Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1422293
9 ANALYSIS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 27 OCTOBER 2021 JAMES DEBONO AN application for a brand new fireworks factory on a 9000 sq.m agricultural site at il-Tal-Hbula in Ghaxaq, is being recommend- ed for approval by the case officer. The application presented by the Tarxien based Ghaqda Tan- Nar San Gabriel has also been given the thumbs up by an ad hoc technical committee of experts set up to assess the safety aspects of new fireworks factories. Back in 2013 a case officer had recommended refusal because it was in breach of the structure plan which banned any urban de- velopment in "rural conservation areas". Enemalta had also objected to the proposed fireworks factory in 2013 and in 2017 but dropped its objections after committing itself to remove overhead electricity lines found in the area by the end of this year. The development is being rec- ommended for approval because a policy approved in 2014 allows new fireworks factories on dry ag- ricultural land if these are granted prior approval by an ad-hoc com- mittee, which includes the civil protection department police and the army. In this case the land is categorised as dry. Ghaxaq already has two fire- works factories: the St Mary's fire- works factory and the St Joseph fireworks factory. Originally the technical com- mittee had objected to the new factory but has accepted the latest proposals after various changes were made addressing its safety concerns. The 9000 sq.m site where the factory is being proposed is out- side development zones limits of Ghaxaq and is bordered to the north by a country road and by a built up area to the west, which is approximately 153m away. The factory will be located just 250m away from the Santu Kristu chapel. According to the case officer re- port the chapel can accommodate more than 100 people but is locat- ed outside the 183m radius from habitable areas in which new fireworks factories are forbidden. And although a house and some other structures are located in this radius by law "inhabited plac- es," is defined as aggregations of houses inhabited by more than one hundred persons. While acknowledging that in view of the proposal is "bound to result in further intensification of development within an ODZ area", and the "taking up good agricultural land and possibly compromising an Area of High Landscape Value", the case officer concluded that the proposal can- not be located within the develop- ment scheme boundary for safety reasons. It also noted that the ex- isting policy allows fireworks fac- tories in the ODZ unless the area is recognized as an Area of Eco- logical or Scientific Importance. Moreover, the location of the structures within the site was based on required specif- ic distances between the stores, processing rooms and other structures, which have been de- termined by the ad-hoc technical committee in order to maximise health and safety. The PA's advisory committee on agricultural has objected in prin- ciple against the construction of fireworks factory on agricultural land. But since the fireworks fac- tory policy permits factories on dry agricultural land, the commit- tee has proposed the imposition of a planning gain to be used for the rehabilitation of agricultural land. Farmers object to development But a number of farmers in the area are objecting to the develop- ment. "I am a full-time farmer who have invested hundreds of thou- sands of euros in our farm and in life stock. The proposed fireworks factory is 130meter away from this, putting all my investment and hard workmanship at risk", a formal objection sent by a farmer to the PA states. "I am concerned about my own safety as well of the infrastruc- ture/machinery that is in place" said a part time farmer who works around 10 tumuli of land in the vicinity of the proposed develop- ment In 2012 the Ghaxaq council had objected to the development pointed out that the develop- ment abuts farmland worked by both part-time and full-time workers. He also referred to the proposed factory's proximity to the Gudja cemetery, a number of green houses and neighbouring businesses, which employ many workers. But in a meeting held last week he Planning Commission agreed to suspend this application for two months and requested the architect to obtain clearance from the Environment Health Directo- rate. Fireworks factory extension proposed in Qrendi A 4000-sq.m extension is being proposed for the Independence Fire Works Factory in Il-Gwejdi- ja, Qrendi. The area is characterised by ag- ricultural fields and is located 260 meters away from the protected Il-Maqluba gorge and 100 meters from a buffer zone for the pro- tected coastal cliffs. As proposed the application en- visages the construction of 5 new workshops, an office, a restroom and four stores for black powder. It also envisages the restoration of collapsed rubble walls. Ghaxaq fireworks factory recommended for approval Another application foresees 4000- sq.m extensions to Qrendi fireworks factory on agricultural land JAMES DEBONO TRANSPORT Malta is objecting to a nine-storey complex on a site designated by the local plan as a patch of greenery located besides the Mikiel Anton Vassalli Bridge, saying this development "may prejudice any future highway improvement". An application by Infrastructure Malta in 2019 had proposed a tunnel passing under Regional Road to improve the traffic flow to Paceville, along another tunnel in Pem- broke. But the application remains suspend- ed for more than two years. The land in question is located further up- hill from the St Julian's government school, in the road leading down to Spinola Bay. The plot of land is accessed through the road leading from the left-hand side of Triq MA Vassalli at the north end of the Regional Road Tunnels. In October 2020, landowner Carmelo Borg presented a zoning application seeking to change the designation of a 2,743sq.m plot of land in St Julian's from public open space, as envisaged in the local plan, to permit resi- dential and commercial development. Plans foresee 5,226sq.m of residential de- velopment, 3,048sq.m of retail development and 1,536sq.m of office development. The development is being proposed in two sep- arate blocks, one of five floors and anoth- er one of nine floors above Triq il-Baltiku. 500sq.m are allocated as a public pedestrian area. Three underground levels of parking were also being proposed together with an under- ground sports complex and pool. The site used to form part of Wied Għo- mor valleyside prior to being cut off by the road junction design. The site is identified by the 2006 North Harbour Local Plan as a "public open space" and is safeguarded by the provisions of policy NHRL01, which prohibits the loss of urban public open spac- es. The same land had been previously iden- tified by Tum Invest Limited for a 24-sto- rey hotel next to the Regional Road tunnel, following a promise-of-sale agreement with Borg, which was subsequently rescinded. TM had not objected to these plans. The development was facilitated after the applicant got hold of a narrow strip of public land right in the middle of this plot though a public tender. Though the timing of the sale of public land had raised concerns, a probe by the Lands Authority had concluded that there was no wrongdoing. The Environment and Resources Author- ity, which had also objected to the Tum In- vest project, has expressed reservations on the proposed commercial and residential development proposed by Borg, insisting that the site should remain an open space. Transport Malta vetoes 9-storey block next to Mikiel Anton Vassalli bridge