Airport expansion: Gudja council calls for retail impact study

A retail impact assessment has to establish whether the opening of a new retail establishment like a supermarket has an adverse impact on town centres.

A retail impact assessment should be made to assess the impact on businesses and town centres in Gudja and neighbouring towns of the expansion of the Malta International Airport, which includes a 2,000 square metre supermarket.

This is one of the demands made by the Gudja local council in a report prepared by architect Carmel Cacopardo.

Cacopardo was asked by the council to assess the Environmental Impact Statement recently presented by the developers’ consultants.

The architect criticises the MEPA for not ordering the developers to conduct such a retail impact assessment.

The interim retail planning guidelines approved in 2014 oblige developers to conduct a retail impact assessment whenever large-scale retail projects are proposed.

A retail impact assessment has to establish whether the opening of a new retail establishment like a supermarket has an adverse impact on town centres.

It should also assess any impact on the social and economic life of local communities.

“Put simply: what is the impact which the retail and commercial outlets proposed in the Malta International Airport Masterplan will have on the small business community in Gudja, and consequently on the social fabric of the Gudja community?” the report asks.

The impact on other localities surrounding the Malta International Airport, like Ħal-Luqa, Ħal-Safi and Ħal-Kirkop should also be assessed, according to the report.

The report also claims that the envisaged increase in traffic will impact Gudja residents.

“The impacts on Gudja residents are substantial as for long stretches of time, parking spaces earmarked for Gudja residents are taken up by Malta International Airport clients and/or employees”.

Studies on the airport’s noise impact should also assess the impact of increased passenger movement in the airport itself, according to the council’s report.

“One major shortcoming of the EPS is its failure to identify the airport’s targets for passengers and flights handled in the near future”, the report claims.

So far the studies have been limited to the impact of the new commercial infrastructure and not to the airport’s core operations.

But according to Cacopardo underlying the whole project is the idea of transforming the airport into a business hub and an assumption that core operations will also expand.

One key impact is the increase of flights during night hours, especially after a decision taken in 2012 to waive “the night surcharge all year round”.

The report welcomes the proposed construction of a new water reservoir.

“This is a welcome development as currently large quantities of storm water are channeled into an open reservoir in Gudja”.  

As a result of heavy storms the Gudja reservoir overflows into Wied Garnaw and on various occasions it is known to have caused substantial damage in the area.

But the proposed reservoir is considered inadequate for the quantity of storm water flowing in the area.

“The whole matter should be revisited and Malta International Airport should aim to retain on site a higher proportion of the storm water. It could be put to good use”.