The environment watchdog is objecting to the construction of a fuel service station in Luqa, on the grounds that the development is being proposed in a rural area outside the development zone (ODZ).

Submitted in August last year, the application also comprises car wash facilities, shops, a tyre service garage, a vehicle roadworthiness testing station as well as an automated teller machine. Furthermore, the applicant, Raymond Brincat, is proposing to install photovoltaic panels at roof level.

The area earmarked for this fuel station is in Triq Ħal Qormi, Luqa, adjacent to the Water Services Corporation head office.

Last October, the Environment and Resources Authority raised a number of objections over what is described as the “excessive scale” of the development which spans over 3,000 square metres, as well as the fact that it was being proposed on agricultural land.

Moreover, the ERA also ex-pressed a negative opinion on the construction of the ancillary facilities, saying these would result in “further unacceptable proliferation and intensification of additional large-scale physical developments in this remaining rural area”.

There was no valid justification for the further loss of rural land

The authority also argued that if such application would be approved, it would set a precedent for other developments along this arterial road, which acts as a gap between two industrial areas.

The ERA said that there was no valid justification for the further loss of rural land and associated environmental impacts when such development could be accommodated in areas already designated for such use, like industrial zones.

Consequently, it deemed the proposal as unacceptable and objectionable from an environmental point of view.

Meanwhile, a three-week public consultation on the terms of an environmental planning statement which is still being drafted has just been launched by the ERA.

According to a policy unveiled two years ago, an existing fuel station can be relocated to ODZ land as long as this is designated as non-agricultural. Relocation is also allowed if the alternate site is a disused quarry.

However, no fuel stations are allowed in conservation areas, Natura 2000 sites, garigue land, valleys and waterways. Moreover, such development must be at least 50 metres away from any scheduled areas and cannot exceed a footprint of 3,000 square metres.

The policy says that fuel stations should preferably be located in designated industrial areas, SME sites, areas of containment, open storage areas or other areas earmarked for development which are not designated as residential and residential priority areas.

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