PA approves LIDL on General Soft drinks factory site

The Planning Authority has approved has approved the development of a Lidl supermarket and a car park on the site of the site of the shuttered General Soft Drinks factory in Qormi where the Planning Authority has already approved 150 apartments and three showrooms in a decision taken in 2021.

The development was approved by eight votes against two with the Qormi mayor Josef Masini Vento and board member Martin Camilleri voting against.

The Qormi mayor voted against because  the supermarket will be located in a residential area. He also expressed concern that the development will  aggravate traffic problems in the locality, when compared to the existing situation. 

New Lidl supermarket set to be built instead of proposed showroom and 150-apartment complex at former Coca-Cola factory

During the meeting board member Martin Camilleri who expressed concern on the traffic impact of the project revealed  that an outline permit setting parameters for development on the site in 2008 had been issued with specific condition ruling out a supermarket in the area due to its potential traffic impact.  

But current traffic studies approved by Transport Malta show that the supermarket will create less traffic than the three showrooms and 150 apartments approved three years ago.

The development is being proposed in a joint application presented by Lidl and the Mizzi group, whose subsidiary is the General Soft Drinks company, now located in Marsa.

The gate outside the old General Soft Drinks factory (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)

The supermarket will be sited in a catchment area roughly midway between Qormi’s Pavi supermarket, and a prospective supermarket at the former SWM Cortis premises in Ħaż-Żebbuġ. 

A traffic study concludes that the supermarket will capture traffic that is already on the network and will reduce pressure on the roundabouts at either end of Triq Manuel Dimech as a result of the creation of a more accessible supermarket for customers arriving from the west of Malta.

In today’s meeting project architect  Edwin Mintoff described the 81% reduction in the gross floor area of the project approved in 2021 as a “very unusual” move in the planning process.

“This will result  is an enormous reduction in all impacts and activities including traffic and visual impacts.”

Concern on traffic impact

Concerns were expressed on the traffic generation of the project by various members including Martin Camilleri who noted that the outline permit issued in 2008 setting parameters for future permits had specified that no supermarkets should be allowed in the area due to the traffic impact. 

The case officer recommending the development replied  that the outline permit  reflected a different context where 150 apartments were being proposed together with a number of showrooms.

“It is obvious that showrooms create less traffic than a supermarket but one has to consider the impact of the apartments which are no longer being proposed.”

Moreover the case officer also insisted that the outline permit was only applicable to the subsequent permit issued in 2021 and not to the present application.

Qormi mayor Josef Masini Vento recognised that a traffic impact assessment was held in 2021 showing that less traffic will be created by the supermarket than by the 150 apartments and showrooms approved three years ago.  But Valvo asked “will traffic increase over the existing situation?”

The project architect replied  “that the traffic generated will be lower than that created by the development approved in 2021.”

A traffic consultant replied that the new supermarket will relieve traffic going to other supermarkets passing from the same road network.

“Mdina road already serves supermarkets near the Marsa Park and Ride.  What will happen is that instead of going downstream and accumulating in a congestion area, these car trips will be absorbed by the new supermarket.”

Moreover the traffic consultant pointed out that foot traffic to the new supermarket will increase due to its location in the residential area, noting that more consumers especially foreigners do not buy in bulk.

Transport Malta has issued its clearance for the development because the expected trip generation will be lower than that of the residential development approved in 2021. According to a traffic impact study, while the supermarket is expected to generate between 120 and 146 car trips in peak hours, the residential development would have generated between 157 and 305 car trips in peak hours.

According to the project’s architect, the supermarket will have a vehicular entrance from Mdina Road, which will allow smooth entry into the car park. Customer vehicles will only be allowed to exit via Triq il-Vitorja. Unloading vehicles will access the site from Mdina Road, so as not to create any impact on residential amenities.  

Supermarket in a residential area

The other  downside is that the supermarket will be partially fronting a residential area, where supermarkets are only allowed by planning policies if there is “a strong planning justification” for them.

The proposed supermarket will have a frontage on both Mdina Road, which is designated as a commercial area, and on Triq il-Vitorja, which is designated as a residential area.

According to a case officer’s report recommending the development, the proposed elimination of the residential blocks and showrooms, replaced by a low supermarket structure and an open car park, will inevitably have a lesser visual impact on the surroundings while creating less traffic than the approved development.

The height of the supermarket will vary from 4.50m to 7.94m, and will mostly face Triq il-Vitorja, while the remaining residential block, consisting of just four apartments, will rise to 17.50m on Triq Alexandra.

The proposal includes 122 parking spaces in the supermarket’s open car park. The Planning Authority’s parking formula requires one parking space for every 10 sq.m of customer floor space, which in this case amounts to 1,200 sq.m. This means the car park will provide the 120 parking spaces required.  The permit issued today also refers to the creation of a 12 room for a pre-existing “borehole”.