The permitting of a shabbily reconstructed fireworks factory, on the beautiful and remote north-western tip of Gozo, is not so straightforward.
A presumption in the local plan against this kind of development in the countryside was flattened when a 2005 application for the fireworks factory at Ta' Abdilla received a green light. The Gozo Local Plan clearly sets out that new fireworks factories would only be permitted in a disturbed area (e.g. quarries) and even then only if structures were totally hidden from view.
In a colourful burst of MEPA logic it was argued that this was not a new fireworks factory. The authority harked back to the fireworks factory operating in the same location, under a pre-MEPA permit issued in 1992, which blew up in August 2005.
The Environment Protection Directorate contested this, saying that illegal structures should not be considered a commitment. This opinion was ignored. The same directorate urged that a limit be set on the number of fireworks factories that can be reasonably accommodated in the countryside.
The explosion and resultant devastation of the surrounding countryside, strewn with debris from the explosion, cast a strange twist to the application to build another factory on the same site. That summer night, as windows in nearby tourist accommodation were shattered by the blast, the site violently and conveniently slipped into the category of a "disturbed area".
An application to sanction illegal extensions was withdrawn and a new application filed by the developers. An opportunity for MEPA to bring such developments in line with the local plan by refusing the permit was lost.
Careful landscaping took care of the other requirement in the local plan to "be totally hidden from view". In this case 37 olive trees and nine tamarisks were to be planted against forfeiture of a bank guarantee.
Reading the permit conditions one is at first pleasantly surprised by the condition that this was to be "implemented in its entirety within the first planting season following completion of the development hereby approved, in accordance with the details submitted with the application".
Disappointment follows as a potential loophole allows this condition to be waived.
An option exists for the developer to apply to MEPA for prior approval in writing "to depart from these details". Up until last week no such plantings were evident at the site. A query has been sent to MEPA to determine whether the original condition for screening the chain-link fence (pictured here) has been dropped. The permit initially called for 46 trees to shield the chain-link fence in a step towards making the development compliant with the local plan.
Another policy applied in the permit governs good neighbourliness. This calls for the factory to close on Saturday afternoons and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. The condition barely disguises the fact that work in the fireworks factory often goes on at night with generators creating a din in what should be the stillness of a Gozo country evening, now lost.
The issue of annoying noise pollution in an area recommended for country walking by the Malta Tourism Authority seems to have been forgotten when the application was being considered.
A request has been made by the architect for removal of one of the conditions. The Planning Directorate held that, consistent with applications for other fireworks factories, condition 14 under which the permit was issued should oblige the applicant to insure the nearby chapel of San Dimitri against possible damage due to explosion. An appeal against permit conditions will be heard by the Appeals Board on February 28.
Comments submitted on the draft local plan by Munxar's parish priest are worth noting. Fr. Bajada requested that the area known as Is-Sanap is protected from development, especially firework factories. "Fr Bajada points out that firework factories pose a threat on the surrounding environment and the psychological health of the local community. Fr Bajada underlines the potential of the area for rural recreation - e.g. country walks."
Notified by AD last week, MEPA has ordered Munxar council to remove cement illegally poured on a country track at Is-Sanap and restore it to its former state. The Green Party is apprehensive that the council could apply for sanctioning of the illegal works by the Planning Authority at some future date.
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