Part of the historic Fort Cambridge in Tigne’ has been completely demolished but the developers have insisted that this is part of the restoration project and that the affected part was built in the 70s to house an indoor pool for the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The Malta Independent looked into the matter after a concerned reader called in to say that the fort was being pulled down by bulldozers. When we visited the site it was evident that the left-hand corner of the landward side of the fort has recently been razed to the ground. A number of diggers were on site, one of them apparently levelling the rock where the outer wall once stood.

When contacted by this paper, GAP Director Paul Attard explained that the part that has recently been demolished was built in the 1970s to accommodate an indoor pool. The swimming pool was part of the amenities used by the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which has since been demolished to make way for the Fort Cambridge luxury apartments development. The GAP Group is bound to restore the fortress – almost a carbon copy of Fort Rinella in Kalkara – and the nearby Officer’s Quarters.

“In the 1970s that part of the fort was taken down and rebuilt to accommodate an indoor swimming pool. It is an original part of the fort, even if the façade was built according to the original blueprints. The structure had to be pulled down but we can assure you that it will be built again, according to the original plans.”

When asked about recent criticism about the time taken on the project, which is nowhere near completion, Mr Attard said works had to stop after workers discovered that an internal explosion had occurred in the fort at some point in time. Works had to stop until the relevant authorities studied the explosion and the damages it might have caused to the structural integrity of the building. “The work took a lot of time as the debris had to be taken out by hand. The explosion and its possible effects were up till that point unknown, but we are now very close to obtaining the necessary permits to be able to continue with the restoration project.”

GAP was given ten years to turn the fort into a tourist attraction in 2007 but the recent setback might have set the project off target. Asked if the company could give an approximate date of completion for the whole restoration project, Mr Attard said it was difficult since restoration work is delicate and other discoveries could be made. Works would have to halt and permits allowing them to resume could take some time to be issued.

Mr Attard also confirmed that restoration works on the Officer’s Quarters have not yet started but assured us that the project will be carried out, noting that the company is bound to restore the building.

Fort Cambridge was built between 1879 and 1898. It housed an Armstrong 100-tonne gun, one of only two in Malta, the second being at Fort Rinella. The defences in the area were complemented by Fort Tigné, built in the late 18th century by the Knights of St John, and Garden Battery, another Victorian-era gun emplacement. The fort included guard rooms, underground ammunition stores and an internal courtyard.

In recent years, the fort fell into disarray as it ended up being used for amenities of the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Hotel, which was based on the site. These developments included tennis courts on the glacis, a pool in reinforced concrete in the courtyard and an underground disco. A restaurant was also built on the roof of the fort and an indoor pool was added as well. The developers had previously stated that the alien structures were removed during the first part of the restoration project. 

Photos Jonathan Borg