Updated at 4pm with Din l-Art Ħelwa statement

The Democratic Party has urged the  Planning Authority and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage to stop development in Għar Għerduf, Kerċem, Gozo, which is threatening the existence of the only Roman catacombs in Gozo.  

It called on the authority to issue an emergency conservation order to halt the development.

READ; ‘Days of Gozo’s early Christian Catacombs are numbered’

The party also backed Wirt Għawdex, which has raised concerns about the development.

"The Democratic Party questions the granting of the permit since concerns on Għar Għerduf had already been made earlier. The Superintendence had already suggested that the area should be expropriated. So why was the permit issued? Why was this specific permit granted and two others refused? Why is the Planning Authority turning a blind eye on our historical heritage when they knew that Għar Għerduf is a Grade A scheduled site of archaeological and historic importance?" the party asked.  

In another statement this afternoon, Din l-Art Ħelwa urged the PA and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage to take action and stop all works.

"The site is a vitally important archaeological zone and any disturbance, unless for research purposes, will be a crime against Malta's much-vaunted cultural heritage."

It said the catacombs were of crucial importance to Malta's late Roman and early Christian history and merited careful preservation.

Their protection, by means of a buffer zone according to the Gozo and Comino Local Plan, was being undermined by the permit to build a two-storey house with a pool within the area, it said.