The Planning Authority's decision to forge ahead with fireworks factory plans for Għarb ran directly counter to residents' wishes and would turn a "picturesque public area" into a danger zone, the Gozitan town's local council said.

In a statement, the Għarb council called on NGOs, residents, associations and the public to come together in opposing plans to issue further firework factory permits. 

The council said it had invested significant resources in developing the earmarked site into a "picturesque public area" for use by visitors, locals and residents.

But despite a 2010 referendum having made it clear residents did not want any more firework factories in their town, the Planning Authority last month approved a proposal for such a factory to be built on the locality's outskirts.

The referendum had been held after a fireworks factory exploded in September that year, killing six people. 

"Għarb has already experienced firework factory tragedies in recent years," the council noted, and there was no guarantee that "such eventualities won’t occur again in the future".

Having a firework factory in the area would put farmers' livelihoods at risk, damage the region's tourism prospects and harm the region's archaeological remains, the council added.  

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.