Planning Minister Ian Borg would not disclose whether he would ask the Planning Authority to suspend all hearings for fuel stations until a review of the relevant policy, which is currently underway, is completed, saying that he had faith in the PA to follow policy correctly.
Speaking to The Malta Independent, he conceded that there were areas to improve when it came to the fuel station policy and has been examining possible amendments along with Environment Minister Jose Herrera, however, he noted that no such policy even existed prior to 2015.
“We all remember how modern petrol stations were being built in ODZ prior to 2013. The government saw a hole and decided to legislate, is it perfect? I do not think there is any perfect policy in the world,” he said.
The policy, he said, had passed through a number of stages in the democratic process, and that he had faith in the authority and the board to implement the policy correctly, which he said held representatives from the government, eNGOs, and MPs, and provided a platform for the public.
Borg said the public was entitled to react towards certain decisions and voice their opinion, however, he did say that there are regulations as to how a person should conduct themselves in certain fora.
Minister Herrera is yet to respond to questions sent.
On Thursday, Environmentalists stormed a Planning Authority meeting, demanding that the Board stops hearing fuel station applications until the review is completed.
The application being discussed was to relocate the Savoy petrol station located on Rue d’Argens to ODZ land in Luqa.
The proposed site lies just off Triq Hal Qormi, Luqa, an arterial road between Qormi and Luqa. The site in question is also located in front of the entrance to the Luqa industrial zone, known as Hal Farrug. The latter is an industrial estate housing a number of small and medium industries. The site is irregularly shaped and surrounded by a rubble wall around the perimeter of two fields.
The Malta Developers’ Association has since come out to describe the action as ‘illegal pressure’ on the PA.