The Planning Authority has granted approval for a 22-apartment block and 20 basement garages near Ġgantija Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Xagħra, Gozo, despite UNESCO’s request for a heritage impact assessment. 

The decision, with seven votes in favor and one against from NGO representative Romano Cassar, occurred less than 200 meters from the temples. 

Cassar insisted on conducting the heritage impact assessment before making a decision and emphasized the project’s landscape impact. The Planning Authority argued that neither the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage nor the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Technical Committee objected to the building’s volume and massing.

The development, located 157 meters from the temples, has faced objections from hundreds, citing potential impacts on Ġgantija’s World Heritage status.

Moviment Graffitti shared the news, highlighting that the PA ‘ignored the request by UNESCO to carry out an evaluation of the impact on the historical site before a decision is taken.’ 

‘It is absurd and totally unacceptable that we have arrived at a point where even prehistoric temples of our country are under threat from this unhinged infrastructural development’, wrote the activist group.

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