The Planning Authority (PA) said Monday it has recently introduced revised guidelines for the construction of standalone crematoria in Malta and Gozo. These revisions place a significant emphasis on land use reduction.

After conducting a public consultation process in March of this year, the PA is now putting forth proposed amendments and technical revisions to strengthen its Standalone Crematoria policy. The newly revised guidelines aim to provide clearer directives, particularly in terms of specifying search areas on the provided map.

Originally set at 1.5km, this search area has now been reduced to 1km from the main urban zones, thereby limiting the amount of land available for crematoria development and minimizing land usage. The search area in Gozo has remained unchanged. Another important change from an environmental point of view now sees the inclusion of more comprehensive criteria regarding locations that are unsuitable for development of crematoria across the Maltese islands. This effectively reduces the number of potential areas for standalone crematoria, ultimately mitigating the impact of land use.

The first draft of the policy stated that if a crematorium ceases operations, any change in land use is strictly prohibited unless it involves restoring the site to an environmentally acceptable natural state. In fact, the newly updated policy goes even further, stipulating that if a crematorium remains unused for three consecutive years, there will be an obligation to remove all buildings and associated structures, including equipment, while restoring the land to an environmentally acceptable condition.

For those seeking additional information, the proposed revised policy can be downloaded from the PA's website at www.pa.org.mt/consultation We invite individuals and organizations to submit their representations on this review policy. Please send your submissions in writing to the Planning Authority's Review of the Cemeteries Policy and Design Guidance (2015) at St. Francis Ravelin, Floriana, FRN1230, or via email to [email protected] by November 6, 2023.