Damaged Qbajjar Battery finally returns to government, ‘id-Dias’ walks away scot-free

The 300-year-old Qbajjar Battery has finally been returned to the government after years of being used and abused for personal profit, but the man responsible is walking away without having to pay a cent for the disastrous state of the historic building.

George Said, a Gozitan entrepreneur who also co-owns La Grotta club, was given the premises by a Labour government in 1978, originally leased on temporary emphyteusis. He turned the Knights’ battery, perched at the tip of a peninsula between Qbajjar and Xwejni bays, into a club called Rook and added illegal structures.

Then, it was left in a state of disrepair as he fought to retain it even though it was no longer in use. Said fought the government in court, retaining hold of the historic building through the power of a precautionary injunction that put a stay on an eviction order in 2007, even though the lease ended in 2003.

An enforcement notice by the Planning Authority in 1999 on illegal extensions as well as a staircase at the Battery’s entrance, was never enforced and no fines were imposed despite additional infringements.

Said, known as ‘id-Dias’, built illegal structures and was never fined despite a 26-year-old pending enforcement order. Now, he will walk away, leaving the expense of the Battery’s restoration to taxpayers despite the profits he earned from the club over the years.

Said has acted similarly regarding his illegal development at La Grotta club. He is refusing to pay fines for illegalities at the venue, which has operated without proper planning permits as it expanded its footprint for decades in the picturesque Lunzjata Valley in Gozo.

Said and the Qbajjar Battery

The Qbajjar Battery was built by the Knights of Malta in 1715 as one of several coastal fortifications around the Maltese Islands.

The lease granted to Said was a direct order. Through Rook Ltd—a company Said opened with Saviour Cremona (the co-owner of the Ta’ Ċenċ Hotel)—the place was turned into a club called Rook, which was very popular in the 1980s.

Though the battery’s lease ended in 2003, Said still wanted to keep the place and refused to let go despite an eviction order.

The battery only returned on the government books last month.

On 7 September 2007, four years after the lease expired, the government informed NGO Din L-Art Ħelwa in a letter that it would evict Rook Ltd and hand over the battery to the NGO.

Yet the government has yet to state what will happen to the battery, which Din L-Art Ħelwa has already raised funds to restore. The organisation has organised clean-ups over the years but remains waiting for a government decision.