The Planning Board has turned down a planning application in Xaghra, Gozo, which sought to sanction works carried out on a two storey residential building beyond what was originally permitted in an approved application.

The Planning Authority said that the applicant, whose property partly lies outside the limits to development and within the buffer zone of the UNESCO Heritage site in Xaghra, sought to sanction the works which included among other illegalities, the excavation of a basement level for domestic storage, the extension of a washroom at roof level, the construction of a garage extension at ground floor and changes to the façade without a permit.

The Planning Board agreed with the recommendation of the Planning Directorate and cited that the illegal works went counter to the policy for the protected archaeological park as only development related to traditional cultivation and maintenance of rubble walls was to be permitted.

“Additionally, the works create an adverse impact on the rural landscape surrounding the Ggantija Area of Archaeological Importance which includes both the Xaghra Stone Circle and the Ghar ta’ Ghejzu,” said the Planning Board.

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