All Gozitan local councils call for intervention regarding development near Ġgantija temples

All 14 Gozitan local councils have called for immediate intervention regarding the controversial approved development project looking over the Ġgantija Temples. 

The application, approved last November, pertains to a site at Ġgantija Heights, Triq il-Parsott, Xagħra, and has raised significant concerns over its potential impact on the UNESCO World Heritage site.

After the Planning Authority's approval of the development, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage had asked the Planning Authority to freeze the permit.

Expressing dismay over the lack of adherence to UNESCO's Operational Guidelines, the Gozo Regional Council insisted on a comprehensive cumulative impact assessment to evaluate the combined effect of all applications within the buffer zone of Ġgantija Temples. 

The Regional Council outlined that this application and others pose a serious threat to this historically significant site and, consequently, jeopardise the status of other nearby heritage sites.

The Gozo Regional Council emphasised that the approval of the development should have involved a meticulous heritage impact assessment, as recommended by UNESCO. Such assessments are vital to ensure a thorough understanding of the potential consequences and to safeguard the island's cultural legacy.

A deeper cause for concern arises from the fact that six additional applications or new developments within the same buffer zone are currently pending or underway.

In response to these developments, the Gozo Regional Council is not only demanding a thorough review of the approved application but is also calling for an urgent cumulative impact assessment encompassing all projects within the buffer zone. The Council insists that such assessments are indispensable to ensure the preservation of Malta's unique cultural and historical treasures.

“Given all that has been noted, the Planning Authority should have categorically rejected this proposal because of the permanent harm it will do to one of our most treasured archeological sites,” the Council noted.