The Coalition for Gozo is urging the Planning Authority to annul the approval granted to applicant Emmanuel Farrugia concerning the “deplorable development proposal” of `Gigantija Heights.’

The application features a block of 22 apartments and 20 parking spaces located less than 180 metres away from the Ggantija Temples World Heritage Site.

The Coalition comprises of Din l-Art Helwa Ghawdex, Ghawdix, and Wirt Ghawdex.

The planning permission was granted to applicant Emmanuel Farrugia on PA 00570/21 — “Gigantija Heights” on the 9th of November.

In a statement, the Coalition said that during the Planning Authority board hearing on the 9th of November, Dr John Gauci, the applicant’s lawyer, seated alongside developer’s architect Samuel Formosa, asserted that the application “does not fall within the Ggantija Buffer Zone.”

Chairman Dr Emmanuel Camilleri requested the PA Directorate to verify this claim. The Coalition stated that “the Directorate confirmed that the site is situated within the Ggantija Area of Archaeological Importance (AAI) and not the Ggantija Buffer Zone.”

These statements are also documented in the official minutes of the hearing on the Planning Authority e-server, the Coalition said.

The Coalition for Gozo asserts that the Planning Board was “misled” by these statements, as the development in question “is evidently within the Ggantija UNESCO Buffer Zone.”

It explained that in August 2010, the AAI around Ggantija was expanded by the Planning Authority (Government Notice GN 853/2010). In 2015, the Maltese Government submitted a Minor Boundary Modification to the Buffer Zone of Ggantija, viewable here: https://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/139812

This modification extended the World Heritage Site Buffer Zone to account for the 2010 increase in the AAI., the Coalition said. “The proposed building works site falls WITHIN this expanded World Heritage Site Buffer Zone.”

The Coalition added that, in response, during its 39th session in 2015, the World Heritage Committee made Decision 39 COM 8B.46, approving the boundary modification proposed by Malta, viewable here: https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/6396

In light of these facts, the Coalition for Gozo said it is asking that the Planning Authority “should rescind the permission granted for the construction of `Gigantija Heights’ altogether.”

Photo: `Gigantija Heights’ position Buffer Zone – Coalition for Gozo

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