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5 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 13 DECEMBER 2024 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 In his observations, Planning board chairman Emmanuel Camilleri pointed at the outline permit issued in 2012 allowing the demolition of the barracks and that the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has not objected. But board member Romano Cassar, who voted against, de- scribed the demolition of the barracks as a "travesty and an act of madness". Gozo Regional Develop- ment Authority representative Mario Borg also voted against the demolition of the barracks insisting that it should have been integrated in the project. The project is being pro- posed by Gozitan developer Michael Caruana on behalf of Fort Chambray Ltd, who was recently authorised by parlia- ment to sell the site to other developers. In breach of 1992 brief The Fort Chambray Devel- opment Brief approved Jan- uary 1992 clearly stated that the British Barracks is to be re- tained, restored and conserved and that views of the barracks from the sea must be retained. But an outline permit issued in 2012 had already approved the dismantling and partial relocation of the British bar- racks to an area closer to the Knights barracks. Back then the PA's Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee had objected to the relocation of the British barracks, deem- ing this to be in breach of con- servation principle and the ap- proved development brief for the area. The final plans were surpris- ingly endorsed by the Superin- tendence for Cultural Heritage, which welcomed the new lay- out of the development which was shifted towards the centre of Fort Chambray, and away from the perimeter of the for- tifications. Chorus of speakers oppose development All speakers except those connected to the developer as lawyers and architects spoke against the proposal. During the meeting Din l-Art Helwa President Patrick Calle- ja strongly opposed the dem- olition of the British barracks warning that the project will be burying one of the most iconic views which is an intrinsic part of Gozo's identity. "The fort was built to defend the island from invaders and not from locals as is happening today," Calleja said. Calleja also reiterated the re- quest to schedule barracks as a listed building and announced that NGOs have appealed the PA's decision not to schedule it. The developer's lawyer re- plied insisting that the deci- sion not to schedule the British barracks pending the outcome of development applications on the site was taken in 2005 while the decision to demolish the barracks and partly locate them was taken back in 2012. Ruth Mercieca from Movi- ment Graffitti argued that the development brief issued in 2002 should prevail over any permits issued so far. More- over, she pointed out that the outline permit approved in 2012 has expired. "How is possible that we are considering the demolition of a heritage building to accommo- date a gated community? This is simply inconceivable." "How can you be responsible for destroying Gozo's history? Which country does something like this?" asked photographer and heritage activist Daniel Cilia who claimed that the bar- racks included one of the first married quarters to be incorpo- rated in a historical fort in the history of the British empire. Archaeologist Rueben Grima warned approval would be in breach of the Cultural Heritage Act which specifically protects all heritage buildings irrespec- tive of whether these are listed, and called on board members should not be an accomplice of "perverse" decisions taken in the part. Astrid Vella from FAA point- ed out the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage is still in time to intervene by issuing a conservation order to protect the building while describing the proposal as a throwback to the past when the impor- tance of British era heritage was downplayed. She also called on board members to correct the mistakes of the past. "You are responsible to protect the her- itage which we will pass to our children" in an emotional ap- peal to board members. She pointed out that the pub- lic spaces being created simply accommodate the commercial development. PA executive chairman Oliver Magro intervened in the meet- ing to state that the develop- ment brief invoked by NGOs against the development had been superseded by the local plan approved in 2006. Architect Antoine Zammit insisted that the aim of the pro- ject is "to construct a project of quality based on the principles of green urbanism" and respects "the historical context." Zam- mit also argued that the relo- cation of the British barracks' screen and flanks to an area close to the Knights' barracks, follows the urban principles of the project. While presenting photomon- tages the architect insisted that the project represents an im- provement in terms of stepping and volumes over an outline permit issued in 2012. Gaston Camilleri from archi- tectural firm TBA Periti insisted that the application was preced- ed by an outline permit issued in 2012 which had already fore- seen the demolition and partial relocation of British Barracks. He explained that all stones of the barracks which are set to be relocated have been numbered to ensure the proper recon- struction. Incidentally, one of the senior partners of TBA Periti is Alex Torpiano, vice-president of Din l-Art Ħelwa. The expansion of develop- ment in the historical fort fol- lows a parliamentary decision earlier this year in which MPs from both sides of the house ap- proved changes to the original 2005 concession that effectively means that the original conces- sionaire – Gozitan business- man Michael Caruana – can sell the concession to a group of unnamed investors who are reportedly in negotiations over the site. Fort Chambray project to include 105 residences and a 5-star hotel Photo montage of how Fort Chambray will look as seen from the Gozo ferry and (inset) Michael Caruana

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