Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543739
6 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 6 MARCH 2026 NEWS CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 In January 2025, the Lands Authority and Heritage Malta stated they would undertake works to "eliminate danger" within the structure. Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex welcomed the decision, con- firming that the government would be signing a guardian- ship deed entrusting the NGO to "restore, preserve and man- age the historic Qbajjar Battery in Gozo with access to the pub- lic and visitors to our islands hand in hand with the Żebbuġ Local Council." The Qbajjar Battery is an ar- tillery battery built by the Or- der of Saint John in 1715 as part of a series of coastal for- tifications around the coast of the Maltese Islands and is one of only two left in Gozo and one in Comino. Both of these the St Anthony Battery in Qala and that of St Mary Battery in Comino have been in the past already re- stored by Din l-Art Ħelwa. In the 1970s, the Battery was handed over for private use as a nightclub and disco. Sig- nificant damage was inflicted through excavations and lat- er accretions, which severely compromised the fabric of the building. In recent years, it has been left exposed to the ele- ments, with a real risk of total loss. With unrestricted public access, it has also been used for camping and summer squat- ting and has effectively become a dumping ground. In October 2005 the Superin- tendence for Cultural Heritage suggested to the Lands Depart- ment that the battery should be passed over to Din l-Art Helwa, for the building to be main- tained properly, to have all the illegal additional constructions removed, and to open the bat- tery to the public. The NGO said that "sever- al successive administrations have since made promises to Din L'Art Helwa that the Bat- tery will be passed on the the NGO but various reasons the situation remained stalled for many years while the Battery continued to deteriorate." "We take heart from the con- sistent support extended to us by the Żebbuġ Local Council to preserve this architectural structure and and the increas- ingly strong message from so many across Maltese society that Malta and Gozo's histo- ry and patrimony are not for sale," the NGO said. Din l-Art Helwa says decision is a 'strong message' that Malta and Gozo's are not for sale In the 1970s, the Battery was handed over for private use as a nightclub and disco. Significant damage was inflicted through excavations and later accretions, which severely compromised the fabric of the building