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News | Sunday, 09 May 2010

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MEPA has change of heart on ODZ supermarkets


The planning authority’s Development Control Commission (DCC) has asked the developer of an ODZ supermarket to locate the project entirely within building zones.
The decision signals a change in the way MEPA tackled supermarkets located outside development zones before the 2008 general election, when two Lidl supermarkets built by developer Charles Polidano were approved in Luqa and Safi.
Now the DCC is insisting that no part of a 4,700m2 supermarket in Xewkija should built outside development zones.
Country View, which is being represented by architect Joseph Bondin, first proposed locating the supermarket outside the building zones, and keep its car park within development boundaries.
Subsequently, fresh designs proposed locating the car park outside the zones and the supermarket within the building area – a proposal deemed unacceptable to the case officer, who recommended an outright refusal.
Last Wednesday, the DCC asked the architect to submit fresh plans to locate both developments within the building schemes, instead of refusing the development.
The case officer also objected to the project for not providing enough parking space, and hinted that an underground car park beneath the supermarket could be a compromise.
In another sign that MEPA has become less liberal on granting permits to ODZ supermarkets, the planning directorate has also recommended the refusal of an ODZ Lidl supermarket in Zabbar.


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