Planning Board approves five-storey Burmarrad commercial development

The Planning Board has approved an eight-vote-to-one proposal for a five-level commercial development on a vacant site in Burmarrad, opposite the Kiabi discount store and near a petrol station developed in the ODZ in 2017.

Locality mayor Censu Galea was the only member to vote against.

Although the site lies outside the development zone (ODZ), changes to the local plan paved the way for multi-storey commercial buildings along a 20,000sq.m stretch of Burmarrad Road.

The previous zoning, allowed only single-storey development, mainly for showrooms, vehicle repairs and storage.

Application PA/00219/26, submitted by Keith Grima, proposes a mixed-use building on an 860sq.m site along Triq Burmarrad, reaching the maximum permitted height of 17.5m. 

It will include four basement levels with 62 parking spaces, a ground-floor restaurant with outdoor seating, a showroom on the first floor, retail space on the second, offices on the third and a second restaurant on a recessed level. The development will include a three-metre public pedestrian passage along the site's rural edge.

Locality mayor Censu Galea opposed the development over concerns about increasing traffic, in line with the council’s objections to other applications in the area.

He also questioned why no additional ‘planning gain’ was imposed on a project of this scale, beyond the standard €155,000 contribution towards its parking shortfall.

The development provides 62 spaces against a requirement of 83. Galea said local councils were struggling to use funds collected through parking contributions, which cannot be used to repair the locality’s roads.

A previous application for the redevelopment of the Burmarrad Commercials car depot as a shopping mall had included a contribution of 3% of the total cost of junction upgrades triggered by the project.

The site consists of disused agricultural land enclosed by traditional rubble walls, although parts have been altered over the years. The case officer’s report also refers to a 1997 enforcement case concerning the unauthorised excavation of soil and construction of a retaining wall. 

The local plan changes, approved by the Planning Authority in 2019 following a government proposal in 2018, allow offices, retail and catering establishments along Burmarrad’s main road.