Unlike other Maltese towns, Fgura does not have much ancient heritage, still less urban green spaces, making it all the more important to preserve what little there is, yet its oldest building, a farmhouse, is facing demolition.
In 1995 Fgura Local Council had won Grade 3 protection for the farmhouse, as parts of it are known to date back over 200 years and the council had expressed its wish to restore the building, reconstruct its original niche and transform the farm into a much-needed public cultural centre and green open space.
The significance of this site lies in the fact that these the last fields and trees to exist in Fgura’s urban core, while the old farmhouse stood at the crossroads of the original medieval villages that made up Fgura, facing the 1790 church destroyed in 1955.
Notarial Archive documents dating to 1505 reveal that the name of Fgura derives from the ‘Ficura’ family that owned fields and farmhouses in this area, of which this is the only survivor. Visible in old maps and photos of the area, the original farmhouse complex was also the site of the Victory Kitchen and wartime shelter, all of which makes this building a symbol of the very identity of Fgura.
The old farmhouse itself incorporated a religious niche, for which the nearby alley is named, and several vernacular features, including ‘xorok’, kileb, animal stalls and mangers, a ‘barumbara’ as well as carved decorations.
For these reasons MEPA refused attempts to have the building descheduled in 2009, 2011 and 2015. Yet without warning, in February 2019, the Environment Planning Review Tribunal granted the descheduling requested by Robert Musumeci, appearing for Landscape Properties. These claimed, inter alia, that the farmhouse is not intact but build during different periods (as are most old buildings in Malta) and that it is out of context, having been surrounded by modern buildings.
It is for this very reason that it is more important than ever not to destroy this building and its surrounding farmland. Instead, FAA maintains, the farmhouse should be given stronger scheduling than ever, and purchased for Fgura residents. Fgura is an urban centre with one of the highest rates of air pollution in Malta, completely lacking in public green areas, which Covid-19 has shown to be essential to our health. The fields of this farmhouse are the perfect site for a beautiful park while the farmhouse itself could be converted to a civic centre, as was done with the Old Hospital at Mqabba and Razzett tal-Markiż at Mosta.
“Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar urges Malta’s environment authorities to really show their committment to Malta’s quality of life by refusing the application to destroy this last vestige of old Fgura and to give Fgura residents a health-giving urban green area of their own”.
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