Fgura’s Oldest Building Set To Be Demolished
A 200-year old Fgura farmhouse is set to be granted a demolition go-ahead by the Environment Planning Review Tribunal after it was stripped of its scheduling in February 2019.
Maltese environmental NGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) spoke up against the destruction of said building, claiming that the farmhouse is one of Fgura’s only remnants of ancient heritage.
“The significance of this site lies in the fact that these are the last fields and trees to exist in Fgura’s urban core,” the NGO said.
“The old farmhouse stood at the crossroads of the original medieval villages that made up Fgura, facing the 1790 church destroyed in 1955.”
FAA went on to say that the farmhouse incorporates a religious niche and several vernacular features – including ‘xorok’, ‘kileb’, animal stalls, mangers, a ‘barumbara’, and carved decorations.
“For these reasons, MEPA refused attempts to have the building rescheduled in 2009, 2011, and 2015. Yet without warning, in February 2019, the Environment Planning Review Tribunal granted the rescheduling requested by Robert Musumeci, appearing for Landscape Properties,” FAA continued.
“These claimed, inter alia, that the farmhouse is not intact but built during different periods (as are most old buildings in Malta) and that it is out of context, having been surrounded by modern buildings.”
FAA suggested the farmhouse is converted to a public garden, saying that despite the fact that Fgura has one of the highest rate of air pollution in Malta, no urban green spaces allow safe recreation and mental distressing.