About 10 years ago, I took a group of friends to St Anthony’s redoubt at Qala Point, in Gozo. We are admirers of military architecture and fond of our historical heritage and it was worth walking through the rough country road for about 600 metres, starting from the Għar Dorf quarry entrance point up to the fort’s location.

At the time, the building was in ruins and we were delighted when, recently, it was announced that Din l-Art Ħelwa, in conjunction with Qala local council, were undertaking a restoration project on this unique structure.

During the last carnival weekend, we were in Gozo and so we decided to revisit the site to see the progress. However, to our disappointment, a few metres from the main quarry road, the access road was blocked with a makeshift gate which also sported a shabby-looking placard warning against intrusion to the site.

I would like to enquire of the above mentioned entities whether the gate was responsibly erected as a safeguard against vandalism or whether the road was closed by an unauthorised entity with the intention of occupying the site illegally.