Pama supermarket plans retail centre beneath existing fields

The supermarket giant PG Holdings – the company that runs the Pama and Pavi supermarkets – is planning a new underground retail centre and supermarket in Naxxar.

The supermarket and retail space is actually being proposed below a 13,700sq.m agricultural field, which will be landscaped into a roof garden.

The site, which lies outside development zones, also includes a marble processing plant. Some of the plant’s stores are subject to a planning enforcement dating back to 2006.

The large retail outlet will be developed over an area of 11,709sq.m of which 7,623sq.m will be dedicated to the sale of retail goods.

The complex is described as a “supermarket retail shop” which will offer “a wide variety of products and services,” a project development statement submitted by the developers states.

Existing fields

At ground level, an entrance building will be developed together with a landscaped garden. A new vehicular entrance is being proposed to connect the new development with the existing Pama complex from Triq Pantar. The project envisages the excavation of three floors below the proposed roof garden.

The lowest floor will include a parking for 380 cars. A store with an underground connection to the existing Pama supermarket is being proposed on top of the parking storey, under the proposed retail centre.

The Environment and Resources Authority has already objected to the proposal, warning that it will lead to undesirable urban sprawl onto an area earmarked as a Strategic Open Gap in the local plan.

“Whilst the current proposal is limited to underground development, it is likely that this proposal will contribute to additional future pressures for further development on-site and for similar proposals in ODZ areas.”

The excavation of the entire site for the construction of the underground complex will generate 152,750 cubic metres of excavation waste.

ERA also warned of an exacerbation of the existing traffic pressures in the area, warning that the additional traffic generated by the proposal may potentially contribute to the degradation of air quality within the area.