Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/232206
3 News maltatoday, SUNDAY, 22 DECEMBER 2013 Renzo Piano still wants garden under City Gate JAMES DEBONO FIVE months after announcing that it had scrapped plans for a public garden in the ditch under City Gate to save €1.9 million, the government is now consulting with worldfamous architect Renzo Piano's firm to come up with a less expensive design. But Piano's team is insisting on retaining the ditch as a garden. Contacted by MaltaToday, Antonio Belvedere – a partner in Piano's workshop – made it clear that one of the project's aims was still that of creating a public garden in that portion of the ditch falling in the City Gate's site boundary, between the St James and St John Cavalier branches of the fortifications. A spokesperson for transport and infrastructure minister Joe Mizzi confirmed that the ministry was reviewing plans for the Valletta ditch under City Gate. "This review is being made together with Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) who were responsible for the master plan of city gate." On his part, Belvedere insisted that there was "no plan to divert from our original scheme which has been approved by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority". The objective of the current discussions with government is to review the construction cost "to make the Renzo Piano scheme affordable". "For clarity's sake, our scheme was and still is to create a public garden in that portion of the ditch falling in the City Gate site boundary, i.e. between the St James and St John branches of the fortification." According to Belvedere, this is the most important portion of ditch because the two branches are visible from the City Gate bridge, and belong holistically to the overall scheme. The construction of reservoirs to store rainwater, for use as secondclass water in the new parliament, has not been affected by the change in plans. MaltaToday is informed that one of the options being considered was that of asphalting the ditch, to use it as a public car park as happened in the past. But a spokesperson for minister Mizzi refused to confirm whether this option was being considered, insisting that the project was still under review. Mizzi had announced the decision to shelve the embellishment of the ditch under City Gate in a reply to a parliamentary question in July. The reason given was to make up for the shortfall of funds for the main project. A planning application for a revers- Scale model of Piano's City Gate Project ible three-storey car park in the St Andrew's tenaille, is also being considered by MEPA. The application was presented in 2012 and would have increased parking spaces, while retaining the ditch as an open space to be enjoyed by the public. The project foresaw pedestrian access from the ditches to South Street, through rock-cutting in the sally port tunnel. The little-known sally port is hidden deep in the Valletta ditch is at the foot of the St Michael counterguard, halfway along the ditch from which Marsamxett leads to the area below City Gate. But the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage – the official cultural heritage watchdog – has declared that the proposed car park and the rock-cutting of the sally port were "inappropriate" as these would impact on the "legibility and value" of the fortification. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt NOTE: MALTATODAY TODAY MIDWEEK WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED ON 25 DECEMBER AND 1 JANUARY