Activists, academics and journalists are calling on UNESCO to demand a heritage impact assessment of multiple developments proposed around the Ġgantija Temples.

In a letter addressed to the director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, Lazare Eloundou Assomo, ahead of a Planning Authority decision on one such proposal for a block of flats on Thursday, the group called for “urgent” intervention.

In the letter, they say there are currently five applications for multi-storey blocks of flats “in the part of the buffer zone nearest” to the temples. They claim the Maltese authorities only requested a heritage impact assessment for one of the proposals, following a letter by Eloundou Assomo to Malta’s ambassador to UNESCO.

“You drew the attention to impact assessments needed for developments, but instead of addressing all developments, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage only wrote to one applicant requesting assessment,” they said.

The buffer zone around Ġgantija Temples and the proposed developments in red. Photomontage: Daniel Cilia

The signatories add that apart from the lack of assessment on the remaining four developments, the Maltese authorities also did not honour their obligation to inform his office about proposed developments in the buffer zone.

The cumulative impact on Ġgantija Temples is indisputable and the threats significant

If the proposed flats are approved, they will “disfigure the long-distance views of the temples, mar the streetscapes that are part of the attractiveness of the temple’s setting, and begin to turn the area from an area of community that lives in low-density townhouses to an area of high-density habitations in flats,” the group warns.

The activists, academics and journalists note that the neighbourhood itself has an intangible cultural heritage, with residents decorating the facades of their houses during religious celebrations.

“Moreover, it also forms part of the classical, open, calm skyline that plays part in the integrity and authenticity of the temples and their setting.”

Another issue of concern is vehicle congestion generated by increased population – and therefore traffic – in the area. The proposed flats, they say, do not have sufficient parking spaces, with most residents and their visitors having to resort to streetside parking, “glutting” the neighbourhood with cars.

“Even if a case could be made that any of the individual developments might have a small or no impact (no screening has been held to assess the individual impact), the cumulative impact on Ġgantija Temples is indisputable and the threats significant,” they conclude.

The signatories are Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Moviment Graffitti, Wirt Għawdex, Għawdix, Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex, Prof. Simon Stoddart, Prof. Caroline Malone, Prof. Nicholas Vella, Prof. Conrad Thake, Prof. William Zammit, Prof. Vicki Ann Cremona, Prof. Michael Briguglio, Dr Immanuel Mifsud, Dr Joan Abela, Rev. Dr Nicholas Joseph Doublet, Dr Mark Sagona, Dr Anton Bugeja, Joanna Spiteri Staines, Edward Said, James Debono, Sasha Vella, Victor Paul Borg and Mark Wood.