The National Protective Inventory and Malta scheduled property register : Malta’s baseline for cultural heritage protection and more

Abstract

Statutory heritage protection in the Maltese Islands first started in 1925 with the publication of the Antiquities (Protection) Act, which was followed by the Antiquities (Protection) List of 1932, amended in 1936 and 1939. Th e Antiquities (Protection) List was essentially a “shopping list” of properties meriting protection however the list was extremely basic and generic. The information provided varied depending on the familiarity with the sites by the people compiling the list at the time. No site plans were published with the list, indeed in certain cases a feature of a house in a street was the only feature being protected within a single locality which made locating the site in question difficult let alone its protection. Apart from this, little was done however to protect heritage in Malta between 1939 and 1992 when the (then) Planning Authority was set up. Indeed, heritage protection by MEPA commenced in 1994 with the identification of the most important archaeological sites and areas, delineation of Urban Conservation Areas for the fortified cities around the harbour and the identification of specific sites then under study through the Marsaxlokk Bay and North Harbours Local Plans. Protection of individual sites and buildings continued somewhat sporadically until 2006 when a thematic scheduling agenda was drawn up. Although a few groups of thematic scheduling had been carried out by then, most scheduling was undertaken depending on the studies being conducted at the time. The NPI and MSPR, originally referred to as the List of Scheduled Property started off as little more than a list similar to the Antiquities List with the addition of pertinent information such as the proper address, images, a site plan denoting the extent and site curtilage if necessary, and other information required for planning purposes. In the late 2000s, the need was felt for better organisation of the information available and with it the better organisation of the NPI and creation of the MSPR.