Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/697149
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 JUNE 2016 8 News Landowners who wanted cemetery, now eyeing Attard petrol station JAMES DEBONO 3,000 square metres of land at Rmiedi, along Mdina Road in At- tard, which had been previously identified for the development of a private cemetery is now being proposed for the relocation of an existing petrol station from Val- ley Road in Msida. Ludwig Camilleri of Luqa De- velopments Limited, which had previously proposed a cemetery in the area, is making the pro- posal. The company includes the con- troversial Piju Camilleri among its directors, an influential figure in the Planning Areas Permits Board of the 1980s, the body that issued building permits under the late Labour minister Lorry Sant. Camilleri bought the licence of the Msida petrol station in March 2014. Subsequently an applica- tion was presented to relocate the petrol station to Salini. But in July 2015 Camilleri ap- plied to relocate the same petrol station to Attard. The newly-approved planning policy now permits the relocation of petrol stations that located in urban areas, to land lying outside development zones (ODZ). Ad- ditionally, the policy allows own- ers to expand their operation to up to 3,000 square metres when relocated to ODZ areas. The application for the private cemetery, which has not been withdrawn, hit a snag when the government approved a new planning policy banning the de- velopment of new cemeteries. The proposal for a 1,000-grave cemetery on a site outside devel- opment boundaries along Mdina Road between Attard and Rabat includes plans for Malta's first crematorium, as well as a multi- denominational service room. The latest plans for a petrol sta- tion, presented on June 17, fore- see development on ground floor and first floor levels. Plans also foresee a take-away, stores and a shop apart from car wash facili- ties and a tyre service garage. 'Sterling reference' for Montanaro from UK drama school MIRIAM DALLI ACTOR Alan Montanaro, who resigned as the president of his charity last week af- ter the publication of an official rebuke by the Com- missioner for Voluntary Organi- sations, has been described as "a shining example to people in edu- cation wanting to ensure children are provided with the best pos- sible opportunities to acquire the life-skills they will need on leav- ing school" by the Helen O'Grady academy in the United Kingdom. Montanaro manages the school's Maltese franchise. The reference letter was sent to MaltaToday after this newspa- per requested a comment on the CVO's rebuke of Montanaro for using "cruel and offensive" lan- guage in a private conversation on the Cambodian children his char- ity Drama Outreach helps. In an email sent by Helen O'Grady Academy's national di- rector Nigel Le Page to Montanaro with MaltaToday's questions, the Maltese actor wrote back – with MaltaToday in copy – telling Le Page that he "may need a sterling reference from [Le Page] who knows my ethics and my standards and my honesty". Le Page told MaltaToday the school was taking legal advice since the publication of the Mon- tanaro report. "Whilst there are discussions still ongoing between relevant parties in Malta, we are not at liberty to comment on the articles published, or answer your questions," Le Page said. He however provided the news- paper with a recent letter he wrote to a person within the Helen O'Grady international net- work, stating a case for Montanaro to be utilised for training due to his experience. He said the Malta Hel- en O'Grady Academy was considered by many within their international network "as a shining example of what can be achieved by a per- son who is dedicated to the self- development of children and will go out of their way to review new opportunities to ensure as many children as possible are exposed to our programme, regardless of their social standing". "I could not speak more highly of Alan Montanaro with regard to operating the Helen O'Grady Drama Academy in Malta," Le Page continues. "So much so that I have invited him to join our In- ternational training team to assist with visits and launches into other countries within our network." He also said Montanaro had strived to obtain funds for chil- dren from under-privileged backgrounds, either through sponsorship or EU funding. "Liter- ally thousands of children in Malta have benefitted from attending classes run by Alan or his teach- ers over the last 12 years. I have been inspired by his efforts and expertise to help others, so much so that I invited Alan to assist with training fellow members of our in- ternational Helen O'Grady family in India, South Africa and Egypt." Montanaro this week apologised for the "insensitive comments" he made about Cambodian children his charity assisted, after MaltaTo- day published the CVO's rebuke on comments he made in a What- sapp chat calling the impoverished children "kidney donors" and "window-washers". Maltese spent €333 million in casinos and lotteries MATTHEW VELLA THE scale of Malta's love for gambling and the lottery has kept growing, as a report by the Malta Gaming Authority reveals that players spent over €333 mil- lion in 2015 in casinos, lotteries, and gaming parlours. Apart from increasing by 6% over the previous year's spend, of the money played a total of €255 million went back into their pockets, leaving the operators of Malta's land-based gaming mar- ket with €78 million in gross rev- enues. Malta's jealously guarded gam- bling and betting industry has doubled in size in a decade since 2004, and in 2015 the entire in- dustry – which includes Malta's 269 online betting companies – contributed nothing less than 8% to the economy's gross value added, making it a key driver of growth in Malta. Altogether the gaming indus- try has left €55.2 million in tax for the gaming authority. Of this, €28.1 million was paid by the re- mote gaming industry alone. In 2015, Casino Malta became the fourth operational casino in Malta. Four new gaming parlours added 70 video-lottery terminals in the market, and 21 lotto booths were added to Maltco Lotteries' total of 246 outlets. The number of visits to Mal- tese casinos, which also serve as a major junket destination for Ital- ian players, increased by 8% over 2014 – a total of 381,608 Maltese players and 399,450 non-Maltese players. The growth is attributed to an increase of 19% in non-Maltese player visits who take part in in- ternational poker tournaments organised throughout the year. Indeed, Maltese visits actually de- creased by 2%, which the Gaming Authority says reflects a down- ward trend from 2012 – Mal- tese players are shifting to the so called 'street market' into gaming parlours. 1,159 people barred themselves from gaming parlours, casinos and bingo outlets, more than half asking for the self-imposed ban to last for six months while 48 per cent opted for a one-year ban. The increase in casino visits directly results in higher gaming revenue from the casinos, which generated tax revenues of €13.7 million in 2015. Gaming parlours also increased across Malta and Gozo – the sis- ter island's two gaming parlours alone had almost 11,000 visits, up by 68% over 2014. There were 46 licensed gaming parlours across all Maltese and Gozitan localities, with 18 street parlours in the southern harbour area that includes the Three Cit- ies, Fgura, Paola, Zabbar and Valletta. These shops registered the largest number of visits at 108,000, an increase of 10 per cent on the previous year. Altogether gaming parlours saw a total of 281,590 visits – an in- crease of 17 per cent over the pre- vious year. They also generated €1.1 million in tax. Maltco Lotteries, which runs the national lottery up until 2022, saw a decrease in sales of 5% from 2014, mainly in instant games. Its draw-based games form the mainstay of its sales (74%), and the decrease in sales also saw a reduction in payable tax of €11.6 million, down 8% from the previ- ous year.