The Labour spokesman on the Environment and National Heritage, Robert Galdes MP, was undoubtedly correct when he said that the recent scheduling of the Lija belvedere and the area around it confirms the inconsistencies in the Local Plans approved in 2006 – even though the ‘loyalty’ of Mr Galdes to his employer and his colleagues at MEPA keeps bugging me.
In fact, had MEPA carried out the local plan exercise with the seriousness one would have expected of it, this scheduling as well as that of Villa Bologna in Attard and that of some other 31 buildings would have been part of the local plan exercise and not obvious afterthoughts that contradict the approved local plans. This also results from the numerous minor amendments to the local plans that MEPA consistently dishes out.
Scheduling, however, is not the panacea that many NGOs seem to think it is. There is also such a thing as de-scheduling. As the old Italian adage goes: Chi bolla, sbolla!
In fact, the way London got its ‘Gherkin’ – the headquarters of insurance international behemoth ‘Swiss Re’ – is an intriguing tale of listing and delisting that shows that the way things are done in London are not as ideal as the head of a local NGO implied recently. By the way, what in Malta is called scheduling is known as listing in the UK.
The Gherkin was built on the site of London's old Baltic Exchange building that was blown up by the IRA in 1992. This piece of bad luck precipitated a strange story that led to a listed old building being pensioned off for an ‘unusual retirement’. The old Exchange building was built from red granite, coloured marble, Portland stone, with plaster interiors complete with sea monsters, and mermaids riding dolphins. The Grade II* listed building had one of the finest City interiors of the Victorian and Edwardian era - a grand and lavish domed Exchange Hall richly endowed with marbles, mahogany and stained glass.
After the bomb, English Heritage and the Corporation of London initially insisted that any redevelopment should restore the old façade of the building. At the same time, the activities of the Baltic Exchange trading floor became electronic and there was no need for a building to house them. Moreover, the owners were unable to afford such an expensive undertaking and sold the site to a leading developer.
This decision was made on the grounds that detailed examination of the fabric during dismantling had revealed that far more was beyond repair than had been previously thought. English Heritage also concluded that any acceptable replacement building would have to be of high architectural quality and less bulky than the scheme to practically restore the old building.
When the City decided to approve the Swiss Re application, SAVE – an English NGO –joined the Baltic Exchange and the Victorian Society and asked the Secretary of State (Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott) to call the application for consideration by a public inquiry. He decided not to do this despite the fact that it was submitted that the proposal conflicted with national policies on historic buildings and had a significant impact beyond its immediate neighbourhood (the proposed tower would be the third highest building in London) besides raising significant architectural and urban design issues. The legal challenge maintained that in the absence of any other reasons, the Secretary of State's decision not to hold the enquiry was not rational. SAVE, however, was forced to withdraw its action just before the case was due to be heard in court after it received an official notice to the effect that although the Secretary of State considered the application to meet his criteria for a public inquiry, he believed that the Corporation of London had already properly considered all the relevant issues and that a public inquiry was therefore unnecessary. Meanwhile, Swiss Re were threatening to claim project costs in excess of £10,000 a day, if the case was lost
According to UK Government guidance prevalent at the day, "demolition of any Grade II* building should be wholly exceptional and require the strongest justification". Demolition is tested against a set of criteria laid out in the guidance. In the case of the Baltic Exchange, there was no doubt that the Exchange Hall could be rebuilt. However, viability of the project is also considered a key test. The developers held that the failure of the rebuilding proposal to find a buyer showed that restoration was not viable. But the NGOs argued that the scheme could have been improved and that only the use of the Hall as part of an office was attempted.
Since SAVE's campaign, it has been held in England that the architectural merits of a replacement building cannot on their own justify the demolition of a listed building. If it can be demonstrated that demolition would also result in substantial benefits to the community, then this can be weighed against arguments in favour of preservation, but in the case of the Gherkin, the efforts of the developers to show that there were benefits to the community were weak.
NGOs in England worry that the case of the Baltic Exchange sent out the message that if a developer lobbies hard and high enough and finds a prestigious enough architect, then they can still secure the demolition of a listed building, regardless of guidance and legislation. At the time, The Architects' Journal had run a story claiming that at a breakfast meeting between leaders of City institutions and Tony Blair, held at No. 10 Downing Street, Swiss Re complained about the delays with the Gherkin and Blair intimated that he would see what he could do.
The old building – or its building blocks and other parts - was first stored in a Reading warehouse and then shipped to Cheshire. Eventually it was bought via an advert on the internet by two Estonian businessmen who shipped it to Tallinn to be rebuilt as part of a prestige office and housing development. However, after problems with the Tallinn planning authorities, it is now set to be sited elsewhere and to be used as Estonia’s maritime museum!
I don’t know whether the IRA will ever bomb one of Malta’s scheduled buildings. But I am certain de-scheduling and political intrigue will for ever be on the agenda of any country.
Who knows, maybe some day even Malta will have its own Gherkin!