Another petrol station in an outside development zone is being proposed in Mqabba, with the Environment and Resources Authority launching a public consultation on the matter.
The facility at L-Andar ta’ Fuq will consist of an underground fuelling installation with six pump machines centrally located within a large open area.
According to the project description statement, the fuel station will offer other services such as a car wash, showroom and a repair and maintenance centre.
The site now serves as an open yard for a crusher and the production and storage of concrete blocks.
Environmental impact will be slight as it is an area of containment
The developers are asking for a full development permit covering 2,577 square metres of the approximately 3,222 square metres of land outside development zone. The proposed petrol station would fall on the border of an archaeological buffer zone for a third century BC tomb and stands about 300 metres from a Luqa bird sanctuary.
The project, being proposed by architect Claude Mallia and Dennis Farrugia on behalf of Denfar Limited, is expected to take six months to complete.
The project description statement said that although the proposed service area would have a specific and localised visual impact, soft landscaping along the stretch of road would seek to soften such impact.
“The area proposed has no top soil, so environmental impact will be slight as it is an area of containment,” the project description said.
It described the waste generated during construction as “very limited” saying excavated material would be carted into an adjoining site where it would be crushed and recycled.
The public consultation comes hot on the heels of a request by Environment Minister Josè Herrera to review the fuel stations policy in place. He asked the Environment and Resources Authority to review the policy over the next two months after NGOs objected to recent developments consisting of fuel service stations.
Insisting on the “positive intention of the current policy”, Dr Herrera noted the significant concern regarding the cumulative environmental impact.