The Gozitan owner of a plot of land in Nadur will not be able to turn the area into a warehouse for scrap metal and tyres intended for recycling because it is located outside the development zone.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority board deemed the application unacceptable since the proposed development would lie just 20 metres away from the residential area.

The area also has high scenic and landscape value and is within the aquifer protection zone, the board ruled.

It heard how the owner of the 3,000-square metre site had been using the area as an illegal scrap yard for old cars and large metal objects.

Mepa had issued two enforcement notices ordering him to clear the area of rubbish and demolish illegally built rooms. Since then he had cleared up most of the area.

He then submitted a planning application to remove the remaining rubbish from the site, located on Old Ramla Road, and to construct a basement warehouse for the recycling of metal and tyres and packing the material for export.

But the planning directorate said the application was "not acceptable since the site is just beneath a ridge edge development boundary and therefore out of the development zone."

The owner's architect argued that Gozo did not have a place where metal and tyres could be recycled. Granting the permit would be beneficial for Gozo and the environment.

He also pointed out that the area had been in a bad state for many years and the project, which included landscaping and underground recycling activity, would improve the area.

However, the Mepa board found the application objectionable in principle and turned it down.

"The argument that anything would be better than the current state of the land cannot be a reason for approval," Mepa board chairman Austin Walker said.