A funeral company that intends to set up Malta’s first crematorium has submitted revised plans for the facility and visual mock-ups of how it could look.
The plans were submitted to the Planning Authority by Active Group, which owns Camilleri Funeral Directors.
The facility will be built on land close to the Addolorata cemetery in Paola.
The renders show a multi-level crematorium surrounded by tree-lined walkways. Building schematics on the PA website show it containing two columbariums – used for storing urns holding cremated remains – a viewing room and a multi-purpose hall.
The schematics also show two underground reservoirs, a cold room, reception area, garage and store. The plans for the facility also show grass surroundings including a ‘cremation garden’.
Active Group Ltd director Johann Camilleri told Times of Malta the plans had been redesigned to conform with PA guidelines for crematoriums rubber-stamped by the planning minister in September.
He said the changes included reducing the area of the facility from around 700 square metres to 500 square metres and lowering the building’s height.
Aesthetic changes have been made to reduce the visual impact and better blend with the environment, he said, pointing to alternative building materials and the use of the more “earthy colours” in the new designs.
Earlier on Thursday, Luqa local council added its voice to that of Paola council, objecting to the plans and calling for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) while raising concerns over air pollution.
Schematics of the building show two columbariums, a viewing room and multi-purpose hall, among other facilities. Graphic: PA.
The site will feature extensive outdoor grass space, including a 'crematorium garden'. Graphic: PA.
Responding to the concerns, Camilleri said an EIA was “in progress” and his company was “investing in state-of-the-art equipment with the lowest possible emissions found in the industry,” adding there was “no better alternative.”
He stressed the distance of the facility to nearby residences was “well within required parameters.”
Camilleri added that the video renders of the site were conceptual and for illustrative purposes only and not for direct interpretation.
The new plans submitted to the PA are currently being reviewed, according to the funeral company’s Facebook post.
Graphic: Camilleri Funeral Directors.
Graphic: Camilleri Funeral Directors.
What do the guidelines say?
The long-awaited guidelines limit cremation facilities to 7.7 metres in height and say they must use the best air-filtering technology on the market while meeting emission targets.
Crematoriums cannot be built in sensitive areas such as agricultural land, scheduled sites or industrial zones and should be easily accessible.
Constraints are also placed on the building layout, which should include a mortuary, viewing room, cremation chamber and post-cremation room. Cematoriums should also have a garden of remembrance with a columbarium.
The privately-owned land earmarked for a crematorium. Credit: PA.How did we get here?
Malta legalised cremation in 2019, allowing for cremation services to be added to existing cemeteries, with Parliament approving the Cremation Act, legalising standalone crematoria, some three years later.
While several applications for the development of standalone crematoria have been submitted to the PA since, progress towards building one has been slow due to planning and environmental concerns.
Meanwhile, families who wanted to cremate their loved ones have been forced to turn to companies in Sicily or the UK – a service that can cost around €4,500.