ODZ shopping mall and hotel proposed next to Marsaskala petrol station

A commercial development, encompassing a supermarket, retail outlets, restaurants, and a hotel, is proposed on a 7,212sq.m site outside development boundaries along Triq Sant Antnin in Marsaskala next to a petrol station approved in 2018.

The new development is proposed just 155 meters away from another supermarket, proposed on the site of a long disused quarry along the same road. The application was presented by Carmelo Abela, Mario Abela, and Joe Attard, who declared full ownership of the site.

As proposed, the development will consist of the excavation of three basement levels, including two parking floors and a basement supermarket. The development will also include retail outlets, a shopping mall, and, at the ground floor level, a gym and a fast-food outlet on the overlying second floor, with restaurant outlets on the third floor. A five-storey hotel is proposed next to the shopping centre.

The site currently includes an old dwelling and a garage, and a part of it was used for the storage of beach cleaning equipment. The illegal activity was sanctioned by an appeals tribunal in 2009 following an earlier refusal by the Planning Authority. However, most of the site is undeveloped and includes several trees and rubble walls.

Plans of the proposed development

The application for the commercial complex next to the petrol station was presented on August 1, more than a month before another application proposing another supermarket on another ODZ site located just 155 meters away. The latter application was issued for public consultation in October, a month ago.

The supermarket is being proposed by Retail Marketing Limited, the company that owns the Wellbee’s supermarket chain. Plans submitted to the Planning Authority foresee the construction of a 1,520sq.m supermarket and a 520sq.m store at ground floor level within the disused quarry, a roof car park with 97 spaces, and photovoltaic panels at roof level.

The company proposing the development has declared that it is not the owner of the site in question but has been authorized to carry out such proposed development through an agreement with the owner.

Ephraim Schembri of the Schembri Barbros group had declared owning the land in question in an application for a shopping mall presented on the same site in 2017. The same group also owns the nearby petrol station approved on 1,500 sq.m of ODZ in 2018 and extended by a further 1,200sq.m in 2022.

In 2017, Schembri had proposed a basement parking area, commercial outlets, a drive-thru takeaway, a restaurant, and offices on the site of the disused quarry. The application was later withdrawn following strong objections by residents. Back then, the Environment and Resources Authority had also objected to the proposed development.

While acknowledging that the site of the disused quarry and its immediate surroundings do not appear to be environmentally sensitive, ERA insisted on the retention of the area as open space and its possible restoration into agricultural use in a way that can “improve the overall environmental quality of this rural area.” ERA had also expressed its concern that the development would result in further commercial development along the urban fringe.