PA set to approve 'upgrade' of Kwart ta’ Mil drag racing track

The Planning Authority is set to approve an “upgrade” of the existing  Kwart ta’ Mil drag racing strip in Hal Far.

The decision will be taken before the PA considers another application for the construction of a new racetrack on adjacent industrial land earmarked for this purpose by the government.

The Kwart ta’ Mil site occupies an area of 69,430sq.m and currently consists of a drag racing strip operated by the Malta Motorsport Federation.

The current application envisages the reconstruction of the spectator stands with underlying changing rooms, stores, sanitary facilities and a 705sq.m retail shop.

It also foresees the relocation and reconstruction of the existing control tower and the construction of a four-storey block consisting of administration offices, two catering establishments, a multipurpose hall and a VIP hospitality box.

The project is aimed at upgrading the existing track to international safety standards.

The retail shop and restaurants will be ancillary to the racing track and will only be accessible through the main entrance of the sporting facility and only operational during the operating hours of the sport facility.

The case officer is recommending approval since the proposal conforms with local plan policies for the area which is already designated for sports and recreational activities. A final decision will be taken by the Planning Board on 22 February.

The Environment and Resources Authority has already issued its go-ahead for the upgrading of the drag racing track and has concluded the proposal poses “no environmental concern”.

But ERA had called for further studies to assess the impact of a new racetrack adjacent to the drag racing facility to assess its impact on the neighbouring Natura 2000 sites and colonies of Scopoli’s and Yelkouan shearwater birds that inhabit the cliffs.

The Natura 2000 sites are located 600m from the proposed racing track and even closer to the existing drag racing track.

Birdlife had flagged the risk of a piecemeal approach to the area and had called for the different components of the project to be assessed in one single application with impacts assessed holistically.

A masterplan published in 2022  was largely limited to the  proposal to develop a completely new motor racing track in Ħal Far while referring to the existing karting track and the drag racing facility, as the other two other components of the “national multi-purpose motorsports hub”.

In September 2023 Duncan Micallef had told MaltaToday that the association is currently revising the masterplan after the government allocated a further 20,000sq.m of industrial land to the 82,900sq.m originally earmarked for the project.

Micallef had attributed the changes to design and safety issues highlighted by the German experts Tilke GmbH & Co. KG, who were hired by the association to design the track.

The applications are being proposed on brownfield sites and do not directly impact on the natural environment, but concerns have been expressed on noise and light pollution particularly during events.