Marsaskala residents on the warpath with illegal restaurant encroachments

The Marsaskala Residents Network (MRN) is up in arms over the illegal take-up of public spaces by catering establishments which, they said, had reached disproportionate levels this summer.

Citing recent declarations by the Prime Minister and various ministers regarding solutions on the impasse, the MRN said they drawn the attention of regulators – the Planning Authority, the Lands Authority, the Malta Tourism Authority, the Police, the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability, and Transport Malta – to the various instances of abuse by various catering establishments.

“These outlets are either occupying public spaces illegally, or not abiding by the conditions of the permits issued so far,” the residents’ group said.

“This situation is resulting in instances where pavements, ramps and public spaces are blocked or made unusable by the general public, compromising accessibility and residents’ safety, with cases of children being exposed to the passive smoking of patrons of these catering establishments within the confines of Marsaskala Bay playground.”

The MRN has repeatedly asked for meetings with the ministers responsible for the Lands Authority and the Planning Authority, but to date have received no reply.

“Instead of showing interest and goodwill in curbing these abuses, authorities are instead allowing owners/operators of catering establishments to continue with this illegal take-up of public spaces. Those who abuse of public land are being allowed to apply for sanctioning of these illegalities, without being asked to remove them whilst awaiting a decision to be taken on whether permits can be issued or not.”

The MRN said the Planning Authority would only take action on the encroachments after a decision is taken on the sanctioning applications filed by the owners and operators of the same catering establishments.”

The MRN said it was unacceptable that rights of residents were being blatantly abused. “Responsible ministers, and relevant authorities and entities are expected to ensure that guidelines, regulations and civic principles are safeguarded,” the MRN said. “Instead, this drastic situation is being completely disregarded. To this end, the MRN insists that these abuses are stopped at once, and that respect towards residents and visitors of Marsaskala is duly restored.”

The resident group is encouraging residents to put pressure on local councillors to safeguard the rights of residents, and file complaints with government regulators, supplying full details of irregularities and photographic evidence.