Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1062629
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 DECEMBER 2018 NEWS JAMES DEBONO WITH plans by the govern- ment to turn a stretch of the Burmarrad motorway into a commercial zone, one major player is already moving in fast. Plans for a retail outlet, out- side development zones, have been presented by Emmanuel Fenech, a director of the Easy- sell group, three months be- fore the government actually asked the Planning Authority to change the local plan so that commercial development can take place in this area. The original plans presented in August envisaged the con- struction of a supermarket. Plans presented in November now refer to the development of a retail outlet at basement and ground floor levels with both underground and open- air parking facilities. The change in plans is un- doubtedly related to a prospec- tive amendment to the local plan that Members of Parlia- ment will have to approve to allow four-storey commercial development in this stretch of the motorway. The new building will occupy a 293sq.m footprint while the rest of the 802sq.m area will include parking spaces and landscaping. The retail outlet will have a commercial floor space of nearly 600-sq.m. Easysell had previously ap- plied for a petrol station set on the same site, which pres- ently consists of agricultural land. But the application was aborted after the PA approved a petrol station on a nearby plot of land owned by another company, Construction and Turnkey Ltd. The local plan last approved in the year 2006 had included Easysell's plot of land, which was previously undevelop- able, into "an area of contain- ment" – a designation for sites outside the development zone (ODZ) which however already include commercial develop- ments. But the local plan limited de- velopment on this site to one floor and only allowed retail and office development as an- cillary to the main use of the site for "vehicle repairs and maintenance, storage, and showrooms." The Planning Authority has now been asked by the gov- ernment to re-zone the 20,000 sq.m stretch along Burmarrad Road into a full-blown com- mercial area. The proposal, is- sued for public consultation in November, envisages chang- ing the zoning of the area to include offices, retail shops and catering establishment and raises the height limita- tion from one floor to 17.5m, which is the equivalent of four floors. The proposed retail outlet only has a height of 4m. The area being re-zoned in- cludes land owned by various owners including the Burmar- rad Commercials compound near the Kiabi store and land earmarked for a new show- room and offices by JVM En- terprises, which had been re- fused in 2013. Over the years the PA has refused three applications to construct a boundary wall around the site owned by Easysell now identified for the construction of the retail shop. An application by Easysell's Anthony Fenech to develop a car wash and enclose it with a wall, was first refused in 1995, a decision confirmed on ap- peal by 2000 because the site had been excavated without the necessary permission, and the excavated material was left lying on site, consequently al- so being used for illegal dump- ing as well. Similar applications were re- fused in 1999 and 2002, and an enforcement against the illegal construction of a wall has been pending since 1997. JAMES DEBONO THE applicants for a brand new petrol station over 3,000sq.m of land in Burmarrad on the 'Mo- sta side' of the motorway have been told the land in question is good quality agricultural land. The application may be head- ing into a brick wall after the PA's advisory committee on ag- ricultural issues concluded that the land in question qualifies as good quality agricultural land. The existing policy for new and relocated petrol stations states that existing petrol sta- tions can be relocated outside development zones, but not on "good quality agricultural land." The PA's agricultural advisory committee based its assess- ment on a report on soil quality presented in an Environment Impact Assessment presented in March, which values the an- nual agricultural produce from the plot of land earmarked for a petrol station at €27,000. Based on the applicant's re- port, the fields in the area have the potential to sustain two to three crops per year, generat- ing annual potential earnings of up to €11,000 per tumolo. The field in question is large, circa 2.5 tumoli, and directly acces- sible from the main road. The report considered the soil type, depth, field size and ac- cessibility factors which give an indication of the land's quality and its economic potential. The soil depth in the area ranges be- tween 50cm and 75cm. The proposal by Bonnici Stores Ltd dates back to 2007 and proposes the relocation of the existing kerbside fuel ser- vice station in Burmarrad, on Triq Burmarrad and 113 me- tres south of the Burmarrad de- velopment zone. The aim is to alleviate the traffic congestion caused by the kerbside fuel service station in Burmarrad, particularly during refuelling by road tankers. But the EIA reveals the relocation project would entail the remov- al of approximately 3,600sq.m of soil. Whilst the majority of the site is fallow, the southern- most part has been recently cul- tivated and consists of irrigated land. According to the EIA the whole site could potentially be cultivated. An application for the con- struction of a supermarket was also recently presented on an adjacent plot of land. But this application was suspended up- on request by the applicant. A revision of the policy facili- tating the development of ODZ petrol stations, prompted by concern expressed by Environ- ment Minister Jose Herrera, is still pending. The Environment and Resources Authority has already objected to the applica- tion. Land for Burmarrad petrol station is 'good agricultural quality' Expression of Interest for Office Space (Ref. MJCL/MPU/ ) The Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government would like to receive offers for the leasing of office space located in Bormla, Birgu, Isla or Kalkara . Additional information about this Expression of Interest is available from https://justice.gov.mt/en/ministry/tenders/Pages/tenders.aspx. Deadline for the submission of offers is Wednesday, 31 st January 2018 at noon (12:00 hours). The crop yield of the field earmarked for a petrol station has been valued at €27,000 a year Easysell wants retail outlet on re-zoned Burmarrad land The Planning Authority has been asked by the government to re-zone the 20,000sq.m stretch along Burmarrad Road into a full-blown commercial area