Residents object to Attard petrol station

A number of Attard residents are looking on in disbelief as a petrol station is constructed outside a development zone, amid fears that it could create potential traffic hazards.

The project was given the go-ahead by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority board following the publication of the Environment Impact Assessment even though the Planning Directorate's report categorically recommended refusal.

When contacted, a spokesman for the authority replied: "The board overturned the Planning Directorate's recommendation since the reasons for refusal were being addressed in the mitigation measures required in the Environmental Impact Assessment".

The petrol station and a car wash are being built adjacent to Mount Carmel Hospital and a few metres away from a residential area. The development consists mainly of petrol pumps, a canopy and a building with a footprint of approximately 215 square metres.

The site lies outside of the development zone and in a rural conservation area, the DPA report says. The area in which the site is located is considered to be of considerable scenic value.

The DPA report says the design of the development as proposed does not satisfy adequate and safe acceleration and deceleration requirements. Since the site for development has access onto an arterial road, insufficiently designed exit and entrance lanes would give rise to potential traffic hazards. All the interested parties, including residents, hospital authorities, and the local council had lodged objections with Mepa.

The General Workers' Union, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin had also strongly objected to the proposal, calling upon the authorities to realise the consequences of such a development on the patients and staff working at Mount Carmel.

Forty-five residents have now filed an appeal.

"It seems that Mepa is more intent to do anything possible to accommodate the developer than to follow its own statute, regulations and obligations. We believe that this is also a dangerous precedent in the area and could lead to the development zones being realigned to allow for further development," resident Tancred Cassar lamented.