Birgu regatta club extension could hamstring city’s UNESCO heritage bid

According to the Superintendence, the proposed increase in height and volume in the immediate vicinity of the harbour fortifications will result in a high visual impact

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage is objecting to the proposed addition of a receded new floor to the regatta club in Birgu, proposed by the local council.

The application seeks to demolish illegal structures at ground floor level and to make alterations to the existing façade. The newly added floor would house a conference hall.

But according to the Superintendence the proposed increase in height and volume in the immediate vicinity of the harbour fortifications will result in a high visual impact “that will negatively impact the existing landscape value of the harbour fortification area.” 

The harbour fortifications have been proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. In view of this the Superintendence is objecting to any intensification of development “in the highly sensitive area.”

But conversely, the MEPA’s own internal heritage panel chaired by Magistrate Dennis Montebello has expressed itself favourably of the proposal.

The panel is finding no objection from a cultural heritage point of view, provided that the proposed windows at first floor level are of the same design and proportion as the apertures at ground floor level. It has also asked for all apertures to be in timber.

Previously an application by the Birgu local council to add a storey to the regatta club which abuts on the bastion, was withdrawn after it was shot down by the Superintendence. The application also sought to regularise illegalities, which are now being removed.

The Birgu council wants to upgrade existing facilities and make the area more attractive. 

When asked about the impact of the additional height on the historical landscape Mayor John Boxall had told MaltaToday: “We will surely not create a monstrosity like the new apartments [on the waterfront].”