Planning Board against ODZ petrol station but vote not final

The Planning Board today voted against granting a permit for a controversial ODZ fuel station in Maghtab.

The vote saw six of the eight Planning Board members declare themselves against approving the petrol station but a final vote has to be taken in another sitting as required by law in cases where the recommendation of the case officer is overturned.

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Rejected ODZ petrol station to be reconsidered

The case officer had recommended approval as the fuel station was deemed to conform with the policy regulating fuel stations in the ODZ approved in 2015. If approved, the project will replace two farmhouses which existed pre-1967 – deemed by the Planning Authority to be a “typical example of vernacular architecture in a rural setting”.

The 3,500 square metre project includes a fuel station, a car wash and a retail outlet and is being proposed near an intersection on the Telgha t’Alla w’ Ommu road,  on a triangular-shaped land near Triq l-Arznu, where the main road exits onto Maghtab.

The development is being proposed in a rural hamlet located in ODZ, where development should respect the area’s rural characteristics. The project is being proposed by Abel Energy Limited, which is owned by the Malta Mediterranean Hub plc that now runs the former shipbuilding docks in Marsa.

In 2014, Transport Malta had awarded a direct order to Ablecare Oilfield Services Holdings for the use of the former shipbuilding site before the company was named as the preferred bidder for the development of a maritime hub in January 2015.