PA shoots down attempt to greenwash petrol station extension

A ruse by the owners of an ODZ pertrol station in Burmarrad to get an extension by proposing new facilities underneath a proposed “public garden” has failed.

The application, presented by the owner of the petrol station, proposed a 127 sq.m tyre shop under , a 100 sq.m waste separation, a  reservoir, and an additional eight parking spaces underneath the proposed public garden.

But last week the Planning Commission  refused the proposed extension after the case officer concluded that the proposed development was in breach of the of the policy regulating ODZ petrol stations and of the Strategic Plan for Environment and Development (SPED.

Artistic impressions presented with the application depict a sizeable garden with 50 olive trees, 50 cypress trees, 25 bay laurel trees and a gazebo.

The Environment and Resources Authority had already  shot down the latest plans to add a new level on top of the petrol station, describing this as “a piecemeal approach to the over intensification of development on this particular site”.

The design advisory committee, a panel which advises the Planning Authority on design issues, was also appalled by the application, expressing concern about the visual impact of the proposal. “No further additions to the already approved structures should be permitted, so as to limit the already incongruous structure,” the panel concluded.

The 3000 sq.m petrol station, one of four beneficiaries of the discarded policy regulating ODZ fuel stations, was approved in 2017 despite objections by Environment and Resources Authority and the PA’s agriculture advisory committee.

A year later the Planning Authority also approved a 58sq.m snack bar – where no cooking is allowed – on land originally allocated for a car accessories shop. Subsequently the owners were granted a change-of-use permit to allow cooking on site. In 2020 the owners applied for a 200sq.m catering establishment build over two levels and the extension of their car accessory shop into the area occupied by the approved catering establishment. But this application was withdrawn in 2021.