Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1483693
9 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • NOVEMBER 2022 JAMES DEBONO TOMORROW the Planning Authority's board is set to de- cide on the fireworks factory proposed by Tarxien's pyro- technic society, a project which is being strongly opposed by the Għaxaq local council and the two band clubs in the locality. The application is slated for refusal according to the offi- cial recommendation included on the PA's public information website, although a case officer report issued last November had issued conditions for the fireworks' factory's approval following a favourable report by a technical committee assessing the safety aspect of fireworks factories. The application by Tarxien's Għaqda tan-Nar San Gabriel that dates back to 2012 foresees the development of a brand- new fireworks factory on a 9,000sq.m agricultural site in the il-Ħbula area in Ħal-Għax- aq. A petition by the local council signed by 1500 residents points out the factory stores are being proposed just 75m from a site used to let off fireworks for the Għaxaq feasts. In earlier objections, Għaxaq's St Joseph band club, which had already relocated its firing site due to sprawling development in the locality, claimed that fur- ther relocation of the firing site is impossible "Since no alternative exists, the issue of this permit would indirectly mean the closure of Għaxaq's own fireworks fac- tory which has operated since 1919… with approval resulting in the loss of an integral part of the feast and the loss of the her- itage traditions which form our identity." The St Mary band club has also noted the irony of approv- ing the fireworks factory, which threatens the locality's feast, while Malta is seeking world heritage recognition for its fire- works displays. The Għaxaq local council is also objecting to the proposed factory, not just because of its impact on the firing site, but al- so because it poses a high risk to residents, industrial buildings, two chapels and a cemetery with religious and historical significance, and an active ag- ricultural community that sur- rounds the site. The site is outside develop- ment zones in the limits of Għaxaq, 250m away from the Santu Kristu chapel. The chapel can accommodate over 100 people but is located outside the 183m radius from habitable areas in which new fireworks factories are forbid- den. And although a house and some other structures are locat- ed in this radius, at law "inhab- ited places" are defined as ag- gregations of houses inhabited by over 100 persons. While acknowledging the "fur- ther intensification of develop- ment within an ODZ area", and take-up of "good agricultural land and possibly compromis- ing an Area of High Landscape Value", in November the PA case officer concluded that the proposal cannot be located within the development scheme boundary for safety reasons. A case officer originally rec- ommended the application for refusal in 2013, but the decision was postponed, pending the ap- proval of a new policy regulat- ing fireworks factories, which was approved in 2014. The application was later giv- en the thumbs-up by the ad hoc technical committee of experts, set up to assess the safety as- pects of new fireworks factories. The committee noted that over the past years, the proposal had been continuously revised in order to comply with all rel- evant regulations in a way that would minimise the risk and dangers within the perimeter of the proposed fireworks factory. Enemalta had also objected to the proposed fireworks fac- tory in 2013 and in 2017, but dropped its objections after committing itself to remove overhead electricity lines in the area. The development is being rec- ommended for approval by the case office because the 2014 policy allows new fireworks fac- tories on dry, agricultural land if these are granted prior ap- proval by the ad hoc committee, which includes the Civil Protec- tion Department, police and the army. Battle of the band clubs: PA to decide on new fireworks' factory in Ghaxaq PA set to decide on 9,000 sq.m fireworks factory proposed by Tarxien's pyrotechnic society in Għaxaq which is opposed by the band clubs in the locality The application by the Tarxien pyrotechnic group for the construction of a new fireorks factory in the outskirts of Ghaxaq dates back to 2012