Gibraltar’s urban landscape under debate

Gibraltar’s changing urban landscape and the height of buildings was he subject of a debate hosted by the Gibraltar Heritage Trust earlier this week.

The debate, entitled 'In your face? How high is too high for Gibraltar's urban landscape', was chaired by Delilah Smith, the Trust’s chairwoman, and was well attended.

It came after the Gibraltar Heritage Trust, in collaboration with The Environmental Safety Group (ESG) and Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society (GONHS), published a document proposing a new Planning Scheme to address “the preservation of Gibraltar’s iconic Views and Vistas – our Scenic Heritage.”

The draft document has been presented to Government for initial views and is out for public consultation with a view to formally submitting it to the Development and Planning Commission.

The new scheme would also see “developers having to conduct a landscape impact assessment similar to the environmental impact assessment” currently required regarding some developments.

With so many high rise developments going up, it was expressed at the debate that “Gibraltar is beginning to look like any other place”, and was losing its character.

The draft proposal suggests that a holistic landscape management plan where each area of Gibraltar is assessed and it is determined if the views of either a monument or zone should be protected or not.

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