NGOs call for halt of development near temples

eNGOs say development in a legally protected buffer zone would be a dangerous precedent.

An environmentalit NGO has  called on the government to stop the development of a building proposed for just 20 metres away from Ta’ Ħaġrat Temples in Mġarr.

Flimkien għall-Ambjent Aħjar (FAA), the Ramblers Association and Friends of the Earth criticized MEPA and underlined that this disregards MEPA’s own policy that no development should take place in Ta’ Ħaġrat’s buffer zone.

Heritage buildings are usually protected through scheduling, which identifies buildings which cannot be demolished or changed and often are safeguarded by the creation of a protective area which serves as a buffer zone.

“The issuing of a permit to build a house within this buffer zone, not only violates the integrity of the temples but also sets the unfortunate precedent allowing development not only in the extensive Skorba /Ta’Hagrat Temples Mgarr buffer zone, but also threatens other UNESCO World Heritage sites around Malta as well as natural conservation areas,” the eNGOs highlighted.

They added that at least three other proposed developments had already been refused in the past within the same buffer zone.

They also called on MEPA and the government to drop their proposals to review scheduling every ten years and to uphold emergency conservation orders, giving every possible support to those preserving Malta’s heritage for future generations.