Siġġiewi centre petrol station likely to stay, to neighbours' disappointment

Siġġiewi residents hoping that a petrol station adjacent to a 16th-century chapel in the main square would be relocated outside the village core were disappointed following a decision by the Planning Authority. According to a new fuel stations policy, introduced in 2015, petrol stations in urban areas were deemed to be incompatible with the surrounding context and had to be relocated to areas outside village cores. Residents told the Times of Malta that since Mallia Petrol Station, situated on a kerbside adjacent to the 1942 St Mary’s chapel, in the middle of Pjazza San Nikola, was one of the stations in conflict with the new policy, they were expecting that an application for its refurbishment would be accepted only if it was moved to a place outside the village core. “To our big surprise, it seems that this will not happen at all, despite the clear policy.  Somehow, the Planning Authority accepted that our piazza is to be excavated to put in new fuel tanks and the petrol station can stay in place,” a frustrated resident told this newspaper. “To add insult to injury, the architect working for this green light was a former Siġġiewi mayor, while the Siġġiewi local council gave...