Ministry insists on moving historical tower for new Marsaxlokk road

The old Marsaxlokk rural watchtower, will be relocated to make way for a new road, but the environment and cultural heritage watchdogs are standing their ground against the plan.

The tourism ministry presented a site map for the site where the historical tower will be moved, 80m away from its pictoresque rural setting near the Kavallerizza tower, to make way for a road linking Triq Lepanto and Triq il-Kavallerizza.

Both the Environment and Resources Authority and the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage are objecting to the tower’s relocation outside development zones. The site is around 150m away from a recently developed public car park – also developed on ODZ land – next to the Marsaxlokk football ground.

Yet both the ground and car park have now been identified for a large-scale development, proposed by the Marsaxlokk football club under a sports commercialisation project, which however includes both a hotel and an old people’s home.

The ERA said the watchtower’s ODZ relocation was objectionable, while the SCH emphasised the historical and heritage importance of the ‘Barumbara’ tower, saying that its location must be preserved. The SCH wants the authorities to re-route the proposed road to safeguard the historical structure.

The SCH had already shot down the proposal to dismantle and rebuild the tower, and initiated a Grade 2 scheduling process to protect it from demolition.

“Together, the Barumbara, the Torri Kavallerizza and other rural vernacular structures in the area form a nucleus of architectural, historic and contextual significance which should be retained and enhanced.”

Still, the government has not withdrawn its bizarre application to relocate a historical structure to accommodate a new road. Environmental NGOs say the plan is a dangerous move that could set a precedent for the relocation of other historical monuments.

Din l-Art Helwa noted the absence of any policies permitting the transfer of historical buildings from one zone to another, let alone outside development zones.

The application is also in breach of new guidelines protecting the setting of historical buildings.

The land on which the tower is is located was controversially added to the development zone of Marsaxlokk in the notorious building zones extension of 2006.

The Superintendence insists that relocation would run counter to international charters such as the International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites, and that a water cistern may form part of the existing building, which may warrant retention and preservation.