The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has highlighted “significant concern” over the cumulative environmental impact caused by the numerous ad hoc proposals for petrol stations currently being proposed on ODZ land.
This statement was made by the ERA in an Environmental Impact Assessment for a proposed new fuel station on tal-Balal road between Naxxar and San Gwann. The site is situated just a short distance away from an already existing large fuel station.
The Environment Impact Assessment for this station’s proposal, read that the proposal “involves the construction of a fuel service station, a car wash and drying area, a tyre service station, an ATM facility, a service shop and a commercial space mainly to be used as a shopping outlet for car care related items. The proposed site has an area of approximately 3,000 sqm and is located on Triq Tal-Balal.” The site is designated as a ‘high-traffic area’.
The ERA said that due to the take-up of undeveloped land beyond the development zone boundary, the proposal was objectionable from an environmental point of view. Notwithstanding this objection, the ERA said, the applicant, at his discretion, opted to proceed with submission of the p roject description statement. ERA carried out further screening in accordance with the then EIA Regulations.
“The proposed site forms part of a larger area that is currently disused agricultural land, which in the past was occasionally used for storage of vehicles. The surrounding land use is mainly agricultural and industrial. The proposed development would result in the loss of around 3,000 m2 of abandoned agricultural land.”
In its conclusion, the ERA considers that “there is no overriding justification for the further loss of rural land and associated environmental impacts to accommodate a commercial use outside the zones that are officially committed for development.”
“Other impacts were also identified in the course of the EIA process, the residual significance of which depends largely on the effective implementation and enforcement of the mitigation measures identified in the Environmental Planning Statement: Potential impacts on geology, geomorphology and hydrogeology; impacts on visual amenity and landscape amenity; and impacts on air quality.”
“ERA considers that most of the impacts raised by the Environmental Planning Statement (EPS) are either of slight significance (e.g. impacts on hydrology and mineral resources) or can be addressed through adoption of appropriate operation practices (e.g. benzene concentrations). On the other hand, impacts relating to uptake of undeveloped land and visual amenity, which were already foreseen prior to the EPS, cannot be effectively mitigated.”
“ERA’s consistent position has been that there is no valid justification for the further loss of undeveloped land outside the development zone boundary, along with the associated impacts on the rural environment and landscape to accommodate such use. There is also significant concern regarding the cumulative environmental impact caused by the numerous ad hoc proposals for petrol stations currently being proposed on ODZ land. As originally pointed out, the EIA for this proposal has left this strategic-level environmental concern unresolved. This is also relevant in light that, according to the hierarchy set out in the ‘Fuel Service Stations Policy’, uncommitted sites should be the least favourably considered. In this regard, ERA is still of the opinion that this ad hoc proposal is objectionable from an environmental point of view.”
The ERA has expressed a near identical view in other similar EIA reports. One example, being the report relating to a development application for the construction of a fuel service station at Triq Ħal-Qormi, Luqa, also stating the concern regarding environmental impact caused by such station proposals on ODZ land.