Chapter 4Statutory 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.peer-reviewe
