Għaxaq braces for second retail centre on industrial site

Għaxaq could have a second retail centre just 300m away from another larger commercial complex being proposed along Tal-Barrani road.

The latest application is for a retail complex instead of a scrap yard, which the environmental watchdog has said poses no significant environmental impacts.

The new development is set to include a supermarket, shops, offices, restaurants and 650 parking spaces spread over 17,500sq.m of land.

The application was originally submitted by Jurgen Sammut for Southpark Ltd. Sammut has since resigned from company director. Southpark Ltd is owned by Glenn and Joseph Cassar, who as shareholders in Trihills Heavy Industry Ltd own the scrapyard that has been operational since the 1980s.

The development is being proposed just 300m away from another massive shopping centre planned instead of the Schembri Barbros construction plant near the Lidl supermarket. Both applications were presented in 2020.

In its preliminary assessment of the latest project to replace the scrapyard, ERA expressed no environmental concerns, noting that the area is zoned for industrial activities and is surrounded by other industrial developments.

But the authority has made it clear that the approval of the new shopping mall should not serve as a commitment to justify the relocation of the scrap yard to another area. It insisted that any alternative site for the scrap yard will be assessed on its own merits.

ERA had expressed the same concerns with regards to the displacement of the Schembri Barbros construction plant.

A project development statement presented by the proponents, states that the scrap yard will be relocated to an unspecified alternative site.

Moreover, ERA will only express a final judgement after developers submit an estimate of the expected increase in daily car trips generated by the project and upon finalisation of a land contamination investigation and site clearance report originally submitted in September 2021.

The proposed site lies within an Area of Containment and is divided into two areas: a southern area, which is currently occupied by the scrapyard; and a northern 4,500sq.m area, which is not built up but is in a derelict state.

Current policies limit development in Areas of Containment to vehicle repairs and maintenance, storage and showrooms as main uses, and retail and administrative offices as an ancillary facility to the main uses.

Originally in 1997, the PA had issued an enforcement order against illegalities on the scrapyard. In 2017, the PA approved a request filed in 2006 to regularise the site and build a three-storey administration block, after the yard was designated as an ELV Treatment Facility for scrapped vehicles. In 2019, the PA approved a 2,500sq.m extension and a garage for heavy vehicles.

In a project development statement, the developers claim redevelopment into a commercial area will reduce the negative environmental and visual impacts of the yard, to the benefit of consumers in the south of Malta who will be able to make use of larger and specialised retail shops.