Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar said today that the retail impact assessment of the proposed Lidl supermarket in Xewkija Gozo would divert €1.81 million from grocery stores in Victoria and, more significantly, €3.17 million from village grocery stores.
"The socio-environmental impact of the predicted closure of grocery outlets all over Gozo will be an enormous blow to elderly people and non-drivers both in terms of access to local stores as well as in terms of socialisation. These shops are essential to the life of every village and of the vulnerable sectors of society – lose them and we have lost another precious element of urban conservation areas (UCAs)," the NGO said.
It noted that the Mepa urban conservation policies state: “Small shops including grocers, bakers and household goods, contribute much to the character and vitality of these areas as places to live. In order to encourage the rehabilitation and re-use of UCAs and to reduce the number of disused and underused buildings it will be desirable to support as wide a range of uses within historic areas as possible.”
FAA said it was therefore asking how Mepa could issue such policies and at the same time recommend for approval a permit that would wipe out the very village shops that the policies seek to encourage.
It added that the new project would employ just 12 people but could cause over 100 Gozitans to lose their jobs, increasing the exodus of the young generation to Malta.
FAA said there was no reason why such a development should be located on an agricultural site.
"The impact of the parking of some 50 cars on the supermarket roof will give this area, known for its greenery and frequented by every tourist arriving in Gozo, the appearance of an industrial zone. The fact that the area designation was changed from showrooms attracting a few cars a day, to ‘Mixed Uses’, does not make a development generating so much traffic, appropriate close to an Eco-Gozo site. This project redirecting shopping patterns to an out-of-town centre will significantly increase traffic and vehicle emissions."
No impact assessments were carried out even though cars accessing Lidl will be driving over the petrol storage tanks of an adjacent petrol station that stocks enough fuel for nearly the whole island, as it supplies most Gozitan petrol stations, industries and hotels.
If approved this outlet will inevitably be increased by satellite shops, merging Xewkija with Victoria just as villages in Malta have merged together, forming one large conurbation. This violates MEPA policy: “It is important that settlements retain their distinctive identity and contact with the countryside around them. This identity is easily lost through ribbon development along the roads between settlements, allowing them to coalesce.”
Ultimately, why ruin a green valley when Lidl could occupy the empty premises of Malta Dairy Products or the ex-ETC Centre right next door?