The eNGOs Ramblers Association, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Malta Organic Agriculture Movement and Friends of the Earth (Malta) are publicly calling for the immediate rescinding of the full development permit recently granted by the MEPA Board for the relocation of a petrol station from Mgarr square to a pristine Out of Development Zone in the same village.
The NGOs point out that the Outline Permit for a petrol station on this site expired on the 28th March 2011. Since the MEPA Chairman stated that the Full permit was granted principally because MEPA was ‘committed’ by the Outline Permit, the NGOs maintain that MEPA has no alternative but to immediately revoke the Full Permit since the Outline Permit was no longer valid when the Full Permit was granted.
Furthermore, the MEPA chairman is aware that Full Permits have been refused in the past, even when the Outline Permit was still valid, let alone in this case.
The four eNGOs wish to explain more fully why they consider the Mepa Board’s Mgarr decision as a step which will have profound negative implications.
This decision confirms the conviction that it was a big mistake to entrust the protection of the environment to the Planning Authority, which continues to give precedence to planning considerations informed by at times unscrupulous commercial interest. This is the inevitable conclusion considering that:
(1) alternative sites, already disturbed and obtainable around Mgarr, were not considered simply because the site was owned by the developer, because the local mayor backed the developer and because an Outline Permit was issued in 2006! Are these the sort of criteria which determine the fate of pristine ODZ and heritage in Malta?
(2) it was the duty of the Authority to come down heavily on the applicant for not heeding the Enforcement Order that was served on him for years on end, making a mockery of the Authority’s authority (sic). He even lost an Appeal on the issue. Instead of MEPA taking direct action to remove the illegallity, this abuse that has ruined the landscape both visually and ecologically for years, has now earned the abuser a permit to desecrate no less than 2500 square meters of virgin land. Again, is it this sort of ominous reasoning with which the Mepa Board decides the fate of ODZ sites?
(3) the archaeological, hydrological and scenic importance of the location should have prompted a more thorough assessment of the proposal, as well as a careful consideration of other relevant factors which have changed since 2006. How could the newly-appointed Environment Protection Director have given the project her blessing? Was she not aware of the existence of protected giren and trees on this site? Did she not know of the proximity to the Ghajn Rihana water catchment area? These factors on their own should have blocked this permit. But it seems that these considerations fade into insignificance in the face of that other major criterion: ODZ land comes cheap, especially when it is public land obtained through the Lands Department!
(4) The approved proposal violates at least ten MEPA policies and regulations. And, just in case the Board has not noticed this other detail, the site now enjoying a full development permit is over twice the size of that approved in the Outline Permit due to the addition of a car-wash, vehicle showroom and panelbeater/mechanic- another reason why the Outline Permit is not a valid justification for approval of this permit..
The above considerations lead the eNGOs to register their lack of confidence in the Planning and Environment tandem.
