Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1272935
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JULY 2020 NEWS PA will refuse Birzebbugia boatyard Restaurant by the pumps: fuel station's piecemeal plan JAMES DEBONO THE proposed transformation of 2,135sq.m of agricultural land along Hal Far Road in Birzebbugia's Tal-Pa- pa area to make way for a boat yard was "objectionable in principle", a case of- ficer assessing the controversial appli- cation told the Planning Authority. The application, presented by archi- JAMES DEBONO THE McQueens petrol station opposite Burmarrad's Kiabi store wants a full-blown restaurant in- stead of land now used for parking which in 2017 was still agricultur- al land. The two-storey catering establish- ment will be spread over 200sq.m. The Burmarrad fuel station was one of four beneficiaries of the dis- carded fuel stations policy approved in 2015, which permitted 3,000sq.m petrol stations on agricultural land outside development zones (ODZ). But the present policy approved in April only permits relocations from residential areas, bans any such de- velopment on agricultural land, and restricts any relocated fuel station to 1,000sq.m. The latest application in Burmar- rad foresees the excavation of the existing parking area to create a two-level underground, as well as extending its car accessories shop into an area currently occupied by a smaller catering establishment ap- proved just a few months ago. So this is the third consecutive piecemeal application approved in the Burmarrad petrol station since 2017. The petrol station was already approved on a site listed as an Ar- ea of Agricultural Importance, and despite both the Environment and