A visit to the Hagar Qim Visitors' Centre, now under construction, by the Ramblers Association of Malta has confirmed that the strong objections raised in the press are well founded.

Committee members were shocked by the visual impact of the building, not only on the approach to the temple site, but also on the surrounding rural environment. Reminiscent of a similar eyesore overlooking Dwejra in Gozo, the modern addition in the car park is sharply visible shortly after leaving Zurrieq.

Furthermore the solution is short-sighted: the number of car-parking spaces has been reduced by half when demand for parking is bound to increase with the visitor-friendly centre attracting greater numbers of callers to the site. The shameful prospect threatens that extensions into adjacent fertile fields will be necessary to cater for additional coaches and cars.

Committee members also visited the disused quarry next to the Misqa site. It was unanimously agreed that the quarry would have been a viable alternative with access to the main road which only required widening and asphalting. It is large enough to accommodate a visitors centre and ample parking space.

Heritage Malta seeks refuge behind the argument that such objections are now too late and should have been raised at the pre-permit stage. The Association believes it had every right to expect that, of all people, those entrusted with the protection of Malta's heritage should not have committed such blunders.

Furthermore the argument that the Hunziker design was the chosen winner, also holds no water because the original design was different and, more importantly, lower. The Hunziker philosophy may apply for the glass pyramid affronting the Louvre but certainly does not apply in the case of Hagar Qim. At the Louvre the focus (works of art) is inside the building. At Hagar Qim the focus has been shifted from temple in harmony with nature to the edifice that jarrs with nature. Whilst our forefathers understood this harmony, our modern planners shun it off and approve a crude structure that will remain an unpleasant scar on the national conscience for as long as it stands.

RAM calls for wider public consultation at the design stage on all large and environmentally sensitive projects. Often it is only by select invitation that certain "stakeholders" are let in on proposed development plans while the general public are the last to know. Ordinary citizens cannot reasonably be expected to scan the hundreds of applications reaching MEPA every month. Entities entrusted with our heritage should stick to a holistic view toward conservation. It should be they who must bring public consultation to the fore at the opportune time.

Ramblers are also concerned with the damage being done by construction machinery which has been moving over and adjacent to this archeologically important site. A UNESCO site deserves red carpet treatment and careful treading in the full sense of the word, and certainly not heavy machinery running insensitively.

Reference is made to the recent historical decision taken by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority in the case of the Lija Belvedere. The authority scheduled the area around the Belvedere and then proceeded to annul a building permit issued last March which would have negatively altered the streetscape. In consideration of the acclaimed temporary nature of the construction being raised, and in consideration that the area is strictly scheduled and a UNESCO site, RAM now ventures to call for the Authority to revoke the Hagar Qim permit and have the edifice moved to the quarry. There will be the added benefit of bringing the archaelogically underestimated Misqa site in the reckoning with the two temples.

Ramblers Association of Malta
http://ramblersassociation.blogspot.com/
http://www.ramblersmalta.jointcomms.com/