'Dwejra turned into an illegal food court and PA did nothing'

Din l-Art Ħelwa and Coalition for Gozo on Wednesday slammed the Planning Authority's failure to remove illegal catering establishments operating in the protected Dwejra Heritage Park.

The coalition includes Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex, Għawdix, and Wirt Għawdex.

In a statement, they criticised the PA for its "systematic failure to prevent the Dwejra Heritage Park from morphing into an open-air food court".

Kiosk seen set up in a public open space located across Fungus Rock with tables and chairs placed on the surrounding land. Photo: Din l-Art Ħelwa and the Coalition for Gozo

On Wednesday, they filed official reports with the authority's enforcement unit, citing two restaurants operating illegally within the protected Dwejra area.

They said these are a boathouse-turned-restaurant at the Dwejra Inland Sea and a kiosk operating as an outdoor catering establishment on open space overlooking the Fungus Rock.

Both establishments include tables and chairs occupying the surrounding land.

The NGOs said both establishments are operating within one of Malta and Gozo's most ecologically and scenically sensitive sites, protected not only at a national level but also recognised as being of international importance through its designation as a Natura 2000 site forming part of a Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area.

The NGOs stressed that existing planning policies governing the Dwejra Heritage Park prohibit new commercial activity within the protected core zone, which includes catering establishments and the commercial takeover of open space through the placement of tables and chairs.

Din l-Art Ħelwa and the Coalition for Gozo's screenshots from an online search showing illegal use of the boathouse as a restaurant and a concrete platform located outside the boathouse-turned-restaurant covered with tables and chairs.

In the case of the boathouse-turned-restaurant, they said that enforcement cases dating back over 20 years remain unresolved despite repeated refusals by the PA and confirmation on appeal that the site should not be committed to commercial activity due to its environmental sensitivity.

"The PA cannot continue turning a blind eye while allowing some of the most sensitive landscapes in the Maltese Islands to be gradually taken over and commercialised in plain sight," the NGOs said.

"The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) and the Local Council also have responsibility to bear”, they added, pointing out that neither of them has taken any action to protect this site from commercialisation, and through this omission are facilitating its blatant exploitation.

"Dwejra is not an entertainment zone or an open-air food court. It is one of the country's most important natural and scenic heritage sites and should be protected accordingly," the NGOs said.

The organisations urged the PA to take immediate enforcement action against all illegal developments and unauthorised commercial activity taking place within the protected site.