Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1453707
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 FEBRUARY 2022 10 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage has expressed "concern" and "considerable reservations" on an application to rebuild a fireworks factory 350 meters away from San Dem- etrius chapel. The San Demetrius chapel is an early 15th century chapel re- built in 1736 just outside Għarb, close to the cliffs of Ras San Mi- tri (the Cape of St Demetrius). The Superintendence for Cul- tural Heritage alerted the Plan- ning Authority to the proximity of the site of a fireworks facto- ry, which was completely de- stroyed in an explosion in 2010 and which is now earmarked for reconstruction in a planning ap- plication submitted last year. In a memo to the Planning Au- thority, the SCH warned of the "intrinsically dangerous nature of this activity, which poses an undeniable threat to any cultur- al heritage asset in this area". The site of the proposed fac- tory is also approximately 350m from the Chapel of St Demetri- us. The chapel is included in the National Inventory of the Cul- tural Property of the Maltese Islands, but is yet to be giv- en formal protection through scheduling, But should the application be further considered, the Superin- tendence will be seeking "strong guarantees for the security of the Chapel", in the absence of which, the Superintendence would object to this application. The Superintendence reiter- ated its strong reservations on the impact on the cultural land- scape of the rural area around the chapel, and asked for pho- tomontages of the proposed development from various viewpoints, including from and towards the Chapel. The 2010 explosion which left four people dead had also shat- tered some of the chapel's win- dowpanes, but the building did not suffer any structural dam- age. In 2007, then PA ombudsman Joe Falzon had upheld a com- plaint by MaltaToday on the "superficial" way a permit was issued in 2006 for the recon- struction of the same factory af- ter an earlier explosion in 2005. On that occasion the appli- cants were asked to insure the nearby chapel against the even- tuality of damage caused by a possible explosion. This led Falzon to question the permit by asking: "If there is no danger to the Chapel of San Demetrius, why insist on an insurance policy? If, on the other hand, there is a danger, no amount of insurance money can replace a historical monument." Falzon had criticised the PA case officer who said that no studies on the impact of a po- tential explosion were required, simply because the chapel had incurred no damage in an explo- sion in August 2005. "How did he know that this was the most massive explosion possible? Is it not possible that a repeat of the accident can take place, but of more massive proportions which will cause damage to the chapel and other archaeological remains in the vicinity?" Falzon had described the de- velopment as an unacceptable intrusion in the natural environ- ment. "Why not take the oppor- tunity to relocate this develop- ment towards a more acceptable site, where it can be screened more effectively and pose no risk to the historical heritage?" asked Falzon. The condition imposing an insurance policy on the chapel was removed by the PA's ap- peals tribunal in 2011 after the second explosion. Curiously, the factory owners appealed the de- cision again, arguing that the PA should not have just removed this condition but reissued the permit in its entirety, doing away with the need of re-apply- ing to reconstruct the building after the second explosion. But this attempt to circumvent the need of another permit was thwarted in a decision in 2014. Fireworks factory 'undeniable threat' to St Demetrius Chapel