Rusted lampposts, torn-down signs, piled-up tires, a metal structure without a roof, and even a building converted into a workshop, containing several cars, some of which were involved in accidents.
Not exactly a nice picture for those arriving in Santa Giusta from state road 131. This is the scene the local police found themselves facing.
The area in question is municipal property and is located on Via Papa Giovanni XXIII. It is used by Vega Carburanti SpA, which has operated the gas station in Santa Giusta since 1986. The operators now have thirty days to clean up the entire area. They will have to close their business and pack up their bags by December 31, 2026. This decision was made a few days ago by the Municipality of Santa Giusta. This is stated in Council Resolution No. 89, which directs the offices to order Vega to clean up and restore the area to its original condition and vacate it within three months.
"We certainly can't present ourselves this way," Mayor Antonello Figus blurts out. "After several reports, the local police conducted an inspection, and the results they found were shocking. This is a state of degradation, furthermore, in conflict with a series of interventions already underway to enhance the natural and environmental heritage of the woodland behind the petrol station area." But there's an interesting twist. As stated in the council resolution, when the concession contract for the area expired on November 27, 2021, the Municipality did not proceed with its renewal.
"It wasn't possible because the area was subject to civic use," explains Mayor Figus, elected last June. "At that point, the Municipality had decided to proceed with the annual concession of the public land. The documents revealed that the annual fee amounted to €29,000. Now, however, things are changing. With the resolution, we have already instructed the offices to proceed with eliminating and transferring the civic use and, in the meantime, to submit a preliminary expression of interest for the tender to re-grant the service area. Whoever wins the tender, which has a starting bid of €30,000, will have to redesign the area. The concession will last 10 years, and the area must be used exclusively for a service station for fuel distribution and other closely related activities. The goal," concludes Figus, "is to never keep the service station closed, even for a single day. This operation must be completed between September and December."