Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1240944
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 APRIL 2020 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE Lands Authority has formally objected to development of a new football ground, an old people's home and a hostel on a newly de- veloped Marsaxlokk car park and an adjacent public garden. The LA said the applicants, Marsaxlokk FC, do not possess a legal title on a substantial part of the land earmarked for the devel- opment, "including a public car park and a public garden". The former Labour mayor of Marsaxlokk, Edric Micallef, is hop- ing the Planning Authority will re- ject his home football club's bid to develop a recently constructed car park with football ground seating, an underground car park, as well as an old people's home and hostel. But the present mayor, Steven Grech, has adopted a more nu- anced position, expressing concern at the project's scale but saying the council will discuss the proposal with the sports club. The football club wants to build a fully-fledged UEFA category 1 football ground with seating, club halls and offices, a hostel for team players, as well as an old people's home with an integrated public garden, a childcare centre, social club, sport shops, pharmacy and physiotherapy clinics. But Edric Micallef blasted Marsaxlokk FC's sports com- mercialisation project, saying the club's proposal for the extensive development of public land, would be detrimental to the neighbour- hood, which has already filed 63 objections to the project. "It is very evident that this proposal is an at- tempt to carry out extensive com- mercial development on public land through the excuse of sports, resulting in the detriment of the neighbourhood. I strongly recom- mend that the Planning Authority refuses this application," Micallef told this newspaper. The former mayor took umbrage at the development of the exist- ing public garden at Port Ruman, which could be integrated into the proposed old people's home, practically rendering it almost pri- vate. And with an underground car park, the garden could turn out to be unsuitable for any mature trees. "Neither an old people's home nor a hostel, which is more the size of a hotel, are compatible with the Marsaxlokk Local Plan," Micallef said. Mayor Steven Grech says the council will ask for clarifications on the project, but he welcomed what he said were positive aspects in the project, saying that Marsax- lokk needed an old people's home, a commitment the Labour Party made for the locality. Marsaxlokk FC president Frank Cachia de- clined to comment at this stage. But Micallef claims the club is proposing a pharmacy in a bid to curry public sympathy despite oth- er applicants being on a waiting list to open pharmacies in Marsax- lokk – pharmacies are regulated by a law which limits the amount of pharmacies that can open in any locality. The existing football pitch ap- pears to be enclosed between the proposed old people's home and the hostel, with window terraces looking out onto it. Micallef claims there is no indication as to how the ground will be accessed, say- ing this raises a red flag for further proposals, such as a possible 'phase 2' for a pool and other ancillary fa- cilities for the hostel. "This area in Marsaxlokk should remain open to the public. With this proposal the area will not remain open but will be all enclosed with buildings, to the detriment of the neighbour- hood, especially to those people who invested in their property here, knowing that this area is out- side the development zones." The public car park adjacent to the football ground was only re- cently built was approved despite objections by the Environment and Resources Authority. Inau- gurated in 2018, the €1.5 million project was the first phase in a €6 million project of regeneration for Marsaxlokk. The then tour- ism minister Konrad Mizzi had said the car park was built as an environmental project, with rural landscaping, to ease traffic prob- lems in Marsaxlokk and as a place for hawkers to park their vans, relieving the promenade from ob- struction by large vehicles. The car park also includes a wa- ter reservoir for 760 cubic metres of rainwater, and paving through which grass can grow – it was sub- sequently awarded an award for being 'environmentally sustaina- ble' in the 2018 Malta Architect Awards, hosted by the Planning Authority. Edric Micallef noted with some sarcasm that by turning the car park into an underground facility, it was doubtful whether any such award would be forth- coming. The current application comes in the wake of a legal notice issued in 2017 which encourages the com- mercialisation of sports facilities. Through this legal notice football clubs, aquatic sports clubs and na- tional sports associations, which were given government-rented property, could dedicate part of the building for commercial ac- tivities that can be carried out by a private entity. The same legislation excluded entertainment establish- ments, gaming shops, residences, hotels and other activities which the newly set Commission for the Commercialization of Sports Fa- cilities does not feel adapted for sport facilities attended by chil- dren. While this legislation has injected investment in sports facil- ities it has also led to greater pres- sure for commercial developments which have little to do with sports. Heritage watchdog puts stop to relocation of M'xlokk tower JAMES DEBONO THE Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has shot down a proposal by the tourism ministry to dis- mantle a historical tower so as to accommodate a new road in Marsaxlokk. It has now initiated the procedure to schedule the building as Grade 2 listed building, after declaring the proposed relocation as being incompatible with the tower's cultural herit- age value. The Superintendence not only objected to the application, but also called on the authorities to rede- sign the proposed road to ensure that the historical structure is retained in its place. The historical struc- ture is located on land in il-Kavallerizza, which was controversially added to the development zone of Marsaxlokk in the 2006 Rationalisation Scheme. The building is a tow- er-like structure described as a barumbara (pigeon loft) which according to the Superintendence orig- inally served as "a rural watchtower". The struc- ture also has historical and contextual value, being just 33m away from the scheduled Torri tal-Kaval- lerizza area. "Together, the Barum- bara, the Torri Kavalleriz- za and other rural vernac- ular structures in the area form a nucleus of archi- tectural, historic and con- textual significance which should be retained and en- hanced," the Superintend- ence said. "Following further review of the site, the Superin- tendence is of the opinion that the site merits sched- uling at Grade 2, which will be proposed to the Planning Authority Exec- utive Council in line with Cultural Heritage Act." Grade 2 properties are largely protected from demolition but may be subject to internal altera- tions. The government's pro- posal for the tower's dis- mantling and re-assembly is tied to the construction of a new road that would pass right through the tower. While not giving any details on where the tower will be relocated, this newspaper is informed that it will be relocated on agricultural land in the val- ley, which is adjacent to a car park developed by Pro- jects Malta. But the Superintendence insists that its relocation runs counter to interna- tional charters such as the International Char- ter for the Conservation and Restoration of Mon- uments and Sites (The Venice Charter of 1964) – the charter states that "a monument is insepa- rable from the history to which it bears witness and from the setting in which it occurs. The moving of all or part of a monument cannot be allowed except where the safeguarding of that monument demands it or where it is justified by national or international interest of paramount im- portance." The Superintendence also believes a water cis- tern may form part of the existing building, which may warrant retention and preservation. The Superintendence has now asked the Mal- ta Tourism Authority to state beforehand any plans it may have "for the future of the structure which may be related to the tourism industry". The tower-like barumbara (pigeon loft) originally served as a rural watchtower The car park built outside development zones in Marsaxlokk next to the football ground Lands Authority objects to football club's project