Heritage Trust welcomes Devil’s Tongue works and calls for wider restoration

The Gibraltar Heritage Trust has welcomed plans for conservation works at Devil’s Tongue Battery and called for the project to form part of a wider long-term restoration of the historic site.

The Trust said the planned clearance of vegetation, assessment of surviving historic fabric and subsequent conservation programme were necessary steps towards safeguarding the battery, which it said had remained largely hidden from public view for many years.

It said Devil’s Tongue had an important place in Gibraltar’s maritime and military history, with its development over the centuries reflecting the Rock’s strategic importance.

The Trust welcomed the Ministry for Heritage’s commitment to a phased programme of restoration and also recognised the support of Gibral Flora, which has operated from the site for decades.

But it said the initial works should serve as the starting point for a more ambitious programme to recover the whole of Devil’s Tongue Battery.

The Trust said it had advocated this approach on several occasions, most recently in connection with the development of the former Bahia Bar site.

It acknowledged that a wider restoration would require sustained commitment, resources and careful planning over a number of years.

The Trust said the current conservation works should therefore be viewed as the first phase of a broader programme of heritage recovery.