Gas plant 140m from fireworks factory

A gas plant at Hal Farrug, in Luqa, which was given the go-ahead by both the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and Civil Protection Development last year, stands 140 metres away from a fireworks factory - 40 metres short of the recommended safe distance.

The law regulating fireworks factories, the Explosives Ordinance, provides for a 183 metre safety buffer from any inhabited place or any street that is used regularly.

The gas plant, which belongs to the Polidano Group, was given the green light by the Mepa board in May last year, three months after the application was filed. It now stands directly opposite the fireworks factory that belongs to Ta' l-Istilla band club of Luqa.

Part of the fireworks factory exploded last February.

In his planning application report, the Mepa case officer highlighted the presence of the fireworks factory. However, there is no reference to distance between it and the other structure. The report says the CPD and the civil aviation authorities were consulted on the matter and neither objected to the development.

When contacted, CPD head Peter Cordina declined to comment. He would only say the matter should be referred to the Explosives Committee, a consultative body to the government on fireworks matters.

The Explosives Committee is not known to have been involved in the decision over the Hal Farrug plant.

Mepa on its part says it based its decision on the advice given to it by the CPD.

When asked specifically why it had issued a permit when the law lays down that a fireworks factory cannot lie within 183 metres of an inhabited building, a Mepa spokesman said: "Because we had the OK of the authorities competent to judge on such matters. It is up to them to assess the issue. Mepa could even be asked to include conditions by these authorities. You should ask them for an explanation why they found no objection". The planning application report states: "Once it has been ascertained that the specific nature of the use does not in any way negatively impact any other existing or planned uses in its direct area of influence, then the establishment of the industrial use can be deemed acceptable."

The report recognises that the land was originally outside the development zone until its footprint was sanctioned by the Planning Appeals Board in 2004 (after two refusals by the board in 1997) and also that parts of the gas plant were developed before an application was filed. However, it recommended that the development be approved.

On the visual impact - since besides six sizeable gas tanks, the application included the sanctioning of a 31m x 16m shed - the report says: "The visual impact of these structures is significant in terms of the location of the site". "But," it continues, "also quite moderate in terms of the allowable heights in an industrial area."

Before it became "an industrial site", the zone was largely pristine countryside.

The making of a gas plant

The gas plant occupies just a small part of Polidano Group's land in the area. The developer has now requested to sanction and "consolidate" the whole site, which spans 45,000 square metres, some 30,000 square metres of which are taken up by the group's two existing plants, built over the past 15 years.

The area was first developed in the early 1990s. Mepa's forerunner, the Planning Authority, had issued a stop notice in 1994. It also instituted legal action against Charles Polidano, the group's managing director, for bulldozing carob trees on the site. In the meantime a previous application for development, first filed in 1980, was processed and, eventually, dismissed.

In 1996, a second application was submitted to sanction the plant, while the developer was being served with another enforcement notice over a tarmac plant in the vicinity of Siggiewi.

In the following two years, the case officer handling the case recommended refusal, and the recommendation was upheld by the board twice, since a call for reconsideration was also turned down.

The decision was then overturned in 2004 by the appeals board. The approval for the site led to the gas plant application.

In his planning application report for the gas plant, the case officer notes there was a mistake in the previous permit application - the one approved by the appeals board - and that the plans submitted did not cover the entire site occupied by the existing development. Effectively, the application was for a smaller site, which did not include the stretch of land earmarked for the gas plant.

According to the same report, the appeals board, which approved the application, indicated it had taken the entire site into consideration, including the area on which the gas plant was eventually built.

"The proposal within this application (PA 739/05) is within the area not circumscribed by the originally submitted site plan. Part of the works have already been carried out, and the enforcement unit has taken action," the report noted.

The board approved the development and gave the green light to the gas plant on May 24, 2005, three months after the application was filed.

Development chronology

1991 - Reports in the press question the legality of works carried out at what will eventually become Polidano Group's headquarters.

1994 - April, the then Planning Authority issues a stop notice.

A previous application for a permit, which according to Mepa's current records seems to have been first lodged in 1980, starts being processed as PA 6161/94. It was eventually dismissed in 1995.

During this period the developer reportedly bulldozes a large number of carob trees.

1995 - May, the Siggiewi, Qormi, Luqa and Mqabba local councils band together to pressure the developer to clean up the area and restore it to its original state. They also question the fact that Telemalta carried out trenching works to supply the site with a telephone line when the place had no permit. October, the authority takes Charles Polidano to court for uprooting carob trees.

1996 - June, Polidano Group applies for a permit again - PA2367/96.

1997 - While the application is being processed, the Planning Authority issues a second enforcement notice, for illegal construction of workshops, stores and offices. October 17, the case officer files a report, recommending refusal. The board upholds the recommendation and refuses permission on January 26, 1998. A request for reconsideration by the board is also refused.

2004 - Six years after an appeal is filed by the developer, the appeals board, overturns the decision and approves the application. Shortly before the appeals board decision in March 2004, Polidano Brothers apply for an outline development application (PA 1591/04) and consolidation of their existing property at the site amounting to a total of some 45,000 square metres of land, which is outside development zone. Part of the land includes the plant on the left hand side, which, to date, is not covered by a permit, according to Mepa's map server.

2005 - February, 23, an application is filed for the construction of "an air separation plant". On May 12, 2005 the Mepa board grants permission.

2006 - Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi inaugurates the new plant, which represents an investment of Lm3 million.