Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/850837
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 19 JULY 2017 News PA expects €14,000 "planning gain" for ODZ fuel station JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Directorate is recommending the approval of an ODZ petrol station in Burmarrad against a €14,000 payment to compensate for its inevitable "environmental impacts". Although planning gains are foreseen by law and have been imposed in the past to compensate for the environ- mental impact of projects, the imposition of a one-time payment to compensate for the take up of ODZ land is unprecedented. But the PA would still be ignoring the advice of the Environmental Resources Authority if it approves the proposed 3,000m2 petrol station tomorrow. ERA has described the pro- posal as unacceptable from an environmental point of view, as it would result in "unnecessary and excessive formalisation, and uptake of land at the expense of unde- veloped rural land". But in order to compensate for the impact of the devel- opment, which is situated Outside Development Zone, the Planning Directorate is recommending a financial planning contribution as a one-time payment of €14,000 towards the Planning Fund prior to the issue of the de- velopment permission. The funds raised from the "planning gain" will be used to fund environmental im- provement projects in Bur- marrad. The proposed site is listed as an Area of Agricultural Importance in the North West Local Plan Policy. Both the Agriculture Advisory Committee and the Envi- ronment Resources Author- ity objected to the proposed development, as it is located within cultivable land. But the site is also located adjacent to an Area of Con- tainment, a designation for ODZ sites, which include in- dustrial development. The original Fuel Stations Policy draft issued in April 2014 made no reference to development adjacent or op- posite to industrial areas, and only allowed petrol stations re-located from urban areas to set up new petrol stations in rural ODZ areas. But the criteria for petrol stations sited outside devel- opment zones were further relaxed in the final policy document approved in March 2015 to allow brand new pet- rol stations in areas that are "adjacent" or "opposite" Ar- eas of Containment. "Some of the submissions and a number of meetings with individuals suggested a widening of the opportuni- ties for locating fuel stations," a spokesperson for MEPA told MaltaToday on that oc- casion. Moreover the Fuel Service Stations Policy states that due to the confusion that may be created for the motor- ist, new fuel stations will not normally be permitted with- in a distance of 500 metres from an existing fuel station. The proposed petrol station is located 450 metres from an existing fuel station locat- ed just outside the St Paul's Bay Development Zone. But the Planning Directorate has overruled this apparent breach of policy because the two fuel stations cannot be accessed through the same carriageway. The soil has already been cleared to enable the devel- opers to conduct an archaeo- logical survey requested in the 'terms of reference' for an environment impact assess- ment, which was carried out in August 2015. The archaeological inves- tigations supervised by the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage did not yield any discoveries on site. According to the terms of reference the soil was to re- main stored on site "for pos- sible reinstatement" once the investigation is completed. Until recently the aban- doned agricultural area was covered with wild flowers and patches of wheat and cereal, probably originating from seeds left over from pre- vious cultivation or carried by the wind from neighbour- ing fields. An Environmental Impact Assessment reveals that the development will have a marked impact on the pano- ramic view from Triq l-Im- dawra. The petrol station will also be partially visible from Triq Burmarrad. Although the development will be partly covered by an existing rubble wall, the upper parts of the station will be visible. The petrol station will be partly hidden by various ex- isting trees found along Triq Burmarrad. The development planning application was submitted by Joseph Attard, the applicant, on behalf of Construction and Turnkey House Ltd. Con- struction and Turnkey House Ltd have been involved in the construction and real estate industry since 2001. Accord- ing to the EPS the company has lately decided to restruc- ture and diversify its interests by investing in a fuel station. The approval of this permit will spell the end of another petrol station application presented by the EasySell group, which would have been situated next to the one presented by Construction and Turnkey House Ltd. Both petrol stations are eli- gible for a permit according to the new policy. But while Construction and Turnkey's petrol pump is ad- jacent to the "area of contain- ment", the one proposed by Easysell is itself located in the area of containment. According to the Planning Directorate both sites are listed as suitable for a fuel station. "However, in terms of traf- fic management and the re- quired distance from each fuel station, both applications have a bearing on each other, thus the outcome of the ap- plication presented by Con- struction and Turnkey would prejudice the eventual assess- ment" of the one presented by Easysell. An ODZ permit is to be offset by a €14,000 payment 'Opportunist, megalomaniac' Adrian Delia irks former MP Franco Debono MATTHEW VELLA BIRKIRKARA football club's president Adrian Delia set out for a great start on his campaign to become PN leader. Standing outside the locked doors of the Nationalist Party headquarters, he vowed to fling them wide open to the thou- sands who had deserted the par- ty. Then came a cheeky question from Labour's One News: would he also welcome back former Nationalist MP Franco Debono, the man whose vote effectively brought the Gonzi administra- tion down (just two months ahead of a scheduled election in 2013)? To that, Delia said that Debono has no place in the PN, a categor- ical refusal that was met with a barrage from Debono on his Fa- cebook wall. "Opportunist, megalomaniac, a hunger for power… for Delia politics is just an adventure and an exercise in personal ambi- tion," Debono, today the Com- missioner for Laws, said on his Facebook wall about the litiga- tion lawyer. "He is the result of the acute desperation and confusion inside a party that has endured great losses, which in normal circum- stances would not take seriously a person without a modicum of political experience, but indeed mock him," Debono continued. The former MP, always keen to have his say inside the political battlefield, recently had a sur- vey commissioned to somewhat validate his claims that his inter- nal rebellion against the Gonzi 'oligarchy' had been a justified battle. "Delia does not understand politics and his comments about me have no value. He has a bad track record everywhere he's been and if he becomes PN lead- er, the party will simply not win an election… "I don't need Delia for my ideas to be listened to," said Debono, who retains a government post on justice reform with the La- bour administration. "I have no doubt that Delia will be the PN's death knell… I chal- lenge him to a public debate, wherever he wants." Debono might find more joy from Delia's wife and legal mind, Nickie Vella de Fremeaux, who in a Facebook post back on 5 June actually said that she was of the opinion that the PN should take back the former MP. "I think Debono has valid ideas and is an asset to the PN." Me, not relevant? Franco Debono, left, hits out at PN leadership candidate Adrian Delia