The Lands Authority has issued a call for tenders for a consultancy contract worth €125,000 to create a masterplan of how chairs and tables should be laid out in Valletta’s Merchants Street and adjoining streets.

The winning plan should “make the most of the space available” while leaving room for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, including access for emergency vehicles, according to the tender document.

The plan should match the character of Merchants Street, its side streets and parallel streets such as Saint Zachary street - in particular historic buildings. It should include "visual corridors” that allow unobstructed views of the surroundings.

Any street furniture used for catering establishments should be easily removable, with umbrellas set in stand-alone bases and not fixed to the ground and any platforms to be removable and made of wood.

The call follows years of frustration on the part of campaigners, who argue that Valletta’s streets have become increasingly taken up by bars and restaurants over the years, impinging on pedestrians, residents and emergency services.

Under the masterplan being proposed, some bars and restaurants may see their existing outdoor areas reduced in size, with the tender document saying they should be divided into smaller sections "to allow for adjustments from time to time, in line with the current demand”.

The area included in the masterplan.

The tender also specifies the colours that should be used for outdoor furniture: tables and chairs should be neutral colours such as beige, brown or black while umbrellas should be light shades including beige or “white sand”.

Some areas – such as the St John's Square in front of the cathedral and Republic Square in front of the National Library - have been excluded from the masterplan as they are already subject to an existing plan.

Adjoining side streets, which have also become busy with chairs and tables in recent years, are also covered by the plan. Photo: Jonathan Borg.

The value of the tender, which opened on Friday, was “based on market research” but is not a cap on the bids that can be submitted.

Three-fifths of the value of the contract will be paid upon delivery of the masterplan design, with the remaining fee paid upon Planning Authority approval.

The winning contractor should have “all necessary skills, past knowledge and competence to conduct a masterplan in a professional manner”, the tender document says.

The deadline for submissions is mid-next month. 

Outdoor furniture in Valletta has long provoked the ire of residents and campaigners, who say they are fed up with the takeover of public spaces by catering establishments while raising safety concerns about emergency access.

In February 2023, the University of Malta lodged a judicial protest against the capital’s local council, charging it with allowing Merchants Street to descend into chaos with chairs and tables littering the street.

And in March last year, footage of an ambulance squeezing past chairs and tables on nearby Republic Street reignited the debate about the use of public walkways by catering establishments while prompting the Ombudsman to renew an appeal for proper rules on the subject.

The Ombudsman had submitted recommendations to Parliament the year before.

In September, around 50 people marched through the capital during a busy lunchtime sitting to protest the presence of chairs and tables in the streets.