Din l-Art Ħelwa welcomed the publication of the draft Policy Guidance for Fuel Stations and stressed that no further development permits for fuel stations should be granted until this was finalised.

The new policy is intended to repeal that of 2015, which enabled the unnecessary take-up of land outside development zones by fuel stations causing damage to arable and undeveloped land without ensuring proper benefit to the community, the NGO pointed out.

Read: Fuel stations review: Quo vadis?

That policy, it said, was an example of poor planning and manifested a lack of respect for the country’s fast diminishing open spaces.

While welcoming the draft policy, Din l-Art Ħelwa regretted the inordinate length of time it took the Planning Authority to publish it for public consultation and urged the government to ensure it was now given priority and concluded in a timely manner.

The granting of a permit for the construction of a fuel station at Burmarrad only days before the policy was issued was a sorry example of bad management and the lack of a holistic vision by the authorities, it said.

Read: Revised fuel stations policy better, provided 'loopholes are removed' - Graffitti