Gżira’s local council has lost a long legal battle against a proposal to move the petrol station located outside of Manoel Island to a garden adjacent to it.

The decision means that 930sqm of greenery and open recreational space will be sacrificed to make way for the petrol station, despite the council’s consistent opposition.

The conclusion goes against the wishes of at least 4,000 signatories who signed a petition opposing the project.

Just last Saturday, the council held a press conference in Ġnien il-Kunsill tal-Ewropa to highlight the amount of limited open space which will be lost.

The court of appeals said that the present location of the fuel station causes more negative visual and environmental impact now than when it moves to its new site.

A graphic that Gżira's mayor posted on Facebook, highlighting the area to be taken up.

“If anything, the relocation will result in the improvement on that which is present as the relocation will be designed in conformity with regulations and environmental standards which will lead to a general improvement in the quality of the area’s environment,” the court said.

In an immediate reaction to the results, mayor Conrad Borg Manché said he is utterly disappointed with the outcome from the court of appeals.

The mayor said the council is holding an emergency meeting later on Thursday to figure out the next step.

He vowed to fight the relocation along with the rest of the council members, saying “the council is ready to throw everything we’ve got at this".

Borg Manché had said that “we cannot correct a 60-year old mistake with a bigger mistake,” referring to the fact that the relocation had been pending for 21 years.

The council has unanimously condemned the project, pointing out that the only previously-cited justification for it was a road-widening exercise that never happened.

The councillors objected to the development citing 12 grievances, all of which were categorically refused by the court.

Gżira's local council members giving a press conference on the relocation on October 10. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

The main points of contention were related to the loss of open space and pedestrian pathways, the fact that the project goes against SPED (strategic plan for the environment and development) and fuel station policy guidelines as well as the visual and environmental impact of the project.

The court of appeals said the land in question was not officially listed as a public open space in the local plans, and, therefore, did not accept the argument. As for pedestrian pathways, the court noted that access to the foreshore will not be compromised.

Using the same legal argument, the court also threw out the claim that the development breached SPED regulations, part of which are meant to safeguard open spaces.

At no point does the court’s argument touch upon the fact that the garden serves as one of the only open, green spaces for the Gżira and Msida areas, a point made by residents on earlier occasions.

Borg Manché estimated that around 50,000 people depended on this area as their only respite from heavy urbanisation.

The court also defended the applicant’s lack of consideration for an alternative site.

It said “no studies for an alternative site were needed in this case due to the fact that the site is ideal for relocation, and this is because it is only 100m away from the current site and therefore its current function to serve the same community will be retained”.

The fuel stations policy states that petrol stations should be a minimum of 500 metres from each other. Once the station is relocated, it will be just above the bare minimum, roughly 550 metres from the nearest fuel station. And four petrol stations will be operating within less than a kilometre.

The court argued that “the environmental impact will be limited” and concluded that none of the appellant’s objections holds water.