Updated 12.05pm

Rabat residents opposed to a planning application to replace an old townhouse with a two storey building in the village core have been backed by Partit Demokratiku. 

The townhouse is believed to sit above ancient Roman remains, while neighbours have also said raised the prospect of underground caverns and a freshwater spring also lying beneath the property. 

In a statement, the PD echoed residents' concerns and said that if approved, the development risked disturbing the area's clay foundations, irreversibly damaging the underground caverns and negatively impact the freshwater spring system that fed various household wells in the area. 

READ: Rabat townhouse may lie above Roman remains

"Partit Demokratiku is of the opinion that impact assessment studies should be carried out by the competent authorities themselves before approving any development application," the party said in a statement. 

The application, PA/07689/16, seeks to demolish the existing townhouse in an alley off Triq San Franġisk and build a two-storey home on the same footprint. Outbuildings will be rehabilitated and the facade retained. A similar application to demolish the house in 2003 had been refused, the PD said.

Rabat local council and NGO Din L-Art Ħelwa have also called for the application to be rejected, while the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has said that without a survey of the archaeological remains the development should be refused outright.