In another twist to the Magħtab fuel station saga, a court declared null all Planning Authority proceedings held after the watchdog had switched its position from against to being in favour of the controversial development.
The Planning Authority board will now have to meet again to reconsider the merits of this application. It will have to ensure that all documentation, on the basis of which it will be taking a decision, will be made available to the public and parties involved.
The issue revolves around a proposal by Paul Abela on behalf of Abel Energy to relocate an existing fuel station in Mosta to a site outside the development zone in Magħtab. Apart from the pumps, the project consists of an electric car charging station, car wash, shop, the services of a mechanic and a parking area.
In March 2016 the Planning Authority had rejected the proposal but the appeals tribunal subsequently ordered the application to be reconsidered.
The Planning Authority board will have to reconsider
In December 2017, the Planning Authority board provisionally pronounced itself against the development. However, a month later it had a change of heart and granted the permit.
Aggrieved residents sought redress before the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal on the ground that a document outlining the revised conditions and reasons on which the board would be recommending the approval had not been communicated to them but only to the developer.
They also complained that there was no way they could have discovered these changes, as up to the day before the meeting the authority’s website still carried the old version.
In its decision, which was delivered last April, the tribunal concluded that this was a very serious shortcoming as the objectors had not been given the opportunity to make submissions on the updated document.
The tribunal annulled the PA’s decision to issue the permit and ordered that the process revert back to the stage prior to the final decision.
However, the aggrieved residents were not fully satisfied with this outcome as they feared they would not be given the opportunity to make their submissions on the revised conditions.
In view of this they sought redress before the Court of Appeal.
In his decision Mr Justice Mark Chetcuti said the tribunal could have been clearer in its ruling and for this reason ordered that all proceedings held after the December 2017 Planning Authority meeting be declared null.
Furthermore, all involved parties must be notified in advance about the board’s revised conditions and reasons, and this information must be made available on its website before the meeting.