Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/459448
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2015 9 News Mosta retail complex proposed by Gatt Brothers JAMES DEBONO A new huge retail centre spread on two levels over 8,700 square metres of land is being proposed instead of a concrete manufacturing plant on the outskirts of Mosta in the vicinity of the MCAST complex. The development proposed by Fort Blocks Limited, a subsidiary of Gatt Brothers Limited, is set to further shift the commercial centre of Mosta to the town's periphery. MEPA recently approved another 3,000-square metre supermarket on the grounds of the Francesco Fenech plant, near the Hal Mann complex outside the Mosta technopark. Replacing the existing Fort Blocks Industrial Complex, the new devel- opment will include a 1,390m² su- permarket, a 450m² fitness centre, a 1,450m² external fitness centre, a beauty centre, a childcare centre and an outside kids area. The devel- opment will also include an under- ground car park for 124 vehicles. Although formally outside develop- ment zones, the local plan has zoned the area as one for industrial use. Subsequently, a list of developments which can take place in this area was listed in a Planning Control Applica- tion. Although no reference is made to supermarkets among the listed permitted developments, MEPA has insisted that supermarkets are com- patible with industrial areas. According to the developers, the supermarket is "set to become a focal point in a thriving urban area". When asked to justify the location of the supermarket far away from the town centre, the developers argued that the proposed location would be ideal as customers coming from Burmarrad and St Paul's Bay, as well as for those coming from Rabat and Mgarr and Naxxar all can arrive at the supermarket without having to driving through Mosta centre. The 'Interim Retail Planning Guidelines' issued in 2004 state that supermarkets should be located pref- erably within or on the edge of town centres, but the same guidelines state that industrial land or buildings can be considered appropriate for supermarkets if the site in question is larger than 1,000m². "If such an application were pro- posed within or on the edge of the Mosta town centre, it would have aggravated Mosta's current traffic is- sue," the developers argued. A case officer report is recommend- ing the approval of this application. A decision on the application will be taken by MEPA on 26 February. had assessed a total of 138 proposals made by local councils. From this list 24 proposals were eliminated by Transport Malta and another three by the Funds and Pro- grammes Division following further scrutiny. The Malta Environment and Planning Authority was not in- volved in the process. Transport Malta also listed the projects according to a priority list. The first 56 projects in this list will be eligible for funding. The criteria justifying the exclu- sion of projects included the need for further environmental studies, the need for MEPA permits and whether the roads in question were public or not. The proposed works mostly in- volve the upgrading of existing roads, pathways and alleys. The main beneficiaries of the scheme are Rabat (13 roads) Zabbar (five roads) Siggiewi and Zejtun (four roads) Kalkara and Dingli (three roads). A large number of projects are located in agricultural areas be- tween Rabat, Siggiewi and Dingli. The list of approved projects in- cludes the existing road between Ta' Baldu and Wied Hazrun in Dingli. The Ta' Baldu area is an Area of Eco- logical Importance, which includes a number of holm oak trees (ballut). Other rural sites earmarked for road upgrading include Raba Nemel, Hofret ir-Rizz and Wied l-Isqof in Rabat, Wied Rini in Bahrija, San Le- onardu in Zabbar and Wied Hmir in Mgarr. The aim of this EU funding is to facilitate the development and ad- aptation of agriculture by supporting the improvement of the necessary infrastructure, and to address farm accessibility, which is considered to be one of the major limitations af- fecting agricultural land quality and productivity. 'upgraded' without Development will be restricted to land occupied by present plant Although supermarkets are not listed as permitted developments they are considered compatible Ta' Baldu in Mtahleb