Historic Qbajjar battery ceiling collapses

Part of the ceiling of the dilapidated Knights-era battery at Qbajjar near Qolla l-Bajda in Gozo has recently collapsed.

Photos sent to Times of Malta, taken on Sunday, show that part of the ceiling has caved in and left the interior strewn with dangerous debris. Nearby, a group of people appeared to be enjoying themselves on the battery’s forecourt on Easter Sunday.

Police have now cordoned off the entire area.

When the photos were taken on Sunday morning, the battery was not cordoned off. Access to the inside of the battery is relatively easy, as anyone can enter through a small, collapsed wall in front of the entrance.

The person who took the photos wished to remain anonymous.

The collapse must have occurred very recently, as passers-by who visited the battery on Friday afternoon noted that the structure was still intact. The collapse occurred after Malta experienced several days of rain and wind speeds ranging between 30 and 40 kilometres per hour.

The structure still falls under the responsibility of the Lands Authority, although last month the government announced plans to hand it over to heritage NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa, entrusting it with the structure’s restoration and guardianship.

Debris from the ceiling spread across the battery's interior.

Speaking to Times of Malta, Daniel Cilia from Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex said that the NGO has yet to sign a guardianship deal.

He added that once he was informed about the collapsed ceiling, he quickly contacted the police and asked them to cordon off the site.

Sources close to the Culture and Lands Ministry told Times of Malta that the guardianship deed will be signed after Din l-Art Ħelwa submits a number of documents requested by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage (SCH). The deed will proceed once the SCH reviews and approves the submitted documents.

The Qbajjar Battery is an artillery battery built by the Order of Saint John in 1715 as part of a series of coastal fortifications around the Maltese Islands. It is one of only two remaining in Gozo and one in Comino. Both St Anthony Battery in Qala and St Mary’s Battery in Comino have already been restored by Din l-Art Ħelwa.

In the 1970s, the battery was handed over for private use as a nightclub and disco. Significant damage was inflicted through excavations and later accretions, which severely compromised the fabric of the building.

In October 2005, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage suggested to the Lands Department that the battery should be handed over to Din l-Art Ħelwa so the building could be properly maintained, all illegal additional constructions removed, and the battery opened to the public.

Since then, the battery has continued to fall into a state of disrepair, and the guardianship deal with the heritage NGO has yet to be signed, despite the organisation raising repeated concerns about its deterioration.

Last year, Gozo’s Żebbuġ local council and Din l-Art Ħelwa raised concerns that the government might be delaying the restoration of the historic battery due to commercial interest in the site.