Gozo heritage NGO to appeal Fort Chambray planning decision

The NGO has commissioner a technical report to assess the condition of the fort. File Photo: Times of Malta

Heritage NGO Wirt Għawdex intends to appeal the Planning Authority’s decision to allow the Fort Chambray barracks to be demolished. 

Last week the PA approved a master plan to redevelop the historic site into a five-star hotel and apartment blocks, which require the British barracks to be in order to accommodate the project. 

In a statement on Friday, Wirt Għawdex said that, along with other NGOs, it would be fighting the decision and has already commissioned a technical report on the state of the fort as part of its long-term lobbying efforts for the preservation of the fort and maintaining public access. 

“An attempt was made during presentations to give the impression that with the demolition of the British Barracks, one would almost be doing a favour to the legacy of the Knights of Malta — a blasphemous assertion which was subsequently echoed by the Culture Ministry, no less,” Wirt Għawdex said. 

“Successive administrations, and politicians on both sides of the House, have failed the public on Chambray. When a country demolishes pristine, historic buildings to make way for apartments for the rich few, it fails its moral obligations.”

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The NGO said it is questionable as to why the British Barracks were never scheduled. 

“Such an omission naturally raises the question: was an intention to demolish this historic building harboured all these years? In a country which regularly sees both major political parties bitterly opposed to each other, it is noteworthy how in this particular case, both appear to happily allow such a travesty to take place without lifting a finger,” they said. 

They stressed that both the fort and the historic buildings in it, including the barracks are part of our common heritage. 

“Those who partake in destruction at this site, be it by commission or omission, will be tarnishing their name, and history will judge them.” 

The NGO has commissioner a technical report to assess the condition of the fort. File Photo: Times of Malta

Heritage NGO Wirt Għawdex intends to appeal the Planning Authority’s decision to allow the Fort Chambray barracks to be demolished. 

Last week the PA approved a master plan to redevelop the historic site into a five-star hotel and apartment blocks, which require the British barracks to be in order to accommodate the project. 

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In a statement on Friday, Wirt Għawdex said that, along with other NGOs, it would be fighting the decision and has already commissioned a technical report on the state of the fort as part of its long-term lobbying efforts for the preservation of the fort and maintaining public access. 

“An attempt was made during presentations to give the impression that with the demolition of the British Barracks, one would almost be doing a favour to the legacy of the Knights of Malta — a blasphemous assertion which was subsequently echoed by the Culture Ministry, no less,” Wirt Għawdex said. 

“Successive administrations, and politicians on both sides of the House, have failed the public on Chambray. When a country demolishes pristine, historic buildings to make way for apartments for the rich few, it fails its moral obligations.”

The NGO said it is questionable as to why the British Barracks were never scheduled. 

“Such an omission naturally raises the question: was an intention to demolish this historic building harboured all these years? In a country which regularly sees both major political parties bitterly opposed to each other, it is noteworthy how in this particular case, both appear to happily allow such a travesty to take place without lifting a finger,” they said. 

They stressed that both the fort and the historic buildings in it, including the barracks are part of our common heritage. 

“Those who partake in destruction at this site, be it by commission or omission, will be tarnishing their name, and history will judge them.” 

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