Did The Graffitti Protest Work? Planning Authority Confirms Imminent Update To Fuel Station Policy
Remember that recent protest at the Planning Authority headquarters which got ugly after police officers intervened to physically drag the Moviment Graffitti activists out of the building?
It was overshadowed by the dramatic scenes, but the reason the protestors were there in the first place was to bring attention to the seeming lack of progress on the Environment Minister’s pledge, back in January, to review a controversial fuel station policy.
And the Planning Authority has now confirmed with Lovin Malta that a specially-appointed team will finalise its review of the policy in the coming days, after which it will be sent to the PA’s Executive Council for its endorsement and then issued for a six weeks public consultation exercise.
Introduced in 2015, the fuel station policy allows the relocation of current fuel stations to land outside development zones as well as the construction of entirely new fuel stations on ODZ land. Four ODZ fuel stations have been approved thanks to this policy so far, eating up a combined 12,000 m2 of agricultural land in Burmarrad , Maghtab, Marsaskala and Luqa in the process.
Back in January, Environment Minister Jose Herrera said concern about the policy’s environmental impact had prompted him to instruct the Environment Authority (ERA) to propose revisions to the PA.
ERA’s proposals, published in April, include a ban on the construction of new fuel stations on ODZ land, a much smaller maximum footprint for new fuel stations, and a limitation of the permitted ancillary facilities at fuel stations to outlets which offer vehicle maintenance services.
The PA said it started working on its own review on 16th July, as soon as an initial public consultation exercise closed.
“A first draft was finalised mid-August and was sent out to various consultees for their comments and feedback,” the PA spokesperson said. “The consultees were given 30 days, but one of them requested an extension of time.”
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