Siġġiewi council objects to Ta’ Brija crematorium

The Siġġiewi Local Council has formally objected to a planning application proposing a crematorium and columbarium complex at Ta’ Brija, warning that the development would introduce unjustified urban-scale infrastructure into Outside Development Zone (ODZ) agricultural land.

The proposal (PA/7540/25) covers more than 11,000sq.m on the outskirts of Siġġiewi and includes a crematorium, mortuary, chapel, 54 columbarium units, landscaped gardens, internal circulation areas and ancillary service buildings. Part of the site overlaps with a previously approved cemetery extension, while the remainder extends into surrounding agricultural fields in the Girgenti rural area.

The application, submitted by funeral undertaker Mario Tonna, lies adjacent to the historic Ta’ Brija cemetery, a long-abandoned burial ground originally established in 1623 during a plague outbreak and later reused under British rule. The site is enclosed by traditional limestone boundary walls and has previously been the subject of a controversial cemetery extension approved in 2020.

While acknowledging the proximity to an existing cemetery use, the council insists this does not justify the introduction of a crematorium facility, which it describes as a materially different and more intensive land use involving combustion processes, mechanical plant and institutional infrastructure.

In its submission, the council argues that the proposal fails to demonstrate an overriding need for an ODZ location and does not adequately assess alternative sites. It maintains that crematorium development in rural areas is an exceptional form of development that must be strictly justified under national planning policy.

A key concern raised is the permanent loss of agricultural land. The council notes that the proposal would replace cultivated fields with built structures, paved surfaces and servicing areas, resulting in irreversible land take-up without sufficient public interest justification.

The objection also highlights cumulative impact, arguing that when combined with the adjacent cemetery extension, the development would progressively intensify institutional use in the area. This, it says, would lead to the gradual urbanisation of a rural landscape forming part of the wider Siggiewi–Girgenti countryside.

Visual and landscape impacts are also cited as a major issue. The council warns that columbarium structures, formal gardens and ancillary buildings would introduce visually intrusive elements into an open rural setting. It argues that insufficient mitigation measures have been proposed to reduce the visual footprint of the development within the surrounding countryside.

Traffic generation and environmental concerns have also been raised. Funeral-related activities, the council notes, typically produce episodic peaks in traffic linked to services and gatherings. It argues that the surrounding rural road network has limited capacity and that junction and parking arrangements have not been sufficiently assessed.

On environmental grounds, the council raises concerns about emissions from cremation processes, including particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. It says that no comprehensive air quality modelling or dispersion studies have been submitted to adequately assess potential impacts on surrounding areas.

The objection further cites inconsistencies with the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED), particularly policies relating to ODZ containment, rural protection, agricultural land safeguarding and landscape conservation. It insists that ODZ development should remain strictly exceptional and tightly controlled.

The council also refers to precedent, including the refusal of a similar crematorium proposal in Gudja (PA3310/25), where the Planning Authority highlighted ODZ conflicts, environmental clearance requirements and agricultural land protection concerns. It argues that the same principles apply in the present case and that crematorium applications require a high evidential threshold.

The Siġġiewi Local Council concludes that the proposed development is not policy-compliant, would result in unacceptable rural land loss, and would contribute to the incremental urbanisation of ODZ countryside.