News of destruction of Fort Chambray’s British barracks reaches London

The Planning Authority’s controversial decision last week to approve the demolition of the only British barracks in Gozo is now making the rounds internationally, as the authoritative British newspaper The Times of London has picked up the story.

In an article titled ‘Uproar over plan to bulldoze British barracks in Malta’, the paper quoted Michael Caruana, the Gozitan businessman behind the deal, insisting that the barracks were insignificant in the fort’s historical context, contrary to the assessment of heritage experts.

Stating that the demolition of the barracks “makes a lot of sense for Malta and Gozo,” he told the London Times that Fort Chambray “is a landmark not because of the barracks but because of the Fort, and we are restoring all the fortifications.”

“It is important for Gozo to grow economically, and it needs high-end tourism,” Caruana stated.

The Shift had revealed how the concession for the development of Fort Chambray was to change hands, opening the floodgates for more development, with Caruana telling this newsroom that making money from the concession “was his right”.

NGOs denounced this and further development in the area, chastizing the authorities for permitting the further destruction of Gozo’s historical heritage. Din l-Art Ħelwa, Wirt Għawdix, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, and many others resisted the permit and called on the government to withdraw it. But they were ignored.

The permit for the development was instead fast-tracked, with the Planning Authority permitting the demolition of the barracks and its arched two-storey exterior to be reassembled as the façade of a new five-star hotel further back from the cliff edge within the grounds of the Fort.

Most of the new development earmarked for the area by a group of developers, acquiring the Fort’s government concession from Caruana, consists of flats to be sold for residential use. They also plan to build a five-star hotel as part of the development.

The Times of London said the 1898 barracks at Fort Chambray hosted military officers and their families during the British colonial presence in Malta, which ended in 1964.

The government gave Caruana the concession to develop it into a mixed-tourism village. However, he abandoned the project for years and left the Fort to deteriorate without delivering on his concession obligations.

Instead of re-possessing the Fort, the government, with the consent of the PN opposition, approved a parliamentary resolution to transfer the concession to new developers. Gozo PN shadow Minister Alex Borg voted in favour.

The new ‘owners’ of the Fort Chambray concession are Francesco Grima, known as il-Gigu, Vince Borg, known as Ċensu n-Nizz, and the owner of the controversial Bitmac batching plant in San Ġwann, Ninu Fenech of Motors Inc, Oliver Brownrigg of BT Group and Mario Gauci of Burmarrad Commercials.