Lija fireworks show will return next year

Lija’s lauded fireworks display will return to the skies next year after its pyrotechnics were finally granted the necessary licence, Times of Malta has learnt. Last November, fireworks enthusiasts were up in arms after the authorities refused to issue a licence allowing pyrotechnic chemicals to be delivered on the grounds that the factory was located close to a large cluster of terraced houses in Iklin. Though the houses were outside the required 183-metre buffer zone, a road running in front of these properties protruded some six metres inside the zone. Other concerns had been raised because of the proximity to the Naxxar Higher Secondary School. However, the St Michael’s Fireworks Factory has always argued that the factory had been standing well before the surrounding developments. As a result, the fireworks display held on August 5 on the eve of the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus had to be cancelled. While some residents welcomed the fact they would be spared the annual cacophony of petards, others vented their frustration on Facebook and described this year’s atmosphere as subdued. Contacted by Times of Malta, club secretary Joseph Mangion said that the permit was...