Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1372546
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 MAY 2021 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE roads agency Infrastruc- ture Malta has filed a bizarre planning request to relocate the existing monument by Anton Agius in Mosta, and make way for a bombastic monument ded- icated to the Virgin Mary. As expected, the agency's 're- ligious' inspired request has drawn the ire of the Superin- tendent for Cultural Heritage. IM wants the Agius mon- ument dedicated to Maltese missionaries, currently located on the roundabout junction be- tween Triq id-Difiza Civili and Triq il-Missjunarji Maltin, to be relocated to the entrance of the Mount Saint Joseph retreat house. But plans for a new, 7m-high monument dedicated to the Virgin Mary, set on an ornate pedestal, were also inserted in plans for changes to the round- about junction and bypass lanes approved in April. The Mosta local council en- dorsed the plans. But now the cultural heritage watchdog is insisting that Agi- us's 'Monument to the Maltese Missionaries', meant to com- memorate the Christian Jubilee Year in 2000, was "purposely created to be viewed promi- nently and with a 360 degrees viewpoint and should not be relocated to a less prominent location." Bizarre request to relocate Mosta sculpture by Anton Agius to be replaced with 7m-high ornate statue of Virgin Mary Seven metre-high tribute to the mother of Christ: now Malta's road agency is filing the kind of planning applications usually presented by local councils Borg's roadbuilders want Virgin Mary instead of Anton Agius sculpture The SCH reminded the Plan- ning Authority of the cultur- al heritage significance of the monument which "forms part of the artistic oeuvre of the Maltese sculptor Anton Agius", whose repertoire includes the Sette Gi- ugno monument as well as the Manwel Dimech statue in Val- letta. The monument was also cast by "an important contemporary Italian bronze founder" who was commissioned a number of im- portant artistic works in Mal- ta, including the Sette Giugno monument. "Should the mon- ument be relocated as proposed, the significance of its design and its surrounding plaques will be completely lost and therefore from a cultural heritage point of view, this will be not desirable," the SCH said. The SCH warned the signifi- cance of its design will be com- pletely lost if relocated, and wants the Agius sculpture re- tained in its central position in a roundabout within the street bearing its name. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt JAMES DEBONO THE car park for Smart supermarket, lo- cated on what once was the garden of a now demolished modernist villa, will ex- pand over the area presently occupied by two dwellings and a yard enclosed behind an old characteristic wall. Villa Moira was demolished togeth- er with the uprooting of 54 citrus trees through a 2019 'summary procedure' in what was the first phase to develop a new commercial unit with overlying apart- ments. With no details were presented on the replacement building, the commercial development was to be assessed in a sub- sequent application yet to be submitted. So the newly vacant site was irregularly turned into a car park to service the Smart supermarket, and the Planning Authority later sanctioned its use in 2020. The new car park was justified as a way to serve supermarket clients during con- struction works for the redevelopment of the supermarket, also approved by the PA in 2019. The permit envisages the phased demolition of the existing supermarket and its replacement by a new building with a five-storey car park and overlying supermarket, retail outlets and offices. Now the owners want to demolish two more Naxxar Road dwellings to extend their surface car park, with a number of trees enclosed by an old characteristic wall to be uprooted. This will increase the car park's size to over 2,300sq.m and in- crease capacity from 77 to 99 spaces. Residents who spoke to this newspaper expressed concern on the piecemeal ex- pansion of the car park, which they fear is intended to clear the way for the com- mercial development approved in 2019. Smart supermarket wants expanded car park More trees to make way for car park on area identified for commercial unit and apartments