A crowd of residents and activists gathered Saturday for a press conference organised by Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA), the Sliema Residents Association and Tigné Residents, calling on the Government to block any attempt to convert Fort Tigné into a hotel. The organisations argued that the fort is a national heritage asset whose future must be determined strictly in the public interest.
FAA coordinator Astrid Vella stressed that while Fort Tigné may appear modest, it is one of Malta’s most significant fortifications. Its innovative design marked a key transition from Baroque fortresses to the polygonal forms later adopted across Europe. Crucially, it is the only part of Sliema included within UNESCO’s Valletta World Heritage buffer zone. Vella insisted the site should not be treated as a development opportunity, but as an integral part of Malta’s historical, architectural and cultural patrimony.
FAA pointed to the Heritage Act, which classifies Fort Tigné as a Grade 1 monument. This designation requires preservation in its entirety and prohibits alterations that would change its external or internal appearance or impair its setting, making hotel conversion legally impossible. Reference was also made to the Constitution of Malta, which obliges the State to safeguard the nation’s landscape and historical and artistic heritage.
The NGO called on Government to retain Fort Tigné in public ownership, ideally under a properly constituted heritage trust, guaranteeing public access and dedicating the site to cultural, educational and community use. FAA insisted that decisions on the fort’s future must follow a transparent and participatory process involving heritage NGOs and civil society.
Placing the issue in a wider context, Vella highlighted chronic overdevelopment in Sliema, St Julian’s and Valletta. She recalled that in 1992 the planning authority had already warned these areas were nearing their carrying capacity. Despite this, over the past decade 225 touristic development permits were granted in Sliema, 325 in St Julian’s and 370 in Valletta. Sliema, already Malta’s densest residential area, sees its population of over 24,000 double in summer, placing severe pressure on infrastructure, water resources, waste management, transport and residents’ quality of life.
Matthew Aquilina of the Sliema Residents Association called for the reopening of the long-blocked public walkway around the Tigné headland, noting it offers one of the few elevated panoramic views of Valletta. Ing. Joe Muscat of Tigné Residents warned that promises of minimal intervention were not credible, citing extensive damage to historic buildings elsewhere. He urged Government to ensure developers honour existing agreements, carry out required repairs to the ring road, and hand over Fort Tigné, the gun battery and the Anglican church to the public without third-party commitments.
Tigné resident Filip Moerman detailed the fort’s unique features, including preserved counterguards, glacis and rare counter-mine tunnels, and noted it was the only Knights’ fortification to resist Napoleon’s occupation.
Following the event, participants held a symbolic march asserting the public’s right to access the foreshore. Vella remarked that generations had been barred from the area, first by colonisers and later by private interests, underscoring the broader struggle over public space and heritage in Malta.
