Heritage Trust welcomes new laws

The Gibraltar Heritage Trust has welcomed the passing of legislation by the Gibraltar Parliament which it said marks the opening of a new chapter in the Rock’s record of heritage protection.

This comes after the Gibraltar Heritage and Antiquities Act and the Town Planning Act tabled at yesterday’s session of Parliament and passed unanimously.

In respect of the former, the Trust said it has been 18 years in the drafting and is a sum of the concerted efforts of many past and present Trustees, law drafters, successive Ministers for Heritage as well as members of the Trust and the general public who took the time to analyse and comment on the Command Paper, published in 2015, and the Bill, published in March this year.

The Trust added that it now looks forward to the commencement date for the operation and enforcement of the Act.

Of significance is that the ‘Town Planning Act’ was also passed during the same Parliamentary session.

“This Act is crucial to the planning and management of our built environment and integral to the protection of the built heritage environment,” the Trust said.

“Together, both the ‘Gibraltar Heritage and Antiquities Act’ and the ‘Town Planning Act’ will be indispensable tools in the management of Gibraltar’s physical and intangible heritage and mark the opening of a new chapter in the Rock’s record of heritage protection.”