After MaltaToday report, tree near St John’s Co-Cathedral could be transplanted to Hastings Gardens

The St John Cathedral Foundation has written to the Environment and Resources Authority to propose the transplantation of one of the protected Ficus trees near the Saint John Co-Cathedral to Hastings Garden.

The relocation of the tree is being proposed to allow the construction of a subterranean substation beneath the tree. Although the foundation was granted a permit to build the substation four years ago, the removal of the tree still requires an environmental permit, which is pending a decision by the authority.

The application initially proposed relocating the tree to a car park in Ta’ Qali. However, on Tuesday morning, following the publication of the story in MaltaToday, the foundation, through its environmental consultant Jonathan Henwood, suggested moving it to the more prominent location of Hastings Gardens instead.

(Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)

The cluster of Ficus trees in front of the cathedral and near the Great Siege monument forms one of the largest roosting sites for the White Wagtail (Zakak Abjad) in Malta.

Speaking to MaltaToday on Tuesday, Henwood also confirmed that no works will be carried out between October and April, when White Wagtails winter in Malta and use these trees as a roosting area.

He also clarified that, unlike pine trees, which typically do not survive transplantation, Ficus trees have a very high chance of surviving the process.

The decision to place the substation beneath one of the trees followed previous attempts by the foundation to find an alternative location. However, these efforts were hindered by the discovery of shelters in the area.