Landowners who wanted cemetery, now eyeing Attard petrol station

3,000 square metres of land at Rmiedi, along Mdina Road in Attard, which had been previously identified for the development of a private cemetery is now being proposed for the relocation of an existing petrol station from Valley Road in Msida.

Ludwig Camilleri of Luqa Developments Limited, which had previously proposed a cemetery in the area, is making the proposal.

The company includes the controversial Piju Camilleri among its directors, an influential figure in the Planning Areas Permits Board of the 1980s, the body that issued building permits under the late Labour minister Lorry Sant.  

Camilleri bought the licence of the Msida petrol station in March 2014. Subsequently an application was presented to relocate the petrol station to Salini.

But in July 2015 Camilleri applied to relocate the same petrol station to Attard.

The newly-approved planning policy now permits the relocation of petrol stations located in urban areas to land lying 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The application for the private cemetery, which has not been withdrawn, hit a snag when the government approved a new planning policy banning the development of new cemeteries.

The proposal for a 1,000-grave cemetery on a site outside development boundaries along Mdina Road between Attard and Rabat includes plans for Malta’s first crematorium, as well as a multi-denominational service room. 

The latest plans for a petrol station, presented on June 17, foresee development on ground floor and first floor levels. Plans also foresee a take-away, stores and a shop apart from car wash facilities and a tyre service garage.