Harare City Council has introduced tighter regulations governing the construction of new fuel stations amid growing public concern over the rapid increase of service stations, particularly those being established near residential properties.
The new measures are aimed at strengthening public participation, improving safety standards and ensuring proposed developments meet planning, environmental and energy regulations before licences are issued.
Harare City Council acting Director of Public Planning, SamuelNyabezi, revealed the measures during a meeting with Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Energy and Power Development at Town House.
The meeting followed petitions from members of the public who raised concerns over the sprouting of fuel stations, with some developments allegedly being located close to residential areas and posing potential fire risks.
Nyabezi said council now requires fuel station applicants to publicly display information about their proposed developments.
“We now require that the applicant for a service station install a billboard on the property. The billboard will state the nature of the application, the diagrams about the application, in this case the diagrams for the service station,” he said.
He added that the billboard would also provide an opportunity for members of the public and neighbouring residents to raise objections before council makes a final decision.
“On the billboard, we will also advise the public and the neighbours to submit any objections or representations that they may have to the local planning authority,” Nyabezi said.
He said the council would consider submissions from residents, experts and other stakeholders before approving an application.
“Thereafter, we will listen to any objections or submissions that may come from the neighbours, the public and the other experts because we also circulate the application to various stakeholders. We thoroughly interrogate the application before it is concluded,” he said.
Council has also introduced a policy preventing the establishment of new service stations within 1.5 kilometres of one another.
“It is a recent policy which says that no self-station should be established within one and a half kilometres of each other,” Nyabezi said.
The policy also sets the minimum size of a service station site at 2 000 square metres to allow adequate space for the station and ancillary structures.
Before construction begins, developers must also submit an Environmental Impact Assessment report or study approved by the Environmental Management Agency, while complying with conditions set by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority.
Nyabezi said the council was particularly concerned about service stations located near residential properties.
“We also insist on minimum distances, especially for those service stations which are close to residential neighbours,” he said.
He added that developers would be required to construct appropriate walls where service stations share boundaries with residential properties.
“We also insist on certain walls that should be built by the service station owner if the service station shares boundaries with residential properties,” Nyabezi said.
He assured the parliamentary committee that the council had intensified scrutiny of applications and consultations with local communities and other stakeholders.
Acting chairperson of the committee, Engineer Lesley Mhangwa, said Parliament’s verification visits were intended to establish concerns raised by communities.
“We are on verification visits across the country to get first-hand information on concerns raised by the public to ensure that safety issues are addressed and others that the service station operators may have,” he said.
The measures come as authorities face increasing pressure to balance demand for fuel infrastructure with public safety, proper urban planning and the protection of communities living near potentially hazardous developments.
