Mayor: Fgura needs gardens not Lidls

Fgura is in dire need of more public urban spaces and community facilities, not more supermarkets, Labour mayor Byron Camilleri told MaltaToday when asked for his reaction to a planning application over 12,000 square metres of land added to development zones in the 2006 extension of building boundaries.

The Fgura mayor is claiming that the Lidl supermarket proposed on a former scrapyard could be in breach of the local plan.

The local plan stipulates that any development of the site should include recreational facilities in the form of public urban open spaces, social and community facilities as well as residential and commercial/retail development. 

“Lidl’s application is only about utilizing a huge chunk of the area for retail use, and parking for supermarket customers. There is no mention of public urban spaces, social and community facilities or residential development. Actually, if the proposal is accepted, there will be no reasonable space left for any public urban spaces or social and community facilities, as provided by the local plan,” Camilleri told MaltaToday.

He also pointed out that Fgura is already suffering from huge traffic congestion and air pollution problems.

“Such a supermarket, targeting Fgura and Cottonera customers, shall increase our traffic congestion with more vehicles, including heavy vehicles, making use of Fgura’s main and side roads”.

The land had been previously identified for residential development in a planning application presented by Disma and Lawrence Attard in 2003 but the application was later withdrawn. 

Lidl is now registered as the sole owner of the extensive brownfield site.

The local plan approved in 2006 states that MEPA will encourage the removal of the licensed scrapyard in Triq id-Dejma by allowing “retail and residential development” in the area.

According to the local plan development of this site should include recreational facilities in the form of public urban open spaces, social and community facilities as well as “residential and commercial/retail development”. Development proposals will include the provision of a road linking Triq id-Dejma.  The development proposed by Lidl includes a small child play area and a car park. 

Lidl has already opened two ODZ stores, in Luqa and Safi, both approved before the 2008 general elections. Other Lidl stores are in Sta Venera, San Gwann, Zejtun, and Qormi, and in Xewkija, a small part of which is also outside the development zones.  

Lidl had also applied to build ODZ stores in Mosta and Zabbar but both applications have been rejected. The chain has two pending applications for new supermarkets, one on ODZ land by the Birkirkara bypass and another at the Fort Blocks industrial complex in Mosta.