Black Gold bar seeks to regularise extension of seating area

The Sliema council is objecting to the regularisation of an extension of the Black Gold bar seating platform, which restricted the pavement space by a further 0.5m.

When it was originally approved in 2016, the outdoor platform had to allow a 2m pedestrian corridor between the bar and outside seated area.

However, today pedestrians walking along the crowded bar area have to squeeze through a 1.5m passageway.   

Now, bar owner Michael Stivala (not to be confused with his namesake who leads the Malta Development Association) has applied to sanction the fait accompli. He is asking for approval of plans that sanction the 0.5m reduction in the width of the pedestrian corridor.

The reduction in the width of the pedestrian passage has increased the seating area from the approved 57sq.m to 63.5sq.m.

In a formal objection, the Sliema council denounced the application as a symptom of the “develop now, sanction later”, approach already evident in previous applications in the same site. The platform itself was regularised in 2016 after it was already in place.

The changes proposed by the bar owner are in line with the minimum width for pedestrian passages established in a policy regulating outdoor catering areas, which is established at 1.5m.

However, according to the same policy, in certain areas the permitting authorities reserve the right to increase the minimum width as necessary.

The council insists that the 1.5m rule is a minimum width and not an absolute one.

In this case the reduction of the width of the pedestrian passage will have a negative impact on “the easy and safe flow of pedestrians” particularly of wheelchair users and parents with buggies and prams.

Moreover, the council claims that the proposed regularisation is in breach of another policy which forbids the erection of seating platforms in areas where “the total pedestrian public footpath is less than 2.1 meters.”

The council also warned that the reduction of the pedestrian area by 25% could have implications on safety in the notoriously crowded area, especially in case of an emergency or a stampede.

Moreover, the council warned that the increase in the outside seating area means that the establishment is accommodating more patrons, something which results in waiters constantly crossing the public pavement to take and deliver orders. This creates an obstruction of the pedestrian passage.

The council also pointed out that the 2016 policy says that seating platforms should not be normally allowed along arterial roads or near passing traffic as is the case with The Strand in Sliema and Gzira.

Elderly residents who spoke to this newspaper insisted that the main problem is not the width of the pedestrian passage itself, but the whole concept of expecting pedestrians to walk in between a bar and its equally noisy and crowded canopy as has become common with most establishments in this area.

“Anyone passing through this narrow passage must inhale smoke and listen to the loud music and since the whole area is covered by a canopy, one gets the sensation that one is moving through the bar and not through a public space,” an elderly resident told MaltaToday.