Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1519042
12 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 APRIL 2024 JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt PAOLA Parish priest Marc Andre Camilleri has presented a plan- ning application proposing the creation of a fully-fledged restau- rant on top of the Christ the King Basilica. The plans foresee the creation of a lounge area, an outside bar area, and a kitchen on the roof space be- tween the two belfry towers. The application also propos- es the construction of a souvenir shop at ground floor level along Triq Il-Knisja and exhibition space within the belfry towers including an "interpretation centre". The south tower is already acces- sible by lift or by a spiral staircase and contains 12 tuned bells made in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The bells' chambers of both towers also offer uninter- rupted panoramic views of the harbour area. In the application Camilleri ac- knowledges that he is not the own- er of the entire site, while declaring that he has been authorised to car- ry out the proposed development through "an agreement with the owner" of the site, which in this case would be the Curia. Plans for extensive restoration works in the church were already approved in 2017. These included the restoration of concrete col- umns on both sides of the church which were spalling and repairs to the stone mouldings on top of these columns which had several cracks or had detached themselves from the concrete. Construction works on the church started in 1923 but were interrupted by the Second World War and were only completed in 1959. The church was consecrated by Archbishop Michael Gonzi in 1967. The plans for the church were drawn by Ġużè Damato an inno- vative architect who was one of the first to use ferro-concrete, a system of construction using re- inforced mortar applied over an armature of metal mesh. It was a technique he learnt from French engineers when living in Tunisia. The Basilica is built in the shape of a Latin cross and its dome reaches a height of 60 metres. The church also has 19 smaller cupolas located above the side aisles. Upon being granted the title of a minor Basilica in 2020, a marble papal cross measuring over 3m was raised over the portico. The Basilica also boasts the larg- est pipe organ in Malta, consisting of nearly 3,500 pipes. Restaurant proposed on top of Paola parish church Application presented by parish priest Marc Andre Camilleri also envisages exhibition space in the two belfry towers, an observation deck on the top level and a souvenir shop at ground f loor level THE Environment and Planning Review Tribunal has revoked a decision taken by the Planning Authority eight years ago to refuse a petrol station in Iklin. The petrol station was proposed by Paul Falzon over 3,000sq.m of land outside the development zone. The petrol station was proposed along the arterial road which links Iklin to San Gwann and Naxxar on abandoned agricultural land. The site was illegally used as a makeshift carpark. The new petrol station is 350m away from the VC petrol station and the adjacent MacDonalds res- taurant. The fuel station was refused be- cause it was found in breach of a policy regulating the development of petrol stations in ODZ which has since then been superseded by a more stringent policy. The new policy bans new fuel stations if they are at less than 500m from an existing service station in the same traffic direction. The policy only allows fuel stations on the opposite side of the road from an existing fuel station, "if it can be demonstrated that traffic on the opposite lane from the existing fu- el station cannot easily access the existing service station". In his appeal, Paul Falzon insist- ed the authority could favourably consider fuel stations on the op- posite side of the road from an existing fuel station, if it can be demonstrated that traffic on the opposite lane from the existing petrol station cannot easily access it. Moreover, Falzon insisted that the proposed fuel station and the existing one are not in the same direction of traffic. The PA argued that although not situated in the same direction of traffic as the VC petrol station, at the time when the permits were issued, road markings still allowed right turns to the existing service station for traffic moving towards Naxxar. The refusal was confirmed by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal in 2021 but the decision was revoked by the law courts based on testimony by transport and infrastructure Mal- ta officials that the existing fuel station was no longer accessible from the opposite carriage way. The case is further complicated by changes to the road network made after the PA's refusal which effectively turned a single car- riageway into a dual one. The Tribunal has now ordered the Planning Authority to recon- sider the application and to issue a new case officer report. But since the original decision, the 2015 policy regulating fuel sta- tions has been replaced by a new stringent policy approved in 2020. Although the new policy includes the same provisions banning fuel stations near each other if these are in the same traffic direction, it includes other provisions which limit the size of petrol stations to a maximum of 1,000sq.m. Cru- cially, the new policy only allows the relocation of existing fuel sta- tions to the ODZ and no longer allows the approval of brand new petrol stations in such areas. The application as presented in 2016 was for a brand-new fuel station and did not refer to any relocation. The application has prompted objections from the local council on the grounds that this would eat up part of the precious little rural land left in the area. The council is arguing that the earmarked site is less than 500 metres away from the nearest sta- tion, in breach of a specific plan- ning policy. Objections were made by the Environment Resources Authori- ty, which said there was no over- riding justification for further loss of agricultural land. JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Tribunal revokes refusal of ODZ fuel station in Tal-Balal