Wirt Ghawdex has said that it is “deeply worried” by what it calls, “the shocking decisions being taken by the Planning Authority where ODZ land in Gozo is concerned, as well as the insensitivity being shown towards buildings of heritage value.”

In a statement, Wirt Ghawdex said that within just a few days the Planning Authority gave the green light for two separate developments which, it argued, “spell disaster on Gozo”: the Qala villa on unspoilt rural land and the Sannat apartments within the Urban Conservation Area of that village, “ironically belonging to the same developer.”

While the NGO received positively Joseph Portelli’s very recent decision to renounce the Qala permit, following public outrage, it urged the Planning Authority to immediately revoke the permit.

Wirt Ghawdex went on to point out that, “unless this is done straightaway, the permit remains legally valid.”

Wirt Ghawdex said that it had heavily objected to the permit for the Sannat development, outlining the importance of the British-period building in the core of the village.

“Urban Conservation Areas are designated precisely to protect the buildings which they hold but,” the NGO said. “As happens very often, this house fell at the mercy of greedy developers who unscrupulously meander their way through all possible loopholes in planning conditions and regulations.”

The NGO stated that the Planning Authority is “setting very dangerous precedents where development in Gozo is concerned – this is not what the island deserves.”

Wirt Ghawdex urged all those in power and in influential positions “to act with conscience, respect and sensitivity.”

It concluded by saying that, “we are losing our natural and cultural heritage at an alarming rate and cannot afford the situation to remain as is.”

Photographs by Wirt Ghawdex

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