Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/638406
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2016 JAMES DEBONO DISCOUNT supermarket chain Lidl, which has developed ODZ out- lets in Safi and Luqa has managed to find 12,000 square metres of dis- turbed land within the development zone to build a new retail outlet in Fgura. The land, presently occupied by a licensed scrapyard, was added to development boundaries in the in- famous 2006 extension of building boundaries. The land had been previously iden- tified for residential development in a planning application presented by Disma and Lawrence Attard in 2003, but the application was later withdrawn. Lidl is now registered as the sole owner of this considerable brown- field site. The local plan approved in 2006 states that MEPA will encourage the removal of the licensed scrapyard in Triq id-Dejma by allowing "retail and residential development" in the area. According to the local plan, devel- opment of this site should include recreational facilities in the form of public urban open spaces, social and community facilities as well as "resi- dential and commercial/retail de- velopment". Development proposals will include the provision of a road linking Triq id-Dejma. The devel- opment proposed by Lidl includes a child play area and a car park. Lidl has already opened two ODZ stores, in Luqa and Safi, both ap- proved before the 2008 general elec- tions. Other Lidl stores are in Santa Venera, San Gwann,Zejtun, and Qormi and in Xewkija, a small part of which is also outside the develop- ment zones. Lidl had also applied to build ODZ stores in Mosta and Zabbar but both applications were rejected. The chain has two pending applications for new supermarkets, one on ODZ land besides the Birkirkara bypass and another at the Fort Blocks in- dustrial complex in Mosta The chain has recently applied for an ODZ supermarket along Triq Dun Karm in Birkirkara and on the site of the former Fort Blocks con- struction plant in Mosta. News Scrapyard to make way for new Lidl supermarket in Fgura Konrad Mizzi set to become Labour deputy leader KONRAD Mizzi is set to be elect- ed Labour deputy leader by the end of the month as he enters the race uncontested. Nominations closed yesterday at 8pm and Mizzi, who submitted his nomination on Saturday, is now all but certain of becoming deputy leader for party affairs. The post was not open to MPs but his nomination was made pos- sible following amendments to the party statute, approved last Friday by the party's delegates. Despite not being a party stal- wart in the mould of his predecessor Toni Abe- la, the energy and health minister will bring in his m a n a g e r i a l skills to the party. Moreover, Mizzi – a n e w c o m e r in the last general elec- tion – seems to have won the support of the party's grassroots with his successful de- livery of the reduction in en- ergy bills, the investment in a new gas-fired power station and the ongoing reform in the health sec- tor. The energy minister has made it very clear to party insiders that his only interest is to modernise the party and insisted he has no lead- ership aspirations. He will be replacing Toni Abela, who was nominated for the Euro- pean Court of Auditors. During his eight-year tenure Abela has been very popular with the party grass- roots, especially with veterans, but he had not been heavily involved in the organisational structure of the party since this was the remit of the CEO. His departure was catalysed by an open secret that he was finding the political pressure too much to handle and that he wanted a change. But in spite of his fiery character he remained loyal to Muscat. Labour insiders have described the state of the party as pitiable and there has also been much crit- icism for CEO and former Labour MP Gino Cauchi, who has failed to galvanise change in the party structure and lacks the popularity to attract more v o l u n t e e r s and mem- bers to the party. The dire state of the party s t r u c t u r e has attract- ed the atten- tion of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who has ex- pressed his concern that without a strong party structure he will suffer at the polls. Muscat said he wanted the new deputy leader to work on the "par- ty-government synergy." Mizzi seems to enjoy wide sup- port within the Parliamentary group as a number of MPs who had been touted as possible con- tenders, including justice minister Owen Bonnici and tourism min- ister Edward Zammit Lewis en- dorsed his candidature, effectively ruling themselves out of the race. The election will be held on 25 February.