Mdina Road being earmarked for second ODZ petrol station

The son of Piju Camilleri, once notorious as an acolyte of the late Labour minister for public works Lorry Sant, is seeking a permit for a new petrol station on Mdina Road, in Attard.

Ludwig Camilleri has applied to relocate a kerbside fuel station in Valley Road, Msida, to a 3,000 square metre site outside development zone, on Mdina Road.

Both Piju Camilleri and Ludwig Camileri are directors of Luqa Developments Limited.

A newly-approved planning policy now permits the relocation of petrol stations that are presently located in urban areas, to land outside development zones (ODZ). 

Additionally, the policy allows owners to expand their operation to up to 3,000 square metres when relocated to ODZ areas.

The petrol station is being proposed just a short distance away from the controversial Pit Stop petrol station near Mount Carmel Hospital, which had been approved in 2006 despite a clear recommendation by the case officer for a refusal. Residents whose houses are just 40 metres away from the petrol station had opposed the development over rising levels of benzene pollution. The area is also an important water catchment area.

The new proposal would require the felling of a number of trees along the road and the demolition of existing rubble walls.

Camilleri owns several plots of land in the area, some of which date back to the 1980s when Camilleri served as Lorry Sant’s works manager. Plans to construct dwellings in the area were opposed by former Labour minister Daniel Micallef and subsequently the area was declared outside development boundaries by the newly elected PN government.

A proposal for a 1,000-grave cemetery on a nearby site along Mdina Road between Attard and Rabat was also submitted in 2011, but a recently approved policy bans the development of new cemeteries.