Tribunal halts works on ODZ Marsaskala fuel station until appeal is decided

A tribunal has halted works on an ODZ Marsaskala fuel station construction project until an appeal against the planning permit is decided.

Last October, the Planning Authority had dismissed a resident’s call for the revocation of the permit, finding instead for the planning directorate.

The resident in question had filed an appeal to the decision. The Environmental and Planning Review Tribunal upheld the request to suspend works but still has to decide on whether the permit should be revoked or not.

According to the law, when a permit is given and subsequently appealed, the appellant can request halting of works until the final decision in the appeal is handed down.

Last year the Planning Authority board confirmed the permit for a petrol station of 1,500 square metres, located outside development zone in Marsaskala, opposite the family park.

The site, owned by Patrick Guntrip, had its permit approved in 2017 but the PA subsequently dismissed a call for its revocation, made by a resident and supported by the planning directorate.

The resident asked for a revocation of permit over the wrong placement in 2010 of a site notice which was attached to the waste recycling plant – on the opposite part of the road and not on the site of the petrol station. This was evidenced by photos on the PA’s website.

A resident argued that this constituted incorrect information, which resulted in a situation where potential objectors were precluded from doing so as they were not aware of the site. “The next door neighbours were never aware of the application. If the notice had been attached on the correct site, they would have objected,” Natalino Caruana de Brincat, the lawyer making the case for the resident, argued.

Former PA chief executive Ian Stafrace, representing the applicant, argued that it was the PA’s contractor who had attached the site notice. He argued that the original application was different and included a smaller plot of land near the recycling plant. Subsequently the application was changed to exclude this site and was republished in newspapers.

The planning directorate had recommended that the permit be revoked and the application reconsidered to ensure that everyone has a chance to object.

In its decree the EPRT, composed of architect Roderick Spiteri, lawyer Carlos Bugeja and architect Alessandra Fiott, noted that it was not permitted to examine the merits of the case, but only to carry out a preliminary assessment as to whether the suspension of works is required.

In view of the fact that the fuel station is proposed in a sensitive ODZ area, the tribunal suspended the permit until it could properly examine the issue at hand.

Lawyer Natalino Debrincat appeared for the appellants.