Lija council launches bid to fine-tune local plan

The Lija local council would like to see a two-storey limit being imposed on buildings in the village core and the end of planning permits for modern structures flanking houses of character.

Mayor Ian Castaldi Paris explained that, with the help of an urban planner, the council is drawing up a report suggesting how the local plan can be fine-tuned.

The report is expected to be presented to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority by mid- January.

While the council has its own ideas of what should and should not take place in the locality, planning-wise, it is also calling on residents to pitch in with their ideas.

"We are not just focusing on one area but would like to look at the locality as a whole," Dr Castaldi Paris said, encouraging residents to think of the village in its entirety rather than just in terms of their "backyards".

The mayor said that after the council's recent victory over the controversial proposed development close to Lija's Belvedere, it had been inundated with calls from residents to help out in their battles with the planning authority, which was why the council was calling on them to express their wishes.

However, it was imperative that everyone understood what the present local plan entailed. The council would be holding two meetings next month, after which residents would be asked to fill a questionnaire.

"We are not against sustainable development but this needs to be carried out carefully," he stressed, while encouraging other local councils to follow suit and pass on residents' wishes to Mepa.

This summer, the council also stuck up for the Lija fireworks factory, situated in Iklin, amid fears it could be closed down after a road started being built within the 183-metre buffer zone around it.

The council and the fireworks manufacturers pointed out that the site was not listed as a fireworks factory on Mepa's maps but the mayor said this situation was being rectified.

Moreover, during an upcoming meeting with Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, the council would be insisting that, while the fireworks factory would do everything poss-ible to ensure its safety, it would not accept being moved elsewhere or, worse, closed down.