A proposed fuel station in Attard will eat up potential vineyards and destroy several mature protected trees, environmental studies have concluded.
The application in Mdina Road will occupy about 3,000 square metres of rural land outside development zones, ‘relocating’ a kerbside station in Valley Road, Msida.
An environment planning statement newly published for public consultation concludes that it is likely to have major negative impacts on the area’s agriculture, landscape and visual amenity. The statement, published in the midst of an ongoing review of the controversial fuel stations policy, found that the project would result in the “permanent loss of potentially good quality agricultural land”.
While most of the site is uncultivated, a portion forms part of the Delicata Vineyard and, if not developed, the whole site could be used to cultivate vines or other crops, according to the EPS.
Moreover, dust generated during construction has the potential to affect production from the vineyard – depending on the timing of excavations – and from nearby fields in the Ta’ Bert area, due to the prevailing winds.
The refuelling service is only one small part of the business model of the development
The project will also involve the removal of one mature olive tree and five Aleppo pines, both protected species.
It states that the potential for relocation is “very limited” and that, while new trees will be planted, it will take “considerable time” for them to reach the same level of maturity.
The visual and landscape impacts are also considered to be major due to the introduction of a large modern structure into an otherwise rural environment.
The Environment and Resources Authority has objected to the application, finding “no justification for the further loss of undeveloped rural land and associated environmental impacts to accommodate such commercial use”.
The Attard local council said it was clear that “the refuelling service is only one small part of the business model of the development and that the additional commercial facilities are what necessitate the significantly larger site”.
The council argued that the development would be detrimental to the surrounding rural area and would lead to urban sprawl.
It also wondered whether another fuel station was required in such a short stretch of road. There are three fuel stations along Triq L-Imdina to Saqqajja, in Rabat, one just 500 metres away by the access road to Mount Carmel Hospital.
The developers have argued that their project was necessary as there were no other stations along the same side of the carriageway, in the Rabat-to-Valletta direction.
The Planning Authority advised the developers in May 2017 that “the proposal is in line with the fuel service stations policy provided that the EPS shows that the environmental issues have been resolved” but that “the planning justification by the architect is weak when compared to the studies carried out for other fuel stations ODZ”.