The Planning Authority Board has approved an application to turn a disused quarry in Aħrax into a facility for off-roading events.

The site is on the ‘Barriera Ta' L-Ahrax’. This application would include the shifting of existing earth material found within the site, backfilling of other areas, maintenance works on existing rubble walls, the construction of a new boundary wall with overlying chain-link fence, the installation of two gates, flood lighting, the construction of a water reservoir and the placing of a temporary office, store and toilets.

The site is located outside the development zone in the immediate rural hinterland of the beach at l-Armier, surrounded by agricultural fields and bordered on the east by Triq L-Armier Iz-Zghir. It is adjacent to an Area of Ecological Importance: ‘L-Armier (Gharam tar-ramel)’.  The Planning Directorate said that site has been leased from the Kunsill Malta ghall-Isports (KMS) to the Malta Motorsport Federation (MMF).

The case officer’s report read that the intention of the Malta Motorsport Federation is to provide an interesting venue for off-road events, “generally time trials which may be used by different categories of suitably-adapted vehicles which could include trucks and motor-cycles. As such, the design within the depths of the quarry and the existing contours present the ideal design for such events, having a series of terraced tracks which can be adapted to present different challenges to the different categories. The design approach is therefore to use the depth of the site, to allow spectators to follow the event totally from above from maintained earth mounds, thereby eliminating the requirement of grand-stands.”