Historic Gozo battery fenced off after visitors ignore barbecue warnings

The front of the historic Qolla l-Bajda Battery in Żebbuġ, Gozo, has been fenced off after repeated warnings to visitors were ignored.

Din l-Art Ħelwa – Għawdex said the decision to install fencing had been taken as a safety measure following a summer during which people continued to light barbecues close to, and even directly beneath, the historic structure.

“We had hoped that such a measure would not yet be necessary,” the organisation said in a Facebook post.

However, repeated warnings and signage failed to stop people, prompting the organisation to restrict access to the front of the Battery.

Din l-Art Ħelwa said the fencing was installed with the assistance of the Żebbuġ Gozo Local Council, which made its truck available to transport the fencing to the site.

The organisation thanked everyone involved in the installation, as well as the local council, for its assistance.

The Qolla l-Bajda Battery is a historic coastal fortification overlooking Xwejni Bay and is one of Gozo’s surviving military structures.