New fireworks factory proposed in Kercem

A planning application has been presented in an agricultural area in Kercem – in between the areas known as L-Awejna, Ta’ Xellul and ta’ Wied il-Mans – outside development boundaries.

The Kercem local council is objecting because of the security concerns raised by farmers.

But developer Sammy Spiteri insists his proposal is in line with the newly approved policy on fireworks. “There is nothing in the law saying that you cannot build a factory in the vicinity of farmers tilling the land,” Spiteri told MaltaToday.

Spiteri – a former deputy mayor of the locality unattached to any established fireworks organisation – claims he spent the past four years trying to find an ideal place for a fireworks factory.

He referred to another fireworks factory in the same area of Kercem, approved around 20 years ago as justification for his project. “I have heeded the advice of experts in the field and all I expect is that my proposal is assessed according to planning policies, which do not forbid factories in agricultural areas as long as safety and planning regulations are respected,” Spiteri said.

But Kercem mayor Mario Azzopardi is unfazed, citing the “unanimous consensus” in the council against the proposed factory, which was discussed at a council meeting in November after farmers tilling land in the area informed the council. The council decided to support the farmers.

When asked about the factory that already exists in Kercem, Azzopardi pointed out that farmers had stopped tilling land in the immediate vicinity of this factory and fears the same will happen with the new one. “If a mistake was committed 20 years ago, it makes no sense to commit another one.”

The new MEPA policy rules out fireworks factories in ODZ areas only in Areas of Ecological Importance and on archeological sites. Development is not barred on good quality agricultural land, sites designated as protected within a local plan, or buffer zones close to a Water Services Corporation potable borehole. These are decided upon on a case-by-case basis. 

While in Malta there are presently 34 fireworks factories, only one is located in Gozo where there are over 200 licensed fireworks employees.

Public opinion in Gozo is still shaken by an accident which took place in Gharb on September 5, 2012, killing six people. In 2004 a barrel of gunpowder exploded at the present Kercem fireworks factory, damaging a room. No one was hurt in the incident, but luck may have played a part – the police said the factory’s licensee and other people were at the site, but not near the room in question.