Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1524428
7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 24 JULY 2024 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt New visuals give a peek of new commercial hub BURMARRAD Commercials has present- ed a set of visuals showing how a commer- cial complex proposed instead of the cur- rent car depot in Burmarrad will look from the countryside. The proposed four-storey retail devel- opment will include a supermarket, of- fices, food outlets, a health centre and gym. Plans also foresee a 490-space, three-level underground car park. Another computer-generated visual of how the project will look from the road was already published two years ago, with the latest renders published on Monday being presented to address concerns on the visual impact on the ODZ. As proposed, the project will rise to 17.5m from the lowest street level along Triq Burmarrad. But on the rear side of the properties facing the rural area, the two top floors will be set back by 3m to ensure an adequate transition to the ru- ral area. The Burmarrad Commercials redevel- opment which still must be approved by the Planning Authority will see an increase the gross floor area 7,362sq.m to 30,000sq.m thanks to the increase in height. The group has relocated its car repair and rental depot to the Marsa industrial area. The Burmarrad development was made possible by changes to the local plan pro- posed by the government in 2018, to turn a 20,000sq.m stretch along Burmarrad Road into a full-blown commercial area. Burmarrad Road was previously zoned for storage, vehicle repairs and show- rooms at a maximum one-storey height. The new zoning allows commercial de- velopment to rise to 17.5m. The changes were approved by the Planning Authority in 2019, despite con- cerns that this would pave the way for the urbanisation of Burmarrad, which presently still blends in with its sur- rounding rural environment thanks to more stringent planning rules. But the approval of a new petrol station on agricultural land, and the Kiabi dis- count store instead of a farmers' winery right opposite Burmarrad Commercials, further accelerated the transformation of the rural village. The Environment and Resources Au- thority has already given its go-ahead for the development since it will be limited to an area already committed. But ERA had requested more landscaping con- sisting of indigenous and fruit trees, par- ticularly on the side overlooking the area outside development zones. Photomontages of the front of the new development (top) and from the rural area behind the site