Marsascala beach car park was free for decades. Now people are being charged €5
The Marsascala mayor said he came to an agreement and the parking is now free, but the operator said the deal is only for this weekend unless negotiations with the government begin
People wanting to swim at a popular Marsascala beach are being charged €5 to park at a car park that has been free for decades.
Infrastructure Malta, a public entity, recently paved the car park that bathers often use when going to St Thomas Bay.
On the popular Facebook group Are You Being Served, a woman complained that the car park was no longer free.
“May I ask why a flat rate of €5 is being charged for using this parking area at St Thomas Bay, Marsascala".
"As far as I know, this is public land, and everyone has the right to park there. Is this permissible or is everyone deciding to do what he/she likes now? As you can see, the entire area is empty as no one is willing to pay just to go for an hour’s swim. This is sheer daylight robbery and we surely deserve better,” she wrote.
Contacted for comment, the man operating the car park, Joseph Attard, said that he had recently acquired the lease for the land and so was making use of his private property.
Attard showed Times of Malta a redacted version of the contract transferring the lease, which covers more than 10,000 square metres of land. The document shows that 150 years remain on the lease. The agreement was signed in May.
“The lease was acquired from a third party,” Attard said.
People have used the land as an informal car park for decades. As part of a recent facelift to the area, Infrastructure Malta levelled out and paved the car park.
Sources said the entity had also begun proceedings to expropriate the area covering the car park.
“The ownership of the land is unclear, so we wanted to be on the safe side,” they said, adding that the proceedings with the Lands Authority are ongoing.
Attard confirmed there were talks with Infrastructure Malta on the future of the car park, adding that the agency buying out the car park was a possibility.
He said he was willing to cooperate with the government to find a solution.
Questions have been sent to Infrastructure Malta.
In a statement, Mario Calleja said he had come to an agreement with the operator, saying the parking was free of charge.
“I would like to inform you that, despite there being a private security guard at the parking area, the parking may be used free of charge. This follows lengthy discussions with the landowner, who cooperated and understood that the parking area cannot be operated on a paid basis.”
However, Attard said the agreement was only a temporary one for the weekend.
He said he would start charging for parking again on Monday unless the government begins negotiating to buy the land by Monday.
Writing on Facebook, Sustainable Mobility Minister Chris Bonett said he had been clear with the operator that the site was a public car park that was, is and will remain free.
"They know this because Infrastructure Malta and the ministry advanced the request for the expropriation last year while works at Fajtata were ongoing. I am satisfied that common sense has prevailed," he said, adding that the embellishment works done in the area were for the benefit of the community.