Fifteen organisations, including astronomers and environmentalists, on Wednesday filed an appeal against a development in a sensitive site in Dwejra.

The development would allow a restaurant to install further lighting, leading astronomers to warn that the area - one of the few remaining spots dark enough to observe the Milky Way - would be negatively affected by too much light pollution. 

The Planning Authority had originally refused embellishment works at the restaurant, but a review tribunal overturned that decision. 

Fifteen NGOs raised over €3,000 in a bid to appeal the development in court. 

The arguments for and against the development will now be presented in a hearing set in October, following the court summer recess, by the front's legal representative Claire Bonello, Birdlife said.

"Dwejra is a Natura2000 site, a dark sky heritage area and a designated Special Protection Area under the EU's Wild Birds Directive," Birdlife added.

"Its cliffs are home to a large number of Scopolis Shearwater, with the site being one of the last places on the Maltese islands where light pollution is at a minimum, and from where astronomical observations can be carried out". 

Embellishment works at a Dwejra restaurant have environmentalists worried. Photo: Tripadvisor

Malta's limited space means the country is starved of dark sky areas and astronomers have warned the development would be a further nail on the coffin. 

Environmentalists also charged that the approval of the development would be "disastrous" since the restaurant would be allowed to expand in a Natura 2000 site.

Environment Minister José Herrera has also indicated he disagreed with the tribunal decision and encouraged objectors to appeal “for the best interest of the environment”.

The University of Malta's Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy had found the restaurant's lighting was "effectively more than doubling the night-sky brightness".

But the owner of the restaurant has insisted an engineer's report had concluded that light pollution would be reduced should the development forge ahead. 

Which organisations are backing the crowdfunding appeal?

- BirdLife Malta
- Bicycle Advocacy Group
- Din l-Art Helwa
- FAA Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar
- Friends of the Earth Malta
- Isles of the Left
- Light Pollution Awareness Group
- Moviment Graffitti 
- Nature Trust - FEE Malta
- Ramblers Malta
- Archaeological Society Malta
- The Astronomical Society of Malta 
- Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy - ISSA - University of Malta
- Wirt Għawdex
- Żminijietna - Voice of the Left