(Adds Ministry's reaction)

The Dingli council is opposing an application filed by the Home Affairs Ministry to build a fireworks factory depot in the locality.

The application is calling for the reconstruction of an existing but disused explosives factory, transforming it into a fireworks depot with around 36 stores, each the size of a large garage.

Mayor Ian Borg said the council was against the application for a number of reasons including that the development was within a Natura 2000 site and a special area of conservation.

Moreover, the storage of such a large amount of explosives would be dangerous as would their transportation to and from the depot.

The proposed development, the mayor said, also clashed with a number of projects the council had to rehabilitate the area.

The council, Mr Borg said, had already filed its objections with Mepa and would now await the board’s decision.

MINISTRY'S REACTION

The ministry said that the application was submitted because the former factory Pulvich Explosives Industries Ltd was not being used.

A process was embarked upon to see if this could be used by the fireworks sector to ensure that the guarantees the sector required were increased. The building was currently abandoned and had no other possible use, the ministry said.

The Mepa application, it said, was aimed at exploring the viability of this prospect. The process had just started and one still had to see what type of use would be permitted by the authority.

The government, the ministry said, always sought a general consensus on such applications. Meetings had already been held with the mayor and further consultation in future was not excluded.