The Nationalist Party’s club in Gzira will be demolished to make way for a block of studio apartments.

Każin Jum l-Indipendenza, as it is called – reflecting a now faded marble plaque near the building’s door which commemorates the 25th anniversary of Malta’s Independence, lies in Triq Manoel de Vilhena in Gzira, some buildings further up from the locality’s parish church.

Below that fading plaque one now finds an advert from real estate agents Remax, with a Planning Authority notice beside it – reflecting the building’s fate.

A PN spokesperson told this newsroom that the building is not owned by the party but was rented out from third parties.

Indeed, the Planning Authority permit, which was approved last June, notes that the existing property will be demolished and replaced with a garage at ground floor level and 5 overlying studio apartments and an additional receded one. The applicant is one Mark Agius.

Questions on whether this means that Gzira will be left without a PN club were not answered by the spokesperson.

The loss of the Gzira club – and its apparent lack of a replacement – represents another step backwards from reaching village communities through party clubs.  In 2016 the party sold its St. Julian’s club, while a number of other clubs – such as those in Fleur-de-Lys, Birzebbuga, and Zejtun – had also been identified for sale to help the party overcome its mounting debts.