Graffitti tells MPs only one state-owned cremation facility should be allowed

The Planning Authority has not carried out a feasibility study to determine the number of cremation facilities Malta can have before drafting guidelines for stand-alone crematoria in ODZ.

This emerged from a meeting of parliament’s Environment and Planning Committee, which discussed a recently proposed policy regulating cremation facilities. The policy aims to set out parameters outlining where crematoria can be built.

The committee heard the views of different staekholders, including Moviment Graffitti’s Denise Grech, who argued in favour of one state-owned facility located on already developed land.

In pressing her point, Grech quoted Labour MP Rosiane Cutajar saying only one cremation facility will be required.

Cutajar had made the statement in an interview with TVM’s Xtra Sajf when she was piloting the cremation law. Cutajar had said: “It's not viable to have more than one crematorium because the numbers are what they are… a simple calculation would convince anyone that there's no need for more than one.” 

PA official Joseph Scalpello, who presented the policy to MPs, said the aim of the policy is not to control numbers but to set clear guidelines where such facilities can be approved.

Grech also questioned why a free market should be allowed in this sector, insisting that one state facility was enough to cater for the social need for such facilities.

Committee chair Deo Debattista, while making it clear that the policy is meant to minimise the take up of land by cremation facilities, disagreed with imposing a limit on the number of crematoria.

“This is a question of principle. We cannot create a monopoly and we should encourage private enterprise,” Debattista said.

Debattista and Labour MP Omar Farrugia had previously asked the PA official whether studies were conducted on the number of cremation facilities needed.

The reply was that no such studies have been conducted because the remit given to the PA by government was that of setting guidelines on the location of cremation facilities and not to determine how many are needed.

All members of the committee welcomed the restrictions included in the proposed policy while calling for a clearer wording to avoid abuse. Most of the suggestions by MPs were taken on board by Scalpello.

Opposition MP Stanley Zammit raised the possibility of someone applying for a 500sq.m crematorium on the pretext that the land is already committed by the existence of a small room in the same area.

But Scalpello clarified that 500sq.m cremation facilities will only be allowed on sites already committed by existing development covering the same area.

Zammit also questioned why standalone crematoria will only be allowed in ODZ areas and not on land zoned for development or industrial use. Scalpello insisted that such facilities are not compatible with urban areas.

Opposition MP Janice Chetcuti also called for clearer wording to avoid any change of use if the crematorium stops operating. She also called for clearer guidelines to oblige operators to use the facility on a regular basis and not occasionally.

Debattista argued that cremation facilities should be preferably developed as extensions to existing cemeteries.

Scalpello replied that cremation facilities are already allowed in cemeteries but so far nobody has expressed any interest in applying for a crematorium on cemetery grounds. “This policy only widens the options for those interested in developing a crematorium.”

Omar Farrugia noted that many existing cemeteries are located close to urban areas even within urban conservation areas and therefore cannot be used for this purpose.

Zammit also called on cremation facilities to be carbon neutral even through the purchase of carbon credits.

The policy as proposed does not allow cremation facilities to be developed on agricultural land “unless clearance is obtained” from the PA’s advisory panel on agriculture.

Natura 2000 sites, industrial areas, ridges, woodlands, garigue, valleys and other protected areas are also excluded. As is the case with cemeteries, cremation facilities cannot be located within a radius of 183m from “any house and habitations.” Moreover, ODZ crematoria are limited to sites already covered by a valid development permission provided that the permission is not related to agriculture, animal husbandry, greenhouses and garden centres.

The policy limits the size of the ceremony building, mortuary, viewing room and cremation chamber to a footprint of 500sq.m while the height of the building cannot exceed 7.7m, although an allowance can be made “for architectural features and the chimney structure”.

Cremation facilities will only be allowed if they are located within 1.5km from the boundary of the principal urban area, which includes the inner and outer harbour area around towns like Marsa, the Three Cities, Żabbar, San Gwann, St Julian’s, Birkirkara, Qormi, Naxxar and Mosta and Ta' Qali.  In Gozo, the policy specifically limits cremation facilities to the countryside around Rabat and Xewkija.