Gharb council is objecting to an outline permit given for the construction of a fireworks factory near the chapel of San Dimitri.
The local council had immediately objected to PA5224/00 when this was still being determined, but despite complaints from the council and from residents, the Development Control Commission granted the outline permit last June. Gharb council immediately filed a third party objection with the Planning Appeals Board, asking for revocation of the permit.
Meanwhile George Gatt, who applied to build the fireworks factory, has also filed a request for reconsideration with the DCC, even though the permit has been granted. Mr Gatt is requesting the deletion of two conditions from the permit conditions.
One of these conditions stipulates that the factory shall be closed on Saturdays between 2 and 8 p.m. and on Sundays between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., for reasons of public safety. This practically means that people going to the popular San Dimitri area during other times would be doing so at their own risk.
The other condition states that the applicant shall reconstruct and repair the rubble walls along the access route to the factory.
The local council, while asking for the permit to be revoked, believes that these two conditions impose some obligations on the applicant.
Yet, the DCC has agreed to limit the closing time to the Sunday hours only, and the applicant is now requested to repair only those rubble walls where the street is less than 3.7m wide.
Gharb mayor David Apap told The Sunday Times that the council is still seeking the revocation of the permit.
This fireworks factory would be the third one in Gharb and no investigation has been made on whether the applicant or any body he represents had another fireworks factory, sold it to third parties, and is now applying to build this fireworks factory. This would create a dangerous precedent.
Furthermore, policy SET12 of the Structure Plan states clearly that "in any such case, the onus will be on the applicant to present evidence as to why this policy should be infringed and the PA will additionally require the applicant to submit at his own expense a full EIA of a form and content satisfactory to the Authority"
The local council is arguing that access to the site is far from acceptable for the issuing of the permit. The final part of the access is just a dirt track and great difficulties would be experienced if the accident occurred.
The development is also objectionable from an environmental point of view since a virgin landscape will be blotted by a fenced area. It will also lead to the loss of valuable agricultural land. Moreover farmers owning the adjoining fields will not be able to till their fields during the operating hours of the factory (and perhaps even beyond) since no person in his right mind would work next to a fireworks factory.
The mayor added that the local council is also objecting to the siting of the development within 150 m from San Dimitri Chapel, even though the Civil Protection Department states that "the factory must not be within 200 m of other habitable building on public road".
Although the applicant has been asked to insure the chapel against any eventual damage, the local council believes that this is no solution to the possibly irreparable damage of a historic building.