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James Debono
The Siggiewi local council is objecting to a planning application by Polidano Group to continue hardstone quarry operations in a picturesque area facing Filfla and sited a few metres away from the Dar Tal-Providenza.
The Siggiewi council’s motion urging MEPA to turn down the application and rehabilitate the site was presented by Nationalist councillor Karol Aquilina and seconded by mayor Robert Musumeci, the chairman of the Building Industry Consultative Council.
The council claims that the road leading to a number of farms in Siggiewi was moved to the very end of the ridge, endangering the safety of those driving through it. It also claims that trucks operating to and from the quarry are disturbing residents in Dar tal-Providenza.
Yet a full planning permit covers the present quarry operations, which was issued in 2002 and includes a number of strict conditions. MEPA requires the developer to renew the application every year.
The Ghar Lapsi quarry is the largest hardstone quarry in Malta, producing high quality sand and gravel which is mostly used for concrete mixing. Four modern crushers can each produce a daily average 2,000 tonnes of material. The developers’ website claims that “this quarry will still be operational well into the third millennium, supplying Polidano Group with one of the raw materials needed for the manufacture of the product that is the mainstay of the Group, concrete.”
But various policies outlined in MEPA’s North West local plan recommend the restoration, landscaping and the reuse of these sites leading to their rehabilitation for recreational purposes.
In 2001 the local council had presented a report compiled by Prof. Mario Vassallo to the Ombudsman. The report concluded that the Ghar Lapsi quarry should not have been permitted in the first place and identified a number of illegalities on this site.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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