ERA greenlights olive oil factory in Dingli cliffs

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has issued its clearance for the development of an olive oil production facility instead of a long-disused fireworks factory in Dingli.

The site is nestled in the cliff face and the fireworks factory stopped operations in 1988. The development is being proposed by Pulvich Explosives Industries Ltd, owners of the site.

The development still requires a planning permit from the Planning Authority.

The existing building is located in a Natura 2000 site at Rdum tal-lfhar, off Triq Panoramika, overlooking terraced agricultural fields.  

The site is accessible through a public side road branching off Triq Panoramika. A section of this access road gave way when a boulder from the cliff fell onto the road causing considerable damage.

The proposed works will remain entirely within the footprint of the existing buildings, which covers about 490sq.m. The new structures will occupy a slightly smaller area.  

The project also entails the construction of a small retail shop and an adjacent 113sq.m parking area. The shop will be stocked with locally sourced produce including the olive oil produced on site and will be built instead of the ruins of structures build along Triq Panoramika years ago. While a PAPB permit was traced for the factory itself these structures were not permitted.

A steel structure that acted as a winch to unload explosives to and from the fireworks factory up to Triq Panoramika, will be used during construction works but will be dismantled and taken off-site to an authorised metal scrappage yard after the completion of works.

The site lies within a Level 2 Area of Ecological Importance and is adjacent to several terrestrial and marine Natura 2000 sites. Despite this sensitive context, ERA concluded that the project “is not expected to have a significant effect in terms of visual amenity and landscape character”.

ERA also asked the developer to engage a competent environmental monitor during the works to ensure that works do not spill over to the surrounding countryside. The monitor will oversee construction, ensure adherence to mitigation measures, and promptly report any environmental or geological discoveries.

Hydrologically, the site sits on Upper Coralline Limestone and Blue Clay, overlapping the Malta mean sea level aquifer and bordering the Rabat-Dingli perched aquifer. But ERA concluded that the limited excavation work required poses no significant risk to groundwater or geological stability.

Operational impacts are also expected to be minimal. Traffic, noise, and air quality effects will be low due to the facility’s modest scale. Machinery and equipment will be enclosed and no external lighting is planned.

The surrounding cliffs and rocky areas provide habitats for protected birds, bats, plants, and marine species. ERA concluded that works confined to the existing building footprint are unlikely to affect these species.

ERA’s final assessment states that the environmental impacts of the proposed olive oil facility are “unlikely to be significant,” and no further assessment under the EIA Regulations or the Flora, Fauna and Natural Habitats Protection Regulations is required.