I refer to the article Mġarr Petrol Station’s Outline Permit Not Valid (August 16). In the article, four environmental groups - the Ramblers Association, Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, the Malta Organic Agricultural Movement and Friends of the Earth - call on the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to immediately revoke the full development permit granted for the relocation of a petrol station in Mġarr. This group of environment NGOs, in their statement, make a number of incorrect assertions, among them that the outline permit issued in 2006 had expired.

Mepa can confirm that the outline development permit (PA 3920/98) granted on March 2, 2006 had not expired.

One of the conditions in this development permit required that the applicant, within five years of the date of this permission, had to submit a full development application for the approval of Mepa. This permit condition was adhered to by the applicant on February 21, 2008, nearly two years after the outline permit was granted.

Some two years back, Mepa, in order to facilitate the work of NGOs, gave them free access to view planning applications and their plans and free credit facility to download case officer reports and permit conditions. Mepa questions the reasons as to why these four NGOs choose to issue incorrect facts in their media statements when they have all the facility they require to check out any details with Mepa.

While Mepa recognises that it is not ideal that petrol stations, which are a potential hazard within our village cores, get relocated to outside development zone sites, with this particular application Mepa was restricted and legally compelled to issue this permit on this site.

With a 2006 valid outline permit on site, which had been granted following a site selection exercise and an environment impact assessment, Mepa also considered that, through a public deed, the applicant was being bound not only to shut down and decommission his existing petrol station but also to dismantle his vehicle servicing garage operation and reinstate a large parcel of agricultural land, situated in an ODZ area near the parish church, which was being used as an open storage area for such plant and machinery vehicles. The applicant had also bought the government owned land, at market value, from the Land Department in 2007.

All the present activities are incompatible within the urban environment and are a health hazard to the local community. No outdoor storage of any such plant and machinery vehicles is permitted.

The group of NGOs also query how Petra Bianchi, the director for environment protection within Mepa, could give this project her “blessing”. Mepa reaffirms that both the Environment Protection Directorate and the Planning Directorate, on assessing the full development application, were obliged to recommend this project for approval given that it reflected what was already granted in the 2006 outline permit.