The government no longer intends to sell off the historic Selmun Palace, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana told The Malta Independent on Sunday.
A few years back, an announcement by former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna that the government was planning to sell the 18th century Baroque palace had led to uproar among environmentalists, the public and political parties.
Selmun Palace was built in the 18th century 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.
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.
The government had unsuccessfully tried to sell the property a number of times. The property remained in government hands because the bids received were too low.
Scicluna had again announced plans to sell off the property in 2018.
The following year, minister Konrad Mizzi had said the palace was being used as a television production set. He had also said that the government was seeing how best to commercialise the building, adding that it might be used as a hotel. At the time, the government was in discussions with the Planning Authority to see what kind of hotel could be developed in that area.
Replying to questions by this newspaper, the new Finance Minister said, “there is no plan to sell the Selmun Palace.”
Over 5,700 people have signed a petition calling on the government to take action and start restoring the palace. The petition was launched by Mellieħa Councillor and PN Candidate Ivan Castillo three years ago.
“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.