Over 5,700 people have signed a petition calling on the government to take action and start restoring one of Malta’s 18th century heritage buildings, Selmun Palace, which has been left in a terrible state over the past years.
The petition was launched by Mellieħa Councillor and PN Candidate Ivan Castillo three years ago, as a reaction to former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna’s plans to sell this Baroque building back in 2018.
“We need to understand that this land and our heritage is not ours to sell. It was lent to us by the previous generation to care for and nourish, to improve and restore it, to keep it in its most natural form and pass on to the next generation so it can be admired by them and more to come. Unfortunately, we have failed! And terribly might I add, we need to do more!” Castillo states in his petition.
Selmun Palace was built in the 18th centry by a charity known as the Monte della Redenzione degli Schiavi and it mainly served as relaxation grounds for the Knights of the Order of St John. It was later used as a naval hospital by the British when Malta rebelled against the French.
Signs of neglect: part of the facade of Selmun Palace
Despite its history, this villa has not received much attention other than being amalgamated into a hotel that was built adjacent to it by Selmun Palace hotel Company Ltd; a branch of Air Malta which held custody of the villa. Yet, in 2011, this project was dropped due to the airline’s restructuring strategy through which it decided to focus solely on aviation and travel. In January of the next year, the Planning Authority (which was still the Malta Environment and Planning Authority back then) scheduled the villa as a Grade 1 national monument as per Government Notice 22, but it did not receive any attention, despite promises by the government over the years.
Former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna was then reported as saying that plans are underway to sell Selmun Palace, but nothing came out of it after the uproar it caused among environmentalists, the public and political parties.
Nonetheless, Castillo has renewed his call for the restoration of this villa, telling this newsroom that the palace is still deteriorating and falling apart, comparing it to the nearby Fort Campbell.
Fort Campbell
“Funds to restore this national monument should be voted for. This in itself will create work and will definitely revamp the area which unfortunately, along with Fort Campbell, has fallen into disarray and is in a dangerous state; I have heard word that the barracks are to be demolished as they are extremely dangerous; the ceiling has started to cave in.”
He believes that this area has huge potential, and the council can contribute a lot if there were to be a public-private partnership project wherein Fort Campbell would be devolved to the council while Selmun Palace is handed over to an entity that will care for it.
“The Red Tower and White Tower have been restored, why is Selmun still not?”
The petition has gotten over 5,700 signatures till now and Castillo is aiming to receive 10,000 in total so that he can write formally to the government and set it on the parliamentary agenda.
A holistic plan not followed
With regards to Fort Campbell, PN MP Robert Cutajar had asked a Parliamentary Question on the issue back in May, saying that when he was Mayor the council had launched a process to take control over Fort Campbell, questioning what happened after the 2013 elections. "The Mellieha local council did not continue with its plans for Fort Campbell," the response to the Parliamentary Question read.
Cutajar holds that there used to be a holistic plan through which the council had restored Selmun farms along with some pill boxes. "Unfortunately that plan was dropped after the 2013 elections," he had said. "The plan was to use government and EU funds to help restore the sites in Selmun."