Fuel station rules encouraging speculation on rural land

Land speculators are being encouraged to buy up cheap agricultural land to “turn it into a rural commercial goldmine”, Democratic Party MP Godfrey Farrugia has warned.

Farrugia was reacting to a planned review of the Planning Authority’s fuel stations policy that prompted a ‘gold rush’ to relocate urban fuel stations, to motorways outside development zones on larger tracts of land.

The review of the rules was announced last week by environment minister José Herrera, under whose purview the Environment Resources Authority falls.

But Farrugia said that the PA had failed to encourage one single fuel station to relocate to a more suitable area since the policy came out in 2015, despite the fact that the policy dictates this.

“I expect that the PA embarks on a proactive approach which includes economic incentives to relocate, and impose a standard maximum time limit for all urban stations to relocate within the conditions imposed as above.”

The policy approved in 2015 permits the relocation of petrol stations situated in urban areas, deemed to be unsafe, to ODZ areas where these can occupy 3,000 sq.m of land. Moreover it also permits brand new petrol stations near industrial areas, and so-called areas of containment, which are transitional areas between industrial zones and the countryside.

This has encouraged a lucrative sale of fuel station licences to entrepreneurs buying ODZ property for mega fuel stations.

Despite the call for a review of the rules, which Herrera said could be “objectionable due to the detrimental impacts on the environment”, it is ultimately the Planning Authority’s executive council that will have to take the rules on board. The PA falls under transport minister Ian Borg’s responsibility.

Lawyer Claire Bonello, a spokesperson for the eNGO Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar, said the policy is flawed because it doesn’t only deal with relocation of pumps but also adds completely new petrol stations with ancillary facilities, such as cafeterias and services such as car-washing and panel beating.

Rather than merely relocate petrol stations, she said that the policy encourages the conversion of ODZ land into a “huge commercial enterprise” – something she described as “disgusting”.

“There is an alarming number of petrol stations and the policy needs to be amended to take into consideration how many petrol stations are actually needed. In light of the fact that Malta needs to abide by certain limits in regards to reduction of emissions and addressing the ‘petrol-guzzling mindset’, it doesn’t make sense to increase the number and size of fuel stations, particularly in this manner.”

Bonello said the inclusion of ancillary activities should be removed, and a clearer definition of where exactly the stations can be contained is necessary, as the policy is vague when describing where these can be placed.

“The review of the policy is a start,” Bonello said, adding that she is grateful the minister has at least taken it up.

“I think ERA would be amenable, and I wouldn’t like to think that the PA is deaf to common sense.”

But Godfrey Farrugia said that he does not trust the PA.

“The PA has been exemplary in one thing: finding loopholes. It is anti-legal… I’m however confident that an agreement will be reached due to the involvement of the parliamentary committee.”

The Democratic Party is expected to submit its official proposals on Wednesday at the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Development.

Farrugia said the fuel stations policy does not fit in a long-term national plan and “does not support Government’s recent declaration that local transport should go electric by 2040.”

Instead, he proposes that applications for new stations can only be accepted if an “established pre-defined scientific threshold” is not exceeded in the area. The threshold should be set based on projections in line with the national policy and the fact that vehicles will not require fuel by 2040.

He also believes that it is imperative for data on geographical density to be collected, and that the minimum distance between one fuel station and another has to be strictly kept and not exceed a minimum distance of 1.5km from the nearest fuel station, and areas of agricultural value and landscape or plateaus need to be strictly protected in all local plans.

There are currently 77 fuel stations in Malta and 8 in Gozo.