Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1495439
8 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 MARCH 2023 JAMES DEBONO THE owners of a small petrol station in the heart of Mġarr Square have applied to renew a permit first issued in 2011, and renewed in 2018, to relocate to a 2,400sq.m plot of agricultural land outside development zones along Triq l-Imġarr. The ODZ land was subse- quently excavated after the 2011 permit, but the works were nev- er concluded. Neither were the works concluded after the per- mit was renewed again in 2018. The original application was approved before the introduc- tion of the fuel services station policy allowing the relocation of existing petrol stations from urban areas to the ODZ in 2015. The same policy has now been scrapped and replaced by a stricter policy which no longer permits the take up of agricul- tural land and limits the size of petrol stations to 1000 sq.m. Permits issued by the Plan- ning Authority are only valid for five years. Any renewal has to be considered under current policies, which presently do not allow fuel stations to be re- located on agricultural land. But in 2018, the renewal ap- plication was not assessed ac- cording to the 2015 rules on petrol stations, because the PA had already issued a com- mencement notice for works after the 2011 permit was is- sued. If the same reasoning is applied now, the new petrol station will still be allowed, despite the present ban on the relocation of petrol stations to agricultural land. The original permit foresaw the erection of a fuel station with an adjoining showroom and workshop, car wash and parking spaces over 2,406sq.m of agricultural land. When the original permit was issued in 2011, environmental groups argued that the reloca- tion would relieve one area of an eyesore and health hazard, only to inflict it elsewhere. However, the Mġarr council and several residents supported the move, insisting that the main square was not an appropriate place for the petrol station. The original permit includ- ed a condition for the removal of an illegal storage yard and tented workshop area close to the existing fuel station, for which enforcement notices had been issued in 2006. This requirement was not met, al- though most of the illegal site was cleared in 2017. In 2018 the board voted by six votes to three in favour of renewing the permit for another five years. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt JAMES DEBONO SPRAWLING development in the rural Manikata ham- let, which over the past decade saw the approval of several new apartment blocks, has left Ene- malta with no choice but to pro- pose a 54sq.m substation outside development zones in a garigue area in Manikata. According to Enemalta, the existing substation in the local- ity has reached its full capacity and as a result, consumers on the eastern side of Manikata are experiencing various volt- age issues that could potential- ly damage their household ap- pliances and equipment. "The proposed substation will relieve the existing substation and improve the quality of ser- vice being delivered," Enemalta said, with the Lands Authority confirming that no other gov- ernment properties exist with- in the Manikata development zone. The site in question lies just outside the limits of develop- ment of Manikata along Tre- jqet il-Għabex, characterized by garigue vegetation and a mature almond tree next to a rural building and opposite a number of houses. A substa- tion in the same area had been originally approved in 2005 but the development was nev- er carried out and the permit expired. Subsequently, another application for the same pur- pose presented in 2011 was re- fused a year later. The Environment and Re- sources Authority had asked Enemalta to move the pro- posed substation to avoid the uprooting of the almond tree, but according to Enemalta this was not possible due to owner- ship issues. The case officer is recommending a refusal of the application, in view of the take- up of rural land. Second renewal bid for Mgarr fuel pump relocation Manikata needs substation to resolve voltage issue Mġarr petrol station seeks second-time renewal of relocation permit to agricultural land Planning Authority case officer says ODZ substation on Manikata garigue should be refused