Hamrun local council has been given the go ahead by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority for a Lm350,000 underground car park at the town’s old market.

Parking needs at Hamrun were long standing, the council said in a statement. Because of the lack of parking facilities the commercial sector was disadvantaged. According to a study the council made at the request of the Transport Authority, some four million vehicles drove past the church of San Gejtanu each year.

The car park would be topped by a garden leading to Duke of Edinburgh Street, and administrative offices for the council. The council at present operates from the house that belonged to St Gorg Preca, and was paying Lm10,000 in rent, rising to Lm15,000 annually by 2011.

The next step, the council said, would be for the land where the car park is to be built to be passed on the council. The Government Property Section had bound itself to devolve the land to the council once the latter got the go ahead for the car park.

The council said it would take about a year for the project to be completed once it started being built. It added it was asking the ministry responsible for local councils for permission to be allowed to borrow the necessary money.