The Coalition for Gozo, together with Moviment Graffitti and Din l-Art Helwa, carried out a direct action on Saturday to shed light on the “imminent threat to Fort Chambray due to the failure to introduce the planning appeals law reform,” they said.

The organisations announced that thanks to public financial contributions, they have just filed two appeals against the two irregular permits issued by the Planning Authority. They also filed a request to suspend construction works while the appeal is ongoing.

The organisations pointed out that “however, due to a flawed appeals law – that remains unchanged despite the Prime Minister’s promise of reform – the Planning Tribunal (EPRT) may refuse this request. This may result in the demolition of the historic British Barracks and the commencement of construction works at Fort Chambray while the appeal is underway.”

“This legal anomaly – which persists to this day due to powerful interests actively opposing the reform – is leading to gross injustices,” said the organisations. “There have been numerous cases where the Planning Authority approved blatantly illegal developments, which were then allowed to be built while an appeal was ongoing, only to have their permits later revoked by the Court.”

They argued that “this led to a surge of developments that were declared illegal by the Court when they had already been built.”

The organisations said that “today’s direct action wanted to highlight the risk of this absurd situation repeating itself at Fort Chambray.”

Speaking in front of the historic British Barracks, the organisations stressed that the two permits issued for the development of Fort Chambray “blatantly violate multiple planning policies. The permits are in breach of the Development Brief, while the planning process was characterised by several irregularities.”

The NGOs also stated that they had submitted “multiple requests to grant scheduling protection to the barracks, all of which were ignored.”

They added that, recently, the Coalition for Gozo also submitted an Emergency Conservation Order request for the British Barracks, which received the backing of over 800 signatories, including the G?ajnsielem Local Council, 25 NGOs, numerous academics and a number of high-profile politicians.

“Despite these efforts, all attempts to safeguard Fort Chambray’s historic heritage may prove futile. If the Planning Tribunal refuses the request for suspension of works, today may very well be the last day that we see an important part of our heritage still standing. If the appeals law reform is not introduced, then all efforts by civil society against an unjust planning system will be in vain,” stated the organisations.

“The Fort Chambray case exemplifies how the government continues to favour powerful interests, even at the cost of destroying national heritage for private financial gain,” said the NGOs “The government has also agreed to cover the costs of land consolidation, restoration, and maintenance of the fortifications – expenses that will ultimately benefit private developers – using taxpayer money.”

They insisted that “this project offers nothing back to the public. The latest contract, approved by Parliament in June 2024, provides no guarantee of public access to Fort Chambray, strongly indicating that the sole objective is to maximise private profits by developing the fort into a massive residential and commercial complex.”

The organisations renewed their urgent call for immediate reform of the appeals law, ensuring that the public’s right to challenge illegalities is truly upheld, rather than further eroding the rule of law.

They concluded the direct action at Fort Chambray with a firm warning: “if the request to suspend construction works is refused, they are ready to take direct action to stop the destruction of our heritage.”

The organisations said that “Police showed up after being contacted by they gated community’s security and took the details of some activists before the left Fort Chambray.”

Photos and video: Coalition for Gozo, Moviment Graffitti and DLH

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