FWA Welcomes Preservation of Fort Chambray’s Historic Barracks and Calls for Stronger Heritage Protection

Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna (FWA) welcomes the excellent news that the historic British-era barracks at Fort Chambray in Gozo are to be preserved.

FWA had formally appealed for the protection of these important historic buildings through the planning process and had publicly and strongly condemned earlier proposals for their demolition or mutilation.

The Foundation congratulates all the NGOs, concerned citizens and private individuals who have campaigned tirelessly to save these historic barracks. Their determination and perseverance have demonstrated once again the importance of public vigilance and collective action in safeguarding our national heritage.

FWA sincerely hopes that the authorities will draw the necessary lessons from this case. Applications proposing the demolition, destruction or unsympathetic alteration of historic buildings and monuments should be rejected outright, rather than being allowed to threaten our architectural heritage in the first place.

Malta and Gozo have already lost far too much of their irreplaceable heritage through decades of poor planning decisions, greed, neglect and ignorance. Every historic building that disappears represents a permanent loss to our national identity, collective memory and cultural landscape.

We simply cannot afford to continue losing what little remains of our architectural and historical inheritance.

The preservation of Fort Chambray’s barracks must not remain an isolated victory. It should mark a turning point towards a more responsible, consistent and uncompromising approach to the protection of Malta and Gozo’s historic environment.