Newly-appointed PA board member involved in attempt to bury cave discovered during development

A newly appointed board member of the Planning Authority is directly involved in the loss of heritage in Xagħra, Gozo, that occurred during the excavation of the local council premises last week.

Reports show that a cave was discovered during excavation works. Yet despite the legal obligation to report the discovery, concrete was poured over parts of the cave to bury the site so work could continue.

The Shift is informed that the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has now issued a stop notice on all the ongoing works to build a new Civic Centre in Xagħra.

Joseph Tabone, a canvasser for Planning Minister Clint Camilleri, who was appointed to the Planning Authority board last month, is also acting as the Site Technical Officer (STO) of the government-sponsored Xagħra project.

His duty is to prevent what happened.

The law states that whenever anything related to cultural heritage is discovered, works should be immediately stopped, and the discovery should be reported to the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage for further inspection.

Failure to do this is considered a criminal act.

In social media posts, independent MEP candidate Arnold Cassola said this did not happen when the cave was discovered.

Following his report, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage issued a stop notice, and all works were halted until an investigation was carried out.

Joseph Tabone, the project’s site technical officer, was among those responsible for the project and who should have been on site when a cave was discovered.

Yet neither Tabone nor the project manager, Aaron Agius, who is also the mayor of Xagħra, took any action to report the discovery and halt the works.

According to sources, instead of halting the excavation, the contractor on site, Gozitan Road Construction Ltd, was given orders to move quickly with the excavation as concrete was poured close to the cave.

This usually happens so the project developer avoids delays and changes to the project’s plans, which may increase costs.

The Civic Centre, promised in 2021, was expected to be completed by the end of this year. It’s still at the excavation stage.

Efforts by The Shift to reach Tabone for an explanation proved futile.

Tabone, a person of trust at the office of Minister Clint Camilleri until a few years ago, has been working as a site technical officer on a freelance basis.

The new Xagħra Civic Centre is a project entirely financed by the Gozo ministry and is estimated to cost some €1.5 million.

Tabone was appointed to the Planning Authority board by Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri despite a potential conflict of interest as a service provider in the industry.

He joined another four of Camilleri’s nominees to the Planning Board last month, all close to the minister.

These include Architect Andrew Ellul, husband of Elizabeth Ellul, who processed the Planning Authority’s Outside Development Zone permits until she was removed a few years ago; Charles Hili, a former postman and a canvasser of Minister Camilleri; Mario Borg, the CEO at the government-financed Gozo Regional Development Authority; and lawyer Maria Borg who works at the notarial office of Kristen Dimech, notorious for the property deals made in Gozo, particularly by developer Joseph Portelli.

According to Prime Minister Robert Abela, the Gozo Minister, an architect by profession, was made responsible for the Planning Authority to instil more discipline in the construction industry.