Flimkien ghal Ambjent A?jar said that a highly-contentious Planning Authority case came to a “turbulent end yesterday with accusations of corruption being flung after the Planning Authority Urban Conservation and Gozo committee approved PA 05280/25, authorising a joiner to continue to operate his industrial workshop in Triq il-Bjar, Valletta, a residential alley just 2 metres wide.”

FAA Coordinator Astrid Vella said that Committee Chairman Elizabeth Ellul claimed that “this activity does not violate the Grand Harbour Local Plan,” in spite of it stipulating:

“GS07 Industrial Development: Where permission is sought for any form of industrial development, even within established industrial complexes, the Authority will have special regard to the processes involved and the likely effects on any residential areas in the vicinity. Permission will be refused if, in the opinion of the Authority, the impact on residences is likely to be unacceptable.

GD01 SME Workshops In Residential Areas No further permissions will be given for the development of workshops or any other industrial uses in the residential areas.”

NHHO01, of the North Harbours Local Plan clearly states that small industry is only acceptable where no heavy-duty machinery, noisy equipment, percussion tools or chemical by-products are involved. The proposal therefore also runs counter to the SPED Urban Objective 3 which aims to protect and enhance the character and amenity of urban areas

FAA said that “in spite of the Planning Authority’s Directorate recommendation to refuse this and Astrid Vella highlighting these contraventions, Perit Elizabeth Ellul continued to insist that the permit does not violate the Grand Harbour Local Plan.”

FAA stated that, “instead of deferring until further studies could be carried out, the other PA Committee members, Perit Cornelia Tabone Dr Pierre Hili, referred to an Engineers’ Report which is not fit for purpose, since the ancient workshop is too tight for the safety of workers operating industrial machinery there, and too small to allow for noise reduction and safety measures as needed both by Noise and Machinery Occupational Safety legislation and Ventilation standards. This explains why photos of the interior of the workshop were hidden on the PA website until FAA demanded them.”

FAA argued that “the engineer cited professional guidelines to dismiss the need for mechanical ventilation, still he negligently failed to state that natural ventilation is insufficient in work environments producing fine dust or other respiratory hazards, as attested by the photos showing the wood cutting machinery and bags of sawdust in the yard. This condemns both the workers and the residents to ongoing air pollution within the workspace and released into the residential shaft.”

“The engineer presumably chose natural ventilation due to the very restricted space availability and to avoid noise nuisance from mechanical ventilation. This conveniently avoids mentioning the need for vacuuming fine saw dust which is also a very well-known noisy activity,” added FAA.

FAA insisted that “with regards to noise, the Engineers’ report is so unfit for purpose that it applied the incorrect industry standard, dishing out an unexplained 45 dB(A) noise level limit, typically the rating of a library or study hall. This assumed noise limit is once again belied by the wood sawing machinery in the photo. Again, operating such machinery in a confined space, limits the noise attenuation and safety possibilities and places workers at risk.”

“In the report, it is evident that the Engineer suddenly realised that a joinery workshop cannot be as silent as a library, and thus mandated that silencers be applied,” said FAA. “He next fathomed that natural ventilation depending on open doors and windows in a very small workshop, yet also technically silenced, is a technical impossibility. Hence the Engineer conveniently passes the responsibility to design such an impossible solution to someone else.”

FAA stated that “the PA committee approved the permit ignoring these technical incompetencies. Claiming that the spraying of paint and varnish is to be banned, it also ignored the residents’ repeated pleas that noise, fumes and fine wood dust were undermining the health of young children and adults in the block. When challenged as to whether the carpenter, who has routinely ignored police and court orders, would obey a PA guideline, the members washed their hands, passing the buck to Enforcement, knowing fully well that most Enforcement cases have been pending for over 10 years.”

“To justify the permit, Chairman Elizabeth Ellul likened this industrial workshop to a clock repairers’ shop, and quoted a string of permits for workshops in residential areas, in spite of the fact that it had been pointed out that precedent is invalid in Maltese law,” said FAA. “Furthermore, the cases she quoted referred to a candle-making workshop and electronics workshop, none of which create noise and fumes. Other cases were in Zabbar, Marsa and Victoria, Gozo, not in Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.”

Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar asked “why Perit Elizabeth Ellul should misrepresent to such an extent and have such an interest in granting a permit that violates a raft of PA legislation and policies, and will cause great harm to the residents of this narrow Valletta alley?”

FAA concluded by calling for an “investigation into this case, and into the members of the Committee who granted such clearly abusive permit.”

Photos: FAA

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