Maghtab petrol station application set to be refused by PA

The Planning Authority is set to reject plans for controversial petrol station in Magħtab, confirming a decision taken last year but which it was ordered by an appeals tribunal to reconsider.

In a preliminary vote today, the PA board voted by six to two to stick by its original decision and reject the plans to demolish two derelict farmhouses and build a fuel station with an electric car charging station, car wash, shop, car mechanic workshop, stores and a parking area.

A formal decision will be taken in the coming weeks.

PA chairman Vince Cassar, who voted against the application today, said the proposal was unacceptable due to the take-up of around 3,500 square metres of ODZ land, the development’s visual impact, as well as doubts over whether the site area was in line with the fuel stations policy.

Read: PD calls for fuel station policy to be revisited

Residents had long complained that the development, on a triangular plot of land between Triq is-Salina and Trejqet l-Arznu, Naxxar, near the T’Alla u Ommu hill, would bring with it a host of environmental issues including rural deterioration and noise pollution, as well as problems of traffic, safety and flooding.

Objections...