Controversial plans for a new fuel station outside development zones in Żejtun, on agricultural land close to the Bulebel industrial estate, are back on the table for a final decision by the Planning Authority on Thursday.
The application, which is recommended for refusal, would take up some 3,000 square metres of land in a designated area of agricultural importance and a valley protection zone linked to the Wied iż-Żring watercourse.
The proposal had been slated for refusal, but at a PA hearing last month, the board voted to by eight to two to allow another month for new agricultural studies to be analysed and to clear up uncertainty on the designation of an adjoining road, one of the reasons for the recommended refusal.
The application will be the latest to be decided before the conclusion of a pending revision of the controversial Fuel Stations Policy, which is expected to tighten the restrictions on such developments. The application was submitted the same day the revision was announced, January 25.
Some 200 members of the public have objected, pointing out the large number of fuel stations in the vicinity and the loss of good quality agricultural land.
The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has also sounded off against the development, which it said would be incongruous with the rural characteristics of the remaining agricultural area and “significantly contribute to further environmental degradation within the area”.
The authority said its overriding objection was the encroachment into ODZ land that served as a strategic open gap between the Bulebel industrial estate and its surroundings.
“ERA considers that there is no valid justification for the further loss of undeveloped rural land and associated environmental impacts to accommodate even further development of petrol stations,” it said.
“There is also concern regarding the cumulative environmental impact cause by the numerous ad hoc proposals for petrol stations currently being proposed on ODZ land.”
The PA is also expected to decide on an application to convert the 19th-century Villino Zammit on Sliema’s High Street into a boutique hotel, adding four storeys to the building and making major alterations to its gardens.
The application has been recommended for refusal by the PA case officer, who concluded the extra storeys would breach the limitations of the Urban Conservation Area in which the building is located, alongside other policy concerns.
Ahead of the decision, heritage groups and the Sliema local council have formally requested the scheduling of the gardens, which were excluded when the villa itself was given Grade II scheduling protection in 1995.