Bahrain’s historic homes under threat

Manama / Tribune news service

Residents of 1,300 rundown homes in the Muharraq Governorate are refusing to renovate their homes according to heritage specifications and threatening to knock them down themselves.
Homes in the historic Muharraq, Hidd and Arad neighbourhoods are under a banned list, which means that the Muharraq Municipality can’t grant their owners
permission to bulldoze and rebuild them.
The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca) is banning owners from demolishing the homes due to their historical importance. Muharraq Municipal Council chairman Mohammed Al Sinan said that contractors were opting to do renovation work at three times the normal rates rather than rebuild the rundown homes.
He said that a number of residents don’t want to live in homes that cannot be revamped to modern standards, others complain their homes can’t accommodate their expanding families and some want to build multi-storey commercial or apartment buildings.
“It should be clear to everyone that Baca is unable to buy back the homes or fund renovation, except those located on the old Muharraq Pearl Route, which has been granted World Heritage Site status by the UN,” said Al Sinan.
“I understand the residents’ suffering. They are being forced to live in rundown homes under the condition that if they want permission to renovate then it has to be under Baca’s specifications.
“Contractors knowing that owners of these homes have been given exceptional permission quote three times the normal rates that would be charged for having the home bulldozed and rebuilt using modern technology.
“Many people are threatening to tear down their homes when no one is watching, to force authorities to grant them permission to rebuild and expand to make space for their children.” Al Sinan said history showcases civilisation and it would be wrong to allow any home to be torn down.
“I understand that 1,300 homes are being shortlisted. I believe that half the number, or even less, are of value but Baca is taking time to carry out inspections, because it has only one specialised person to carry out assessments.
“Baca could allow demolition of a home and later realise it is valuable and as a precautionary measure it has put a ban on the 1,300 homes in old Muharraq, Hidd and Arad neighbourhoods. “Some of the homes on the banned list are just 50 years old. It is not about how old the homes are but their significance; there are homes which are 200 years old.
“People want to make money. They want to have commercial and apartment buildings, some want to build more storeys for their expanding families, while others
live in fear their homes may
collapse. “Most homes are in appalling conditions.
“We have tried to get Baca and owners share the renovation costs but no resolution has been reached on that. One party is extremely slow and the other is impatient. In some cases, Baca has set its mind on homes whose owners just want to replace them with shops.”
Baca was given the go-ahead last year through a Royal Decree after the National Assembly approved to take a $48 million loan from the Islamic Bank for Development to fund the initiative which will involve buying properties from homeowners and turning them into cultural attractions.
A total of BD10m has now been set aside in the national budget to fund the Pearl Route project, which highlights Bahrain’s traditional pearling industry.