60 encroachment concessions given for Sliema and St Julian’s in just three years

Since 2020, the Planning Authority has approved almost 60 encroachment concessions that vary from the placement of ever-common tables and chairs in public areas to billboards, tower cranes and storage tanks in St Julian’s, Sliema and Paceville alone.

According to data tabled in response to a parliamentary question by Opposition MP Albert Buttigieg, the vast majority of concessions were for the placement of tables and chairs, generally indicated as T&C, taking up public land for the benefit of restaurateurs and businesses.

The 58 concessions granted since 2020 do not include the dozens of pending enforcement notices against illegal the take-up of public land for similar purposes in the same localities.

Economy, EU Funds, and Lands Minister Silvio Schembri said that additional time would be required to research encroachment concessions dating back to 2013 for Buttigieg’s question from last Monday to be answered in full.

Currently, the only requirements for applicants who submit a form to the Lands Authority requesting a concession on an encroachment basis are basic plans and photos submitted by the business’ architect, with no system for their enforcement or demarcation.

The current outdoor catering policy was last revised in 2016 with the intention of simplifying the “administrative processes for the issuing of the necessary licenses and permits for this type of development”, adopting a more business-first approach.

The previous system was characterised as “inadequate and too complex to be able to deliver the required standard of service and decisions”.

In March, the Ombudsman Commissioner for Environment and Planning architect Alan A. Saliba issued a statement lamenting the lack of demarcation and enforcement from the Planning Authority on the constant and growing encroachment of tables and chairs onto public roads and pavements.

In its reply to the commissioner’s initial consultation, the Planning Authority shirked responsibility for practice by arguing it is not within its remit.

The current unenforced system raises questions as to whether it would allow for illegal and unpermitted public land take-up to occur alongside it, given the lack of clear indications for permitted encroachments.

In his statement, Saliba said that the authorities were ignoring a section of the 2016 policy which required “specific visible markings for such areas, namely steel plates flush with the surface” for such encroachment concessions.

In conjunction with a letter sent to Speaker Anġlu Farrugia and prime minister Robert Abela, Saliba concluded by saying that “the lack of cooperation, particularly from the Lands Authority, has made it difficult to find a way to enhance its administrative role, particularly on sensitive issues where commercial interests are prevalent.”