Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1509248
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 OCTOBER 2023 NEWS Ghaxaq braces for second retail centre on industrial site JAMES DEBONO GHAXAQ could have a second retail centre just 300m away from another larger commercial complex being proposed along Tal-Barrani road. The latest application is for a retail complex instead of a scrap yard, which the environmental watchdog has said poses no sig- nificant environmental impacts. The new development is set to include a supermarket, shops, of- fices, restaurants and 650 parking spaces spread over 17,500sq.m of land. The application was original- ly submitted by Jurgen Sammut for Southpark Ltd. Sammut has since resigned from company di- rector. Southpark Ltd is owned by Glenn and Joseph Cassar, who as shareholders in Trihills Heavy Industry Ltd own the scrapyard that has been operational since the 1980s. The development is being pro- posed just 300m away from an- other massive shopping centre planned instead of the Schembri Barbros construction plant near the Lidl supermarket. Both appli- cations were presented in 2020. In its preliminary assessment of the latest project to replace the scrapyard, ERA expressed no environmental concerns, noting that the area is zoned for indus- trial activities and is surrounded by other industrial developments. But the authority has made it clear that the approval of the new shopping mall should not serve as a commitment to justify the relocation of the scrap yard to another area. It insisted that any alternative site for the scrap yard will be assessed on its own merits. ERA had expressed the same concerns with regards to the dis- placement of the Schembri Bar- bros construction plant. A project development state- ment presented by the propo- nents, states that the scrap yard will be relocated to an unspeci- fied alternative site. Moreover, ERA will only ex- press a final judgement after de- velopers submit an estimate of the expected increase in daily car trips generated by the project and upon finalisation of a land con- tamination investigation and site clearance report originally sub- mitted in September 2021. The proposed site lies within an Area of Containment and is di- vided into two areas: a southern area, which is currently occupied by the scrapyard; and a northern 4,500sq.m area, which is not built up but is in a derelict state. Current policies limit develop- ment in Areas of Containment to vehicle repairs and maintenance, storage and showrooms as main uses, and retail and administra- tive offices as an ancillary facility to the main uses. Originally in 1997, the PA had issued an enforcement order against illegalities on the scrapy- ard. In 2017, the PA approved a request filed in 2006 to regularise the site and build a three-storey administration block, after the yard was designated as an ELV Treatment Facility for scrapped vehicles. In 2019, the PA ap- proved a 2,500sq.m extension and a garage for heavy vehicles. In a project development state- ment, the developers claim re- development into a commercial area will reduce the negative en- vironmental and visual impacts of the yard, to the benefit of con- sumers in the south of Malta who will be able to make use of larger and specialised retail shops. A commercial centre is being proposed instead of a scrap yard along Triq tal- Barrani just 300m away from an even larger shopping mall on the site of Schembri Barbros construction plant