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Environmental NGOs file objection against Lidl development
Nature Trust and Din l-Art Helwa oppose development of supermarket at ODZ site in Gozo.
19 July 2011, 12:00am
Matthew Vella
Matthew Vella
2 min read
Nature Trust (Malta) (NTM) and Din L-Art Ħelwa (DLĦ) have filed a formal objection against the proposed development of a Lidl supermarket in an outside development zone (ODZ) in Xewkija, saying that ODZ development permits are granted on a strictly limited basis and it is not acceptable to stretch the definition to include supermarkets. Lidl is proposing a supermarket in an area known as Ta’ Zejta in St Leonard Street.
In their objection letter to the chairman of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA), NTM and DLĦ noted that ‘outside development zones’ had been defined as such due to undeveloped land area being so limited and as a result there is a serious presumption against development.
“If we keep making exceptions for ad hoc developments in protected areas and use up virgin land, these areas will eventually be eroded and their protected status will be lost,” Din l-Art Ħelwa president Simone Mizzi said. “Supermarkets become retail parks, retail parks become villages, and this creates the need for roads and car parks. The prime minister is quoted to have said that ‘ODZ is ODZ’. We ask that MEPA makes no exception.”
Lidl already runs two supermarkets at former ODZ sites and the permits had been the subject of a MEPA inquiry and the authority’s internal auditor had criticised the Development Control’s decision to approve the projects.
“MEPA, as the national agency responsible for the protection of the environment, should make sure that sites outside development zones, are respected and protected,” Nature Trust executive president Vincent Attard said. “As a nation we cannot keep on stretching definitions like ODZ and finding loopholes to bypass the system, else we will end up with nothing. Malta simply cannot afford to lose on limited undeveloped areas and many mistakes that have already been made in the past.”
As an alternative to the use of undeveloped land in protected areas, the organisations have proposed the idea of encouraging the use of buildings or sites that have fallen into disuse.
Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...
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agree totally with schlangina...
I would love to see the complaints from anyone in this country if a Lidl supermarket had to open up directly next door...
Let them build in ODZ if required, as long is it is not is some site of huge economical importance..... if I am not mistaken this is a field close to a main road and not in a highly sensitive location...
sometimes we are a bit holier than the pope i think
Adrian Busuttil •
This ought to be brought to the attention of all European Green parties - let them see what Lidl gets up to in countries where they "think" they're not monitored.
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This is an application of outstanding civil arrogance. After getting away with two ODZ Lidl supermarkets in Safi and Luqa which the Mepa auditor had determined to be grossly irregular the same developer/operator is now descending in his usual tactical way to despoil a Gozo area which had been earmarked for eco friendly activities. No doubt the reason Lidl offers better prices is that unlike its competitors it can buy cheap ODZ land and site its supermarkets on them. Other commercial operators have to pay high rents for their business premises in approved commercial zones. But then perhaps other operators lack the influence and clout or are too ethical to obtain scandalous permits in ODZ zones. The PM had promised in his last MEPA reform that such scandalous ODZ permits would be fully controlled and mainly curtailed. Let us hope that this time the PM will keep to his word and instruct MEPA accordingly for this what we understood as being the gist of his recent MEPA reform. The situation of ODZ permits is worse than the government giving public land to deserving initiatives for there at least the approval of parliament is required. As a minimum I suggest that in future the approval by MEPA of any ODZ building application must be subsequently sanctioned by a parliamentary resolution before it becomes effective.
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It is rather obvious that the concept of siting supermarkets in the outskirts of towns cannot be applied in Malta and Gozo. And this is because of our small size and limited surface area. I thought after the last 25 years this 'criterion' would have been fundamental in our planning policy.
Donella Agius •
I do not have any interest whatsoever in Lidl or in any buisiness. But as I already know about Lidl in foreign countries, Lidl stores are nearly always built in the outskirts of the town or village, also due to the large carpark, which is standard everywhere for Lidl, so that it does not cause disruptions to the population of the place. Why should Malta be an exception? What is the logic that factories or such big buisiness should be built in the Development Zone? I personally think that such buildings should ALWAYS be built in ODZ.
