After years in limbo, Il-Qolla l-Bajda battery finally handed to Din l-Art Ħelwa

After years of delays, broken promises and bureaucratic limbo, the government has finally announced that it will sign a Guardianship Deed entrusting the historic Il-Qolla l-Bajda (Qbajjar) Battery in Gozo to heritage NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa.

The decision brings to an end a saga that has dragged on for nearly two decades and left one of Gozo’s few surviving coastal fortifications exposed to deterioration and neglect.

Under the agreement, Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex will restore, preserve and manage the 18th-century artillery battery in collaboration with the Żebbuġ Local Council, while ensuring public access to the historic site overlooking Qbajjar and Xwejni bays.

The handover has been a long time coming.

As far back as 2007, Din l-Art Ħelwa had been promised guardianship of the battery once a controversial commercial lease expired. Yet the transfer repeatedly failed to materialise, stalled by administrative inertia, legal complications and shifting political priorities.

During those years, the historic structure steadily deteriorated.

Left largely unsecured and exposed to the elements, the battery became a magnet for vandalism, illegal camping and dumping. Heritage activists repeatedly warned that one of Gozo’s last remaining coastal batteries risked being lost altogether if restoration works were not undertaken.

The site’s troubled modern history dates back to the late 1970s, when the battery was leased for private commercial use and converted into a nightclub and restaurant.

The establishment was managed by George Said, known as “Id-Diaz”, also associated with the Grotta nightclub in Xlendi. Excavations and structural alterations carried out during this period significantly damaged the historic fabric of the building.

Even after the lease expired in 2003, legal disputes and unresolved enforcement issues meant the site remained entangled in complications for years, preventing meaningful conservation work.

The government’s decision finally clears the way for restoration works to begin.

Din l-Art Ħelwa has already restored other Knights-era fortifications, including St Anthony Battery in Qala and St Mary’s Battery in Comino, both now open to visitors.