GAP welcomes MEPA approval to Fort Cambridge restoration

The development permit for the restoration of the Fort, which received unanimous approval by MEPA board, will recover the external appearance of the battery and restore it to its original state.

The fort forms part of the GAP project of the same name, which includes a residential complex that is fast becoming one of the most sough-after addresses in the Mediterranean. The pentagon-shaped Fort Cambridge dates back to the 1880’s. Indeed, construction of the Victorian fortification began in 1879 and was finished in 1898. Fort Cambridge is one of a pair, twinned with Fort Rinella in Kalkara, which has a similar design. Both forts housed one of the 3 famous 100-ton coastal guns, which required a gun crew of 35 and which Fort Cambridge was specifically built to accommodate.

The fort has already had all “additions” removed, including a swimming pool and a restaurant, and its restoration will be done by a team from TBA Periti, under the supervision of architect Alex Torpiano. The architects and the developers plan to restore the Fort to its olden glory, paying particular attention to those details that are considered “the soul” of the fortification. The architects in fact were able to get plans of the original fort from British military archives.

At the same time GAP will seek to instill a new breath of life into the historic site, such that it can be adequately used. MEPA’s Planning Directorate, while recommending the project’s approval, included a condition specifying that MEPA was not opposed, in principle, to any usage compatible with the fort.

A spokesperson for GAP said that “we welcome the issuing of this development permit by MEPA which shows the commitment the company is showing towards the national heritage. Notwithstanding that GAP’s contractual obligation to restore Fort Cambridge is within a 10 year period, the company is factually showing that the restoration of Fort Cambridge is an integral part of the development and will be done within the same time frames of the apartments. Fort Cambridge not only has historic value, but indeed also architectural and aesthetic value which was being lost to time and abandonment. GAP will now ensure that this piece of Maltese heritage, which belongs to the Maltese people, can be enjoyed in all its glory by the very same Maltese people.”