A planning application has been filed to relocate an existing fuel station in Ta' Xbiex to ODZ land on Mdina road, heading towards Zebbug, in the area known as Ta' San Martin.
The application, filed on 13 August this year, proposes the relocation of an existing station on Testaferrata Street, Ta' Xbiex to a new Petrol station including a workshop, a retail shop and two car washes on Mdina road, Zebbug.
The total site area, according to the public application form, is 3,000 square metres.
The main existing use of the land for the site in question, according to the application form, is 'fallow land'.
A second and separate application in the area for a fuel station on Mdina road, this time in the Attard direction, made headlines earlier this year. The Attard direction application proposes the relocation of a kerb-side station from Valley road, Msida. The Attard direction application is further ahead in the application process, and an Environment Impact Assessment had been conducted.
In the application on the Attard route, the Environment and Resources Authority said: "the primary impact of relevance is that the proposal will take up approximately 3,000 square metres of undeveloped land and will necessitate the uprooting of five mature indigenous Pinus halepensis trees forming part of a tree avenue lining the distributor road of Triq l-Imdina with no possibility of these being replanted. The EIA concluded that both the 'loss of potentially good quality agricultural land and of protected trees' to accommodate a fully fledged commercial enterprise will have major adverse residual impacts. This substantiates ERA's initial assessment that the proposed development is objectionable in principle as it is a ribbon-type development that will contribute to urban sprawl at the expense of farmland and mature indigenous trees."
The fuel service station policy has been a topic of controversy. Following many complaints regarding such applications on ODZ land, the ERA had reviewed the policy and submitted its recommendations. The Planning authority has not yet published a revision of the policy for consideration. It had launched its review process late last June. The length of time the Authority is taking in this review has many concerned, and protests have taken place calling for the PA to stop hearing such cases until the policy review is complete.