The Planning Authority has approved the building of a fireworks factory in Għaxaq, over 10 years after a Tarxien pyrotechnic group applied for the permits.
The decision came despite vociferous opposition from Għaxaq local council, which said the development would take up agricultural land and put people in danger.
In his intervention at a Planning Board hearing on Thursday, Għaxaq mayor Darren Abela said that a family lives close to the fireworks factory site, and the area is also populated by farmers and self-employed individuals. Several workers also pass through the area daily, he said.
Abela also argued that the development would lead to safety issues as the area where fireworks are fired from during the locality's two feasts is close to the proposed factory.
Planning Board chairman Emanuel Camilleri immediately shot down his argument.
PA decides on planning policies, 'not safety'
He said that the board's task was to decide on issues related to planning, not safety.
"Our task is to determine if the application is in line with the fireworks complexes policy," Camilleri told the Planning Board.
Camilleri and another member of the Planning Board also pointed out that two technical committees, the Fireworks Factory Complexes Technical Committee and the Explosives Committee, both deemed the development safe.
The planning board voted by seven votes against two to approve the application.
Tarxien pyrotechnic group Għaqda Tan-Nar, San Gabriel applied for the permit in 2012. As the PA decision was announced a member of the group raised his fist in triumph.
But the saga may not be over.
Family lives 50 metres from fireworks factory site
In comments to Times of Malta, Għaxaq mayor Abela said the local council will appeal the decision.
"The local council will continue to support the family that lives less than 50 metres away from the fireworks factory project. We will also defend the farmers and self-employed in the area, and we will not accept the destruction of 9,000 square metres of agricultural land," he insisted.
In February, a farmer next to a Kirkop fireworks factory described how he was buried waist-deep in rubble after the San Ġużepp fireworks factory exploded in November.