I have been following the latest developments in the St John’s Cathedral museum development/extension controversy.
I acknowledge the work that has been done by St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation to conserve the cathedral. However I also believe that such proposals for extending underground the museum do not reflect good sustainability principles.
The heritage of the underground city of Valletta is indeed as important as the heritage above ground. Hence, this should not be destroyed to simply increase exhibiting space. It is a known fact that there are a great number of empty properties in Valletta, including the area around St John’s Cathedral. The millions of Euros that would be spent on constructing this underground exhibiting space should be spent in buying other vacant property to be used for the same purpose. I believe that if such proposals will be considered by MEPA this will mean that the promised reform will remain a distant dream. The recent statements by the Church environment commission supporting sustainable development should also be kept in mind on developments being suggested on church grounds. If we start ‘developing’ these areas in Valletta it will be a terrible mistake, and will send the wrong signal that everything is permissible in our planning system.  
The World Heritage site of Valletta has received various ‘blows’ in recent years, such as the monstrous development on Tigne Point just across Marsamxett harbour. I look forward see the Valletta Local Council and relevant authorities take heed and stop such developments, which are harming the status of Valletta and instead continue with a rehabilitation and conservation process.
One must also note that in the past there have been heritage sites which were written off from the UNESCO World Heritage Site listing because they were not being managed sustainably. We hope that this fate will not be shared by our capital city anytime in the future.

Christian Debono,
Friends of the Earth Malta