PA refuses crematorium in Gudja

An application to build a standalone crematorium on the outskirts of Gudja has been refused by the Planning Board on the grounds that it does not have clearance from the required authorities and was located in an ODZ agricultural area. 

The project had been recommended for refusal because it ran counter to the Partial Review of the Cemeteries Policy and Design Guidance 2015, which only considers standalone crematoria if the site is supported and cleared by the health authorities in line with all other location requirements in the Cremations Act.

The proposed development was located in an agricultural area and valley protection zone, which the policy deemed inappropriate for standalone crematoria.

The Environmental Health Directorate had objected to the proposal because it was less than 183 metres from any inhabited house as stipulated in the Cremation Act, while the Agricultural Advisory Committee had said it objected in principle to any development in ODZ that was not related to agriculture or not within policy.

The proposed crematorium project in Triq tal-Lampat, submitted to the PA by Daniel Buhagiar in February, consisted of excavation and construction of a basement and ground floor plus other amenities and ancillary facilities.

Its architect Ian Cutajar argued that it was located in an “appropriate site” next to a cemetery and a crematorium for pets and was the required distance from development, demanding a “level playing field” and an explanation from the health authorities for their position.

Perit Jesmond Mugliett and the Sta Luċija and Gudja local councils objected to the crematorium on behalf of “worried” residents in the area, citing “clear” environmental health concerns that had already been raised in representations.

Mugliette said the project was recommended for refusal not just because it went against the Partial Review of the Cemeteries Policy and Design Guidance, but was also in breach of PA policies regarding valleys, aquifer protection and areas of high landscape value.

The same site, he pointed out, had already not been granted permission in the past for a waste recycling project.

Mugliett also expressed his surprise that the proposal did not include an engineer’s report to tackle the fuel storage and emissions generated for a project that was the first of its kind.

The proposed facility was a tree-lined building featuring a cremation hall, a witness room, a reception area, indoor and outdoor ceremony areas, a mortuary, an ash storage room, offices and parking spaces at ground level, with storage facilities, a cold room and a reservoir planned at basement level, according to the plans available at the PA website.

There are still no crematoria in Malta, despite the fact that cremation was legalised in 2019, with standalone crematoria following under the Cremation Act approved by parliament in 2022.

Families wishing to cremate their loved ones must go to Sicily or the UK instead, a service that can cost about €4,500.

In terms of guidelines signed by the planning minister last year, standalone crematoria cannot be built in sensitive areas, including industrial zones, scheduled sites or on agricultural land and should be easily accessible.

They must meet emission standards and use the best available filtration and abatement technology, while having a specific layout and providing facilities like a mortuary, viewing room, cremation chamber and post-cremation room.

Standalone crematoria should also have a garden of remembrance with columbarium – a structure for storing funerary urns – and should not be larger than 500 square metres or taller than 7.7 metres.

The policy went through two public consultation exercises and was amended by parliament’s environment and planning committee, at which stage the government agreed with the opposition to restrict the height of crematoria and prohibit their conversion into buildings for other uses.