Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1537913
JOHANN Gaffarena has pre- sented yet another application to regularise illegal additions to a fuel station in Qormi despite multiple failed attempts. The petrol station along Luqa Road was originally approved in 2006. However, the owners failed to stick to the approved plans, adding an entire extra floor and a basement not cov- ered by the permit, among other breaches. In 2008, an enforcement order was issued by the Planning Au- thority (PA), and the Gaffarenas were ordered to remove the il- legalities before they could start operations. However, the family ignored the order and began op- erating the petrol station. They continued to do so un- til 2009, when PA inspectors returned to the site, this time sealing off the petrol station and closing it down. But in 2014, the PA took the unprecedented step of granting the Gaffarenas a "temporary permit" for three years, which included a condition that the station either be sanctioned or the illegalities removed. The Gaffarenas filed an appli- cation to sanction the develop- ment, which was unanimously turned down by the Planning Board in March 2017, as it was found to be in breach of the pol- icy regulating petrol stations. The policy limits the height of fuel stations to 7m. The PA also argued that the proposal could not be consid- ered further unless the illegal development, "consisting of extension to the built footprint and additional building height and basement", was first re- moved. A planning appeal against this decision dragged on for four years but was eventually turned down in 2021. The new application once again envisages the sanctioning of the petrol station as built. This includes the sanctioning of the basement garage, a ground- floor showroom, and first-floor offices, as well as the construc- tion of a boat storage facility, six car washes, and a drying area. The application also foresees the demolition of stairwells at roof level, the opra morta, and the re-levelling of the road be- hind the fuel station. In its first reaction to the ap- plication, the Environment and Resources Authority said that it was not objecting in princi- ple to the proposal. However, it noted that the existing petrol station is not compliant with environmental requirements, as an environmental permit has not been submitted. Prior to proceeding with the application, the applicant was urged to sub- mit an environmental permit. 14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 JULY 2025 NEWS & FEATURE JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Port work in Malta: IT'S not uncommon for peo- ple to follow in their parents' footsteps when choosing a ca- reer. The children of lawyers often go down the legal road, as do the children of doctors and surgeons. But what if a young, aspiring lawyer could simply inherit their parent's warrant? What if there could only be a limited number of doctors in the country, and only medical students with a parent in the business can get their foot in the door? This is the system used to re- cruit port workers in Malta. It is a controversial quota system that sees port workers able to pass on their licence to family members when they choose to stop working in the trade. Now, the European Commis- sion has referred Malta to the Court of Justice of the European Union over this system because it restricts people from becom- ing port workers. Specifically, Brussels claims that Malta is vi- olating provisions of the Treaty of the EU by adopting a system that inhibits the free movement of workers, freedom of estab- lishment and the freedom to provide services. Licence inheritance: A history Port work is an old trade, and in Malta, port worker employ- ment is regulated by an archaic ordinance from 1966, although it was last updated in 2009. According to the ordinance, a port worker is someone em- ployed to handle cargo when loading or unloading from a ship to any place on shore or offshore. Only people listed in the Port Workers Register can do this work. This inheritance practice was scrapped in 2007, as during Malta's accession to the EU, the country was granted a deroga- tion to phase out the practice as it went contrary to EU legal practices. But in a 2017 U-turn, the gov- ernment had unilaterally rein- troduced the practice, passing Legal Notice 135 of 2017. Un- der that legal notice, port work- ers who before the 10 June 1975 were licensed to work as general cargo stevedores, lightermen or NICOLE MEILAK nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt The European Commission argues Malta's port worker system, a state-sanctioned monopoly several provisions of the EU Treaty and has referred Malta to the European Court of Justice Gaffarena in another bid to regularise Qormi petrol station