permit before the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage gave its final approval.

“This,” it said, “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.”

The FAA maintained that a building with the dignity of the Sacra Infermeria, the Knight’s hospital which was the embodiment of the Order’s raison d’être, its fundamental role as Knights Hospitallers should not be tampered with by converting its roof into a viewing platform. It 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 FAA pointed out that the hearing had revealed that the roof is expected to hold up to 1,000 people, opening the way to mass events in the future.

“Serious concerns on safety issues where raised during the hearing. FAA draws no reassurance from the PA Board reply that this is the responsibility of the architect. Architects’ responsibility spans 15 years, while we are duty bound to preserve such a noble structure for centuries. Have we learnt nothing from the mistakes of the past?”

The FAA asked whether the ICOMOS/UNESCO was suppressed due to the embarrassing points it raises.

UNESCO, it said, has alerted the World Heritage Centre that a series of Valletta major projects – 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 – had not been accompanied by a Heritage Impact Assessment to allow all parties to assess the project’s impact on the Valletta World Heritage Site.

The report relays the concerns of ICOMOS Malta on the increasing incidents of well-preserved historic properties being negatively impacted by insensitive conversions to boutique hotels, in violation of restoration conventions.

The UNESCO report stresses that in order to sustain the Outstanding Universal Value (ie. World Heritage Status) of Valletta, its Management Plan needs to be completed and ratified.

It also warned, FAA observed yesterday, that the Planning Authority should guard against intrusive additions to buildings within the Valletta World Heritage roofscape, and calls for clear policies on strict building height controls in order to protect the city’s skyline and streetscapes, where vigilance has been very inconsistent over the past years. 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.

It said that 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.

The FAA quoted the Secretary-General of Europa Nostra, who said, “There has to be a larger plan for how to preserve the totality and the context. You can’t end up with a beautiful world heritage site at Valletta but then a new Dubai on one side and a new Abu Dhabi on the other.”

The ICOMOS report also refers to the number of reports of abusive heritage projects being reported directly to UNESCO, which indicates lack of trust in the Maltese authorities.

The FAA adds, “The report’s conclusion is particularly telling, warning that all those involved in the development process need to foster awareness and understanding of the values that must be preserved if the Valletta World Heritage Site is to continue to be enhanced and not endangered.”