Tal-Ħandaq
{{Short description|Area in Qormi, Malta}}
{{For|the former naval school|Royal Naval School Tal-Handaq}}
Tal-Ħandaq is an area in Qormi, Malta.[https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=14/35.8702/14.4584 Tal-Ħandaq] openstreetmap.org It is a low hill, situated on the left side of Mdina Road in Qormi.
Etymology
Tal Handak is the British spelling of the town of Tal-Ħandaq.
History
In the old days it was a rural area, with a few farms. In the 19th century, the British established a barracks up the hill. Between January 1947 and July 1978, Tal-Ħandaq was the site of the Royal Naval School Tal-Handaq. The site re-opened as a new school in September 1981 as the Liceo Vassalli Junior Lyceum.[http://tal-handaq.blogspot.co.uk/ Photos of the school grounds and buildings at Tal-Handaq.]
In the 1980s, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) started to issue permissions for houses to be built. However, after some residents settled there, plans were changed and Tal-Ħandaq was changed to an Industrial Zone and was renamed to Tal-Ħandaq Industrial Estate'.
Present Day
Nowadays, although some residents and a few farms remain, the area has flourished with an extensive number of small businesses, the most common being panel beating and spray painting, stoneworks, steelworks and woodworks. There is also a film studio. Two schools were also built in the late 2000's and early 2010's.
Incidents
•On May 24, 2024, a fire took place, erupting around the whole zone and Qormi itself. Nobody was injured.
References
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{{Coord|35|52|13|N|14|28|10|E|region:MT|display=title}}
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