Munxar fireworks factory is ‘unacceptable’ – heritage panel
James Debono
The proposed construction of a fireworks factory outside development zones (ODZ) in Tas-Sanap, an area in the Gozitan village of Munxar, has been deemed “unacceptable” by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s heritage advisory committee.
The committee is “strongly recommending” a refusal because the site of the proposed factory lies within a Level 2 area of ecological and scientific importance.
The same site is also protected in terms of the EU’s Habitats Directive, as a special area of conservation. Since it lies on the side of a valley, development is also forbidden by the Structure Plan.
The proposed factory has triggered controversy in the small Gozitan village, after mayor Joe Sultana refused to take a stand against the development when contacted by MaltaToday last January.
Instead, the council sent a flyer to residents for comments on the factory after the expiry of the consultation period that takes place when an application is lodged with MEPA.
In 2007, a path along Tas-Sanap’s picturesque cliffs leading directly to the proposed fireworks factory site was illegally widened and covered by a layer of concrete by the Munxar council. Subsequently, the council applied to sanction this development.
Sultana has denied any connection between the road and the fireworks factory application.
Back in 1999, the Munxar council had strongly the proposed factory, collecting a petition from Munxar residents opposing the development. The council said the factory posed a potential risk, referring to a huge fireworks factory explosion in the vicinity of the proposed site that killed two persons.
The application was turned down twice, first by the Development Control Commission, and then by the MEPA appeals aboard. One of the reasons was that the path leading to the site could not cater for increased vehicular traffic, and because widening it would have had an adverse environmental impact on the area.
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