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4 NEWS JAMES DEBONO DESPITE repeated protests including a five-day sit-in by Moviment Graffitti on the de- layed revision of the controver- sial fuel station policy approved in 2014, tomorrow the Planning Board will deciding the fate of an application to relocate a mi- niscule kerb side petrol station in Burmarrad to 1650 sq.m of certified'good' agricultural land in the same locality. Moreover for the third time the Authority will be ex- pressing a verdict on a 3000 sq.m ODZ petrol station in Maghtab. The Planning board originally refused the petrol station in 2016. But the deci- sion was later revoked by the Authority's Environment and Planning Review Tribunal. After indicating that it would be refusing the permit again in a first sitting held in Decem- ber 2017, the same planning board approved the applica- tion in January 2018. But this decision was later revoked by the same EPRT following an appeal by residents who were assisted by architect Carmel Cacopardo and lawyer Tanya Sciberras Camilleri. The tribunal revoked the decision for procedural rea- sons brought up in the appeal, namely the PA's failure to up- load documents before the de- cision was taken. The proposed site is a 3,593 sq.m, triangular-shaped piece of land in Triq is-Salina and Trejqet l-Arznu, Naxxar, near the T'Alla w Ommu hill. The site is the lowest point of the valley immediately after Triq t'Alla w Ommu. The area is designated by the local plan as a rural category settlement whose rural character has to be preserved. Objectors ar- gued that this local plan pol- icy over-ruled the recent pol- icy allowing the re-location of petrol stations to ODZ areas. The Planning Board will also be taking a decision on the relocation of an existing fuel pump in Burmarrad to a larg- er 1650 sq.m of agricultural land in the same locality. Despite the policy's ban that petrol stations be sited on "good quality agricultural land", the Planning Author- ity's planning directorate is still recommending the ap- proval of the petrol station, on land whose value was certified by the PA's agricultural advi- sory committee. The committee based its as- sessment on a report on soil quality presented in an Envi- ronment Impact Assessment in March 2018, which found the fields had the potential to sustain two to three crops per year, generating annual potential earnings of up to €11,000 per tumolo. In recommending approval the case officer noted that the applicant had reduced the fuel station's footprint from 3,770sq.m to 1,680sq.m. In the 1990s the PA had twice rejected similar applications by the same owner, since the area in question at the edge of the hamlet was designated as a rural conservation area. Now the PA case officer is claiming that development is acceptable because it is in line with the intentions of the Fuel Service Station Policy. "The proposed fuel station may be considered positively since the community would benefit from the relocation of an existing fu- el station both in terms of safe- ty and good neighbourliness." PA set to refuse ODZ old people's home The Planning Board is also expected to refuse an ODZ old people's home proposed by Saint Paul's Residential homes-a company owned by Joseph Gaffarena. The case officer has deemed the pro- posed home on the side of the Tal-Hawli valley, to be in breach of the Strategic Plan for the Environment and De- velopment (SPED). The 2770 sq.m site is desig- nated as an Area of Scientific Importance/Area of Ecologi- cal Importance and includes a number of mature trees, which will have to be uproot- ed. As proposed the home would consist of 49 rooms, over four levels above ground, and two basement levels. The proposal was deemed unacceptable by the Environ- ment and Resources Author- ity, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage and the De- sign Advisory Committee. Apart from its ecological im- pact the proposal was deemed to s inappropriate in an area designated for its High Land- scape Value in view of the Harbour Fortifications and ad- jacent to the Military Glacis of Birgu. While rejecting the old peo- ple's home proposed in Birgu the Authority is expected to approve the extension of Saint Vincent De Paul. The application foresees the development of four residen- tial blocks to accommodate 490 residents accommodated in 190 rooms over 5 levels. The proposal also includes the construction of one surface car park catering for 264 ve- hicles. The whole project will occupy an area of circa 16,500 square metres. The development will take place on the grounds of St. Vincent de Paule complex, lo- cated in Triq l-Imgieret, Luqa The site consists of vacant land, a number of scattered trees, some rural structures, a mortuary and a substation. Most of the land is already designated in the local plan for the development of Social and Community Facilities. But it also includes an extra 600 sq.m of ODZ land at the southern edge of the site. Re- quired because of Transport Malta's plans to change the road alignment for Triq Hal- Qormi. maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 24 APRIL 2019 PA to decide on two ODZ petrol stations before policy revision Maghtab petrol station back on PA agenda after tribunal revocation as Burmarrad station relocation is recommended for approval by case officer Mob: 99862877/99471820 Jinhtiegu nies b'esperjenza biex jaghmlu xoghol ta' armar ta' shutter u benneja The proposed Maghtab petrol station (top) and the site in Burmarrad earmaked for development

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