Four NGOs on Monday slammed the Planning Authorities' "haste to recommend the destruction and development" of the historic Fort Chambray.
Last week, MaltaToday reported that plans to demolish the British-era barracks at Fort Chambray, part of a broader redevelopment including a hotel and residential units, are set to be approved.
A final decision on the barracks by the Planning Board is set for December 12.
On Monday, Din l-Art Ħelwa - Għawdex, Wirt Għawdex, Għawdix and Moviment Graffitti said the PA had issued two recommendations for approval: one for the demolition of the historic British Barracks, and another for the development of Fort Chambray into an aparthotel, apartment blocks and commercial facilities.
The groups said the recommendations for approval were issued despite around 1,400 objections against the demolition of the 1895 barracks, and the various requests by NGOs for the scheduling and protection of the site.
"Even the Gozo Regional Development Authority has taken a clear stance against the demolition of the Chambray Barracks, stressing that Gozo’s heritage should be protected and preserved because it is a vital part of Gozo’s identity.
"Such destruction of our heritage constitutes a violation of the Cultural Heritage Act and runs counter to PA Circular 3/20 (6.5) that protects the context of scheduled buildings," they noted in a statement.
They said the PA and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage were treating the Fort Chambray site - made up of almost exclusively Grade 1 and 2 scheduled buildings - as "simply an infill building site with scant consideration for its historic, cultural and architectural value".
They added that the proposal to demolish the barracks violated the Fort Chambray Development Brief’s Existing Buildings Retention Policy, which states that the barracks - along with other historic sites within the fort - are to be retained, restored and conserved.
"Despite misleading claims that the barracks are in poor condition, the barracks are still in a very salvageable state and should be restored and converted into a cultural hub or repurposed for sustainable tourism.
"Fort Chambray stands as a symbol of the failures of both Nationalist and Labour administrations, who over the past 30 years of failed concessions, have left it to rot as they handed it over to different developers."
They said the betrayal of the people could not have been clearer last June, when the government and the Opposition voted in favour of a parliamentary resolution to allow the original concessionaire to sell the government concession and transfer extensive tracts of land to a group of other developers.
"Moreover, the government will be responsible for the consolidation works of the terrain underlying the fort, the restoration works and the maintenance of the fortifications.
"Essentially, this means that the people will be paying for the restoration of the fort to allow the developers to pocket millions out of it."
They reiterated their call on the government to halt the plans for Fort Chambray and "do the right thing".
If the PA was allowed to do whatever it wanted, the NGOs warned they were willing to take the necessary action to make those responsible for the destruction of our heritage answer before the law.