Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544097
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 MARCH 2026 NEWS Share Your Experience. Engage learners locally. Part-time teaching roles. Structured hours to suit you. Teach English in Malta. Joseph, 65 - Pensioner & Passionate. Apply NOW: info.eltcouncil@gov.mt Supermarket may be permitted on ex ODZ site near Mosta cemetery A supermarket could eventual- ly rise next to a cemetery in the Tad-Dib area in Mosta on a large tract of land recently zoned for development. When issuing the parameters for potential development on the massive 41,000sq.m site, the Planning Authority's ex- ecutive council included a su- permarket among the types of development, which can be ap- proved on part of the site. The site in question includes two zones: A residential area over most of the site and an 825sq.m mixed use area where commercial developments can be approved at ground floor level located in the vicinity of the Mosta cemetery along Triq Durumblat, the road be- tween Mosta and Ta'Qali. The commercial area will border a 1,392sq.m public open space also approved in the zoning ap- plication. The commercial area is owned by Skyline Developments Lim- ited, an offshoot of developer Anglu Xuereb's AX Group. The company is one of 22 own- ers with land parcels on the site. However, Skyline Devel- opments is the only land owner with more than 5,000sq.m of land, which triggers an obliga- tion to provide an open space on its plot. The entire site at Tad-Dib in Mosta was added to the de- velopment zone 20 years ago under a Nationalist adminis- tration but the parameters for what kind of development can be allowed on site where only approved earlier in March. The question arising from this is whether the decision to include a supermarket among the allowable uses in the com- mercial area is meant to facil- itate this kind of development or to restrict it and ensure it does not spill over into the res- idential area as claimed by the Planning Authority. The case officer report issued prior to approval had made no mention of a supermarket among the list of developments which can be approved in the "mixed use area". The report in fact limits development in the commercial area to offices, retail shops and food and drink establishments. But during a meeting held three weeks ago the Council— at the request of the Executive Chairman Johann Buttigieg— added a condition that states: "Use classes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and the supermarket should be limited to the designated mixed-use area." When contacted a spokesper- son for the Planning Authority insisted that this step was only taken to avoid having a super- market proposal being made in the residential area. According to the PA spokes- person the decision has simply limited the range of uses con- sidered as acceptable in resi- dential areas. The condition directs the development of lo- cal shops, local offices as well as supermarkets away from the residential area. Moreover, this zoning does not automatically result in ap- proval of a supermarket. "One also needs to keep in view that the PC only provides a policy framework for the ra- tionalisation site and that any development within the site would still need to be assessed in line with applicable policies and procedures through a De- velopment Application," the PA spokesperson added. The zoning application sim- ply sets the planning parame- ters for future planning appli- cations on the site. This means that all development on site including that of a supermar- ket will require separate ap- plications. In the case of a su- permarket, these normally also would require traffic impact assessments. The Planning Authority is currently faced by another ap- plication concerning the devel- opment of a supermarket on another large rationalisation site in Fgura. In that case the PA had explicitly excluded the development of a supermarket on the whole site but a proce- dural mistake had left the orig- inal plan which included a su- permarket listed as approved. In contrast, the Tad-Dib ap- proval explicitly paves the way for a supermarket but limits it to the mixed-use area. JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt The site features a mainly residential area, plus an 825sqm mixed-use zone allowing ground-floor commercial development near Mosta Cemetery on Triq Durumblat, bordering a 1,392sqm approved public open space