No licence for Lija fireworks factory

The Lija fireworks factory, one of Malta’s main pyrotechnic pro­ducers, has not been awarded a licence for the coming year, The Times has learnt. Police have not issued St Michael’s Fireworks Club with a licence, which must be renewed annually, Brigadier Martin Xuereb, head of the Explosives Committee, confirmed. As a result, the Armed Forces of Malta has refused to issue a consignment of pyrotechnic chemicals to the factory, igniting protests from enthusiasts who say the town’s famed display in August during the feast of the Trans­figuration of Jesus is in jeopardy. The decision is related to the proximity of the factory, which sits on the Iklin hill, to a large cluster of terraced houses. By law there must be a buffer zone of 183 metres between fireworks factories and inhabited property. Club secretary Joseph Mangion admitted the distance between the factory and a main road running directly in front of the properties was some six metres short of the legal requirement but insisted that the houses were well outside the buffer zone. The Police Commissioner was asked why the licence was not renewed and why the decision was only taken now, seeing as the factory has been in this...