Residents at wits’ end due to car wash ‘nightmare noise’

St Paul’s Bay residents say their lives are being ruined by “mind-wrecking noise” from a nearby fuel station’s unsanctioned vehicle power wash bays. 

Residents told Times of Malta they were being bothered by “incessant noise” from three power wash bays at Dad’s Service Station on Mosta Road, which they said have long been used throughout the day and night.

The complaints date back at least two years, with residents saying that attempts to resolve the issue privately with the owner, Colin Sant, led nowhere. 

They also expressed their outrage that, despite the three power wash bays having been installed without a permit, and a Planning Authority (PA) enforcement order having been open for almost a decade, the facilities have been allowed to continue operating. 

The owner’s son told Times of Malta the service station had stopped offering car wash facilities at night since November, but declined to comment when asked why the bays had been installed without a permit.

The fuel station has been operating since the 1990s but, in 2017, expanded the facility with three power washers without a permit. An enforcement case was opened against the facility the same year. It is understood to have a permit for one car wash

The PA has not replied to questions sent more than a week ago.

An application to sanction the car wash facilities and upgrade the fuel station was lodged with the PA earlier this year, following similar withdrawn applications in 2018 and 2020.

The fuel station has been operating since the 1990s but, in 2017, expanded the facility with three power washers without a permit. An enforcement case was opened against the facility the same year. It is understood to have a permit for one car wash. 

Times of Malta is informed that a criminal case has been opened against the business following a noise complaint. 

An enforcement case against the service station has been open since 2017. Photo: Jonathan Borg.

‘Nightmare’

One resident described the noise as “terrible”, saying residents “don’t have a weekend” and that they cannot live with the noise.

“I don’t have a problem with him having a car wash but it should be soundproof. Even with double-glazing windows you can hear it. The authorities should do something about it.”

Another described the situation as a “nightmare”.

“It’s a terrible situation, we can’t bear to keep the doors and windows open,” he said, describing stuffy and humid conditions inside his residence as a result. “Even with the doors closed, there’s the incessant white noise of the power washers... it numbs your mind after a while,” he said, adding that he and his partner were discouraged from inviting friends to visit due to the noise.

Slamming the lack of enforcement, the resident said appeals to the PA and other authorities had gone nowhere, including a report submitted to the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) about the noise and wastewater from the car washers pooling in “large cracks” in the car wash floor.

The ERA told Times of Malta it had “received and investigated several complaints regarding this petrol station, its car wash operations and ensuing nuisances”.

However, it noted that its role was “limited to volatile organic compound emissions from the dispensing of petrol from fuel stations”. 

The noise issue was not regulated by the ERA and did not fall within the scope of the Environmental Noise Directive, it said.

The car wash bays were installed almost a decade ago. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

‘False claims’

Speaking on behalf of his father Colin Sant, the owner’s son rejected residents’ “false claims” of noise throughout the night.

Adam Sant said that, since November, the power washers had been unavailable between the hours of 7pm and 7am.

While videos captured by residents appear to show the power washers in use at night, when Times of Malta visited the service station this week at around 10pm the power washers were unavailable. Sant added that the service station was in a “noisy area”, sandwiched between the main Mosta Road and the St Paul’s Bay bypass.

“The anger towards the car wash is misguided,” he said. “There is noise, but when compared to the surroundings, it’s not significant.”

He declined to comment further when asked why the business had been extended to include three power wash bays without permission.