PAMA downscales shopping mall plans

A proposed extension to the PAMA shopping complex in Mosta for a new mall on disturbed land outside development boundaries, will be downscaled.

A new access to the shopping complex will be added because the present entrance from Pantar road poses a safety risk. Transport Malta has ordered the relocation of access due to “a serious risk to vehicles”, and now PAMA is proposing an entrance further up the road for better visibility for vehicles.

The entrance will pass through the ODZ site where the new, two-storey mall is being proposed. Originally the area was identified for a large, 7,600sq.m underground mall topped by a roofed garden. The project was objected to by the Environment and Resources Authority and now substantially downscaled.

PAMA will limit above-ground development to footprint of a disused marble factory, with underground parking and storage levels limited to the yard of the building. A tunnel will link the shopping mall to the supermarket. The rest of the site will be retained as agricultural land.

The ERA is still objecting to the uptake of ODZ land, saying the proposal is still of “environmental concern” and that development should stay inside the area containment as approved back in 2014.