A proposed parking area could put Ta' Hagrat at risk.
Malta’s heritage watchdog, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, has condemned works that have been carried out within the area (60m away to be exact) of Ta Hagrat temples, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The site owners requested that an illegal parking area which currently serves a nearby car repair shop be regularised. Plans for the nearby area envisage parking spaces outside development zones. Developers have recently removed illegalities in the area in a bid to regularise the ODZ parking area.
The heritage watchdog noted that the previous works were unmonitored and definitely unauthorised, which may have resulted in accidental discoveries. The Superintendence said that any unreported accidental discoveries made are to the detriment of Malta’s archaeological record, which in turns limits the understanding of features that form part of the cultural and archaeological landscape of the Maltese Islands.
The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has also warned that the approval of the latest application, which will authorise the proposed parking area, “may jeopardise the World Heritage Status of the UNESCO inscription.”
Other organisations such as Din l-Art Helwa, the Archaeological Society and Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar are also objecting to the proposed car park, expressing that this is a testament to the disregard that applicants such as this one show towards the protection of national heritage.
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