The Planning Authority is to consider an application for the 150-year-old Madonna tal-Aħrax statue in Mellieħa to be moved back some five metres away from the threatening rock fissures.

The Restoration Directorate filed the application to relocate the historic statue because of the risks from the cracks in the rock running along the tip of the Marfa headland at L-Aħrax, where it is located.

The statue, which sits in front of the chapel of the Immaculate Conception, dates back to 1870.

According to plans filed with the PA, the statue will be moved to a site where the rock is more stable,where the chapel originally stood. The chapel had also been relocated in the past and now stands several metres away from the rock edge.

Alarm about the threat posed to the statue was raised a few months ago by Nationalist Party MP Ivan Castillo, who is from Mellieħa, and who appealed to the authorities to take action to save it.

“We still have a chance of saving it,” he wrote. “Let’s not let another piece of us be lost forever because we did nothing,” he had written in a Facebook post in April.

The red line shows the dangerous fissure that is threatening the stability of the statue. Photo: PA plans

Experts had suggested dismantling the statue and moving it further inland to a safer spot. Others noted that, rather than the fate of the statue, authorities should be more concerned about cordoning the affected area off to protect pedestrians.

Plans submitted to the PA showing the proposed new location of the statue. Photo: PA plans