Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/874823
10 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2017 News Fireworks threat to Gozo's legendary San Dimitri chapel JAMES DEBONO THE Superintendence for Cultural Herit- age has warned that a fireworks factory proposed in Gharb poses "a real threat to the integrity" of the historic San Dimitri chapel, which is located less than 300 me- tres away from the site. The application has already been cleared by an ad hoc committee that assesses the technical aspects for new fireworks facto- ries before they get Planning Authority ap- proval. The report from the committee, which is chaired by police inspector Sandro Camill- eri, fails to refer to any dangers posed to the historic chapel. The Superintendence warned that the proposed development will also negatively impact the landscape, as it will be visible from various parts of Gozo including the Gordan lighthouse and its surroundings in Ghasri. The St Demetrius chapel is an early 15th century chapel that was rebuilt in 1736 just outside Gharb, close to the cliffs of Ras San Mitri (the Cape of St Demetrius). In its objections, the Superintendence called for a Risk Assessment Report to clearly assess the risk to this chapel. The Superintendence also called for ad- equate mitigation measure guarantees to protect and safeguard this chapel in case of an accident if the permit is approved. NGO Wirt Ghawdex also called for the refusal of the application, noting that it raises strong concerns with regard to its negative impact on the surrounding envi- ronment, in particular its proximity to the historic chapel. A policy regulating fireworks factories approved in 2015 allows the development of fireworks factories on agricultural land as long as this is registered as being "dry", something which has already been con- firmed by the Agriculture and Rural Pay- ments Agency. Fireworks enthusiasts who talked to Mal- taToday insisted that the need for fireworks factories is strongly felt in Gozo because presently the island has to rely on fireworks imported from Malta. When the new pol- icy was approved in 2014, there were 35 licensed fireworks factories in Malta but only one in Gozo. But the PA has already approved two fire- works factories in Gharb, with two more factories being proposed in the village. Two other fireworks factories are being proposed outside development zones in Kercem and Qala. Another factory in the vicinity of the chapel was approved in 2007. On that oc- casion the applicants were asked to insure the nearby chapel against the eventuality of damage caused by a possible explosion. This led then planning ombudsman Joe Falzon to question the permit by asking: "If there is no danger to the Chapel of San Dimitri, 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 case officer for saying that no studies on the impact of a potential explosion were required, simply because the chapel had incurred no dam- age in an explosion in August 2005. "How did he know that this was the most massive explosion possible? Is it not possi- ble 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 vicin- ity?" A repeat of the incident did take place in September 2010. The explosion shattered some of the chapel's windowpanes but the building did not suffer any structural dam- age. The San Dimitri legend According to Gozitan folklore, a woman called Zgugina went to pray to San Dimitri in the same chapel to get her son back after he was abducted by pirates. She made a vow to keep an oil lamp (musbieh) lit day and night until her son's return. Answering her prayers, San Dimitri leapt from the portrait on his white horse and rode to the pirate ship over water. He fought the pirates and returned her son safely. Another legend has it that the original San Dimitri chapel was closer to the cliffs. But one day, an earthquake caused the chapel to subside, still intact, into the sea. Despite being submerged, Zgugina's oil lamp is said to be still kept alight day and night, and fishermen have occasionally claimed to see the light of this underwater chapel from their boats. JAMES DEBONO THE American University of Malta campus at Zonqor Point in Marsaskala is still listed as being "inside development zone" on the Planning Authority website, de- spite the fact that a substantial part (18,000 sq.m) of the development is outside development zones and the application as presented by the developers clearly states that part of the site is ODZ. The ODZ development will in- clude eight dormitory blocks that will rise from four to nine levels and three multipurpose sports courts set upon a three level un- derground car park for nearly 500 cars. A spokesperson for the PA jus- tified the designation of the site of the new development as be- ing inside the scheme by pointing out that "half the site lies within the Development Zone whilst the other half lies Outside the Devel- opment Zone" and that the Au- thority's database only caters "for the selection of one code when categorizing an application." Moreover, according to the PA "this does not mean that the rele- vant policies would not be utilized when assessing the different com- ponents of the application". In reality in most cases when an application has an ODZ com- ponent it is generally included in the list of ODZ applications. For example a hotel in Triq ir-Rabat, Marsalforn, of which only 45% was located in ODZ, was designated as being ODZ on the PA website when the application was present- ed in 2015. Another similar case involved the development of a partly ODZ Lidl supermarket in Xewkija, which was also designated as ODZ. The Zonqor application was presented on 17 February 2017, two months before a general elec- tion during which no mention was made of the AUM project. The application (04746/17) is still not included in the list of pending ODZ applications in Marsaskala on the PA website, and only ap- peared in the list of pending appli- cations in Marsaskala some time in August. In August the application was listed as being "inside development zone" on the PA website when the developers themselves list the ap- plication as being both inside and outside development zones. The Zonqor application is in fact still not visible when one searches the list of ODZ applications. Had MaltaToday not pointed out that an application had been presented after screening all applications pre- sented in Marsaskala, few would have noticed it. This is because environmental NGOs generally screen applications in sensitive ar- eas like Urban Conservation Areas and Outside Development Zones. The application has still not been issued for public consulta- tion. At that stage the PA will be obliged to put a site notice and the application will be published in the government gazette. It is only at that stage that NGOs and the public will be in a position to register themselves as registered objectors. But the application will not be included in the list of ODZ applications issued for public con- sultation every Wednesday on the PA website. PA defends 'inside development zone' status for Zonqor university