Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1537750
7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 23 JULY 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt New ODZ fuel station proposed in Zebbug along Mdina Road THE Environment and Resourc- es Authority (ERA) has endorsed the relocation of a petrol station from a kerbside site in Fleur-de- Lys to an area outside develop- ment zones (ODZ) in Żebbuġ. It is the same ODZ site where a previous application for a fu- el station had been rejected by ERA and the Planning Authority case officer just a few years ago. The proposal was subsequently withdrawn. The proposed project, led by Ludwig Dimech on behalf of AA Dimech Contractors Ltd, is described as the relocation and intensification of an existing station, currently operating as Joem Pitstop on Triq Fleur-de- Lys, Birkirkara. The site where the fuel station is being proposed is subject to two active enforcement notices issued in 2020 and 2021 against the use from agricultural land to the deposition of inert ma- terial, soil and franka stones and the parking of heavy plant vehicles. A fuel station is being pro- posed near an ODZ shopping complex planned by Philip Agi- us & Sons Holdings Ltd, which would replace a batching plant in the Wied is-Sewda area. The development would in- clude a fuel station with four pump bays, a basement car park with 23 spaces, four car wash bays, a vehicle roadwor- thiness (VRT) station, a small shop, and a food and drink es- tablishment with a 79 sqm out- side seating area. The facility would occupy a total site area of over 3,100 square metres. The site in Żebbuġ, which is currently being used informal- ly to store construction materi- als, park heavy machinery, and dump inert waste, is also cov- ered by enforcement notices related to illegal development. Despite the various illegali- ties on it the site proposed for development is located just outside development zone, in an area known as Tal-Gharbi, on Mdina Road, Haz- Zebbug, Malta. The site is designated as an Agricultural Area in the South Malta Local Plan. The new proposal involves the demolition of around 850 square metres of existing un- authorized structures and the removal of all stored material and machinery, with the devel- opers presenting the project as a "holistic intervention" aimed at environmental regularisa- tion and sustainability. ERA's change of heart In its latest screening, ERA concluded that the impacts of the development are "unlikely to be significant" and therefore do not warrant a full Environ- mental Impact Assessment (EIA). It added that it "does not object to the proposal from an environmental point of view," provided that a list of condi- tions is integrated into the de- velopment permit. This represents a clear shift from ERA's previous posi- tion. In 2017, the authori- ty had strongly objected to a near-identical proposal for the same ODZ site, citing concerns over land take-up, the prolif- eration of commercial devel- opment in rural areas, and ad- verse cumulative impacts on the surrounding landscape. Back then, ERA had warned that the project would con- tribute to the "proliferation of unacceptable physical develop- ments ODZ" and lead to "fur- ther landscape deterioration" in an area already scarred by urban sprawl. It also objected to the development's commer- cial elements, including a shop and car wash, which it deemed incompatible with rural land- use objectives. Similarly, in 2020, the Plan- ning Authority's case officer had recommended refusal, stressing that the proposed uses were unjustified in a ru- ral context and did not serve any agricultural function. The application was also deemed non-compliant due to missing transport and environmental documentation, and the appli- cant had failed to address con- cerns raised by ERA and the Transport Planning Unit at the time. Din l-Art Helwa objects The developers now argue that the relocation of the Fleur- de-Lys station to Żebbuġ will allow the original site in Birkir- kara to be decommissioned in line with environmental regulations. However, herit- age NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa has voiced strong objections to the new application, arguing that the removal of illegal struc- tures does not justify fresh ODZ development and calling for the site to be restored to ag- ricultural use instead. "The clearing of illegal struc- tures... does not justify the construction of a fuel station," the NGO said in a formal ob- jection. "Din l-Art Ħelwa is of the opinion that the site in ques- tion should be cleared of all illegal structures and restored back into agricultural land." ERA reverses stance against ODZ petrol station, backs 'relocation' of an existing kerb side in Fleur- de-Lys to new Zebbug site which is currently subject to two pending enforcement notices.