Sliema fuel station could move to Luqa ODZ

The highly controversial fuel station policy could strike again this Thursday, as yet another application for the relocation of a station is up for discussion by the Planning Authority Board.

The Savoy petrol station, located on Rue d’Argens, Sliema, could move to ODZ land in Luqa should a planning application be accepted by the board.

The proposed site lies just off Triq Ħal Qormi, an arterial road between Qormi and Luqa. The site in question is also located opposite the entrance to the Luqa industrial zone, known as Ħal Farruġ. The latter is an industrial estate housing a number of small to medium-sized enterprises. The site is irregularly shaped and surrounded by a rubble wall around the perimeter of two fields. The approximate area of the proposed development is 3,000 square metres. The site currently consists of a number of abandoned fields along with a dilapidated agricultural room. Development in the surrounding area is characterised by industrial, residential and agricultural sites.

The case officer’s report reads: “This is a full development application for the construction of a fuel station and ancillary facilities. The proposed works include: Car wash and drying areas; Pumping station; Tyre service garage; Class 4B Shop ( on two floors); VRT Garage; LPG tank; Electrical vehicle charging point; ATM facility; and car parking spaces. Lightweight canopies are being proposed to cover the fuelling, car wash and drying areas.”

The controversial fuel station policy has been the subject of many articles, and has been highly criticised by environmentalists. A review of this policy is currently meant to be taking place. Some highlight that the policy is leading to urban sprawl, while others, like Alternattiva Demokratika leader Carmel Cacopardo, have said it would make more sense to turn urban stations into charging stations rather than relocate them as fuel stations, given Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s

announcement last September that he would launch a consultation on Malta’s future regarding switching over to electric vehicles.

A number of NGOs have objected to this application for several reasons. BirdLife Malta, according to the case officer’s report, said that the lack of mitigation measures for “the loss of 3,000 square metres of agricultural land for the main construction in addition to two adjacent fields with a total area of 4,816 square metres is unacceptable.”

BirdLife noted that the region had a sufficient supply of service and petrol stations, with six petrol stations located in Qormi, Luqa and Ħal Farruġ.

“There is no justification for taking up more agricultural land for another petrol station in the proposed area. Sealing the underlying soil of the proposed petrol station leads to further soil degradation, which is known to be a major threat to fertile agricultural land, putting biodiversity at risk, increasing the risk of flooding and water scarcity, and contributing to global warming.”

Din L-Art Ħelwa (DLĦ) made similar objections, saying it “would like to express its concern regarding the application in caption. The area of the proposed petrol station is of 3,300 square metres in an ODZ area close to the Water Services in Luqa, and which serves several commercial uses. The relocation of a petrol pump on a street certainly does not justify the loss of more than 3,000 square metres of ODZ land, and DLĦ strongly objected to the approval of the ancillary facilities that are being proposed in this application – which the original petrol station did not have.”

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) notes that the proposal “is of significant environmental concern in view of the excessive scale of the proposed development, which is seeking to commit around 3,000 square metres of open agricultural land. Approval of this development would also result in the introduction of a new commitment and further uptake of the remaining rural land in this particular area. The ERA also considers that the proposal for the construction of a number of buildings intended for urbantype/commercial-type activities (e.g. Class 4b shop, tyre service, VRT garage, etc.) would result in further unacceptable proliferation and intensification of additional large-scale physical developments in this remaining rural area. The ERA is also concerned that permitting such a development would pave the way for similar/other developments along this arterial road (Triq Ħal Qormi) and within this particular area, which acts as a buffer between two industrial areas.”

“The ERA considers most of the impacts raised by the Environment Planning Statement (EPS) to be either of limited significance (e.g. rock-cutting, im- pacts on hydrogeology) or manageable through the adoption of appropriate operation practices (e.g. benzene concentrations) and the introduction of appropriate stringent mitigating measures. On the other hand, the ERA believes that the impacts relating to uptake of undeveloped land and visual amenity, which were already foreseen prior to the EPS, cannot be effectively mitigated. Despite the fact that such development may satisfy certain requirements stipulated under the policy herewith being analysed and applied, the ERA is of the opinion that there is no overriding justification for the further loss of rural land and associated environmental impacts in order to accommodate a commercial use outside the zones that are officially designated for development,” the case officer’s report read.

The Fuel Service Stations Policy indicates a number of designated areas which are potentially considered to be suitable to accommodate fuel stations without creating adverse incompatibilities, the case officer’s report notes. The areas indicated in the Fuel Service Stations Policy include the site opposite or adjacent to designated industrial areas, the case officer noted. “The site under consideration is situated opposite a designated industrial area and as such could be considered to be suitable to accommodate fuel stations.”

The case officer’s report noted that the proposal was also in line with other policy criteria in terms of the site area affected by development, since it did not exceed 3,000 square metres and the height of the overall structures were seven metres from the highest site level.

The case officer concludes that the principle of the proposed development had been determined through the established criteria as set out in the Fuel Service Station Policy in terms of acceptable location, sitting, design criteria and access arrangements with respect to the site context, and recommended that the application be approved.