Jan 09 - Heritage Trust Pushes For Signatures to Save Risso Bakery Building
The Gibraltar Heritage Trust has kicked off an online petition encouraging the developers of the hotel project set to be built on the site of the ex-Risso Bakery building at 27-29 Engineer Lane, to maintain the façade and integrate it into the design of the new hotel.
The motion to demolish the building and replace it with an 8 storey hotel was passed by the Development and Planning Commission in November ‘despite the decision being directly contrary to the Gibraltar Development Plan and the consistent policy of the Commission not to allow demolition of buildings within Gibraltar’s old town’, the Trust insists.
The Trust adds that it voted against the scheme during the meeting and believes that the debate on issues regarding the conservation of the old town need to come into the open and engage the general public. The petition can be found here.
The Trust explains that the recently formed Government working group on Urban Renewal is set to meet for the second time this month to discuss the issues involved. The Trust has been pushing for new, modern, heritage protection legislation for Gibraltar for over 10 years. ‘The legislation is now almost ready, but it will not work in isolation. There needs to be cooperation between stakeholders and incentives to invest in the conservation of our old town.’
GHT go on to note that Gibraltar’s heritage ‘is a non-renewable resource, it makes us who we are. There is nowhere like Gibraltar anywhere else in the world. Once our buildings are gone, they are gone forever. It is not something we cannot allow to happen’.
The petition so far has over 412 signatures.
