Government moves to bury Gzira garden petrol station controversy once and for all

No petrol station will relocate to the Council of Europe Garden in Gzira as government drafts a new local council devolution contract, MaltaToday has learnt. 

Sources close to government said the new contract passing all the garden to the Gzira council will also cover the part that had been earmarked for the relocation of a petrol station. 

“The existing contract has expired but government has decided to renew the council’s authority on all the garden, including that part which was the subject of great controversy,” the sources said. 

This effectively puts a lid on the petrol station controversy. 

As part of a decades-long obligation to relocate the petrol station on Gzira’s waterfront, the government had identified a part of the garden as a suitable alternative. However, the Gzira council had objected and even won a court case against the Lands Authority blocking the relocation. 

However, with the devolution contract expired many feared that the government would hive off the part earmarked for the petrol station, making it easier to allocate the land for that purpose. 

But the sources said the decision to grant all the garden to the council in the new contract was a response to the people’s outcry. 

“In this way, the people of Gzira will have peace of mind that no petrol station will be relocated to the garden,” the sources said. 

No alternative site has yet been identified for the petrol station’s relocation, the sources added. 

Former Gzira mayor Conrad Borg Manche had fallen out with the Labour Party over the controversy, having gone head to head with party president Ramona Attard, who as a lawyer represented the Lands Authority in the legal proceedings. 

Former Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manche

Manche contested the European and local council elections as an independent, garnering a substantial following. In Gzira he was elected with second highest number of votes in what was a clear protest vote. 

“Even though the Labour Party still obtained an absolute majority of seats on the council, this does not mean this controversy should not be given immediate attention and this is why the new devolution contract will leave the garden’s footprint intact and include the area that was earmarked for the petrol station,” the sources said.