Mellieħa square master plan pulled back after concerns over more tables
Mayor says he is pleased with the decision
A Malta Tourism Authority plan to add more tables and chairs to Mellieħa’s main square has been withdrawn.
The planning application (PA/05632/24) to organise tables and chairs in Misraħ il-Parroċċa, the square in the vicinity of the parish church, was officially withdrawn earlier this month.
After it was filed in June last year, residents, the mayor and an opposition MP objected to the application that foresaw “additional areas for tables and chairs” in the square.
The MTA said it had decided to withdraw the application to “allow for additional analysis of the area’s requirements by the Mellieħa local council and other stakeholders”.
Robert Cutajar, PN MP and former mayor of the locality, said that although he was pleased with the decision by the authority, he remains cautious.
“Obviously, I hope that now they will be more transparent and open and carry out a serious consultation process and that the plan will be a holistic one as I had requested,” he said.
“The interests of Mellieħa and the community should be given priority. What belongs to the people should remain for the people to enjoy. I’m happy, however, that my request was accepted.”
Cutajar had written to the MTA chairman asking for the application to be withdrawn and for a consultation to take place that includes all stakeholders, in particular, residents.
The mayor of Mellieħa, Gabriel Micallef, who also opposed the original application, welcomed the decision. “Common sense prevailed,” he wrote on social media. “A public consultation meeting was held and left its mark. The community spoke. It spoke clearly.”
Dozens of people objected to the application, raising concerns that a public square was being “taken over by the private sector”.
The Planning Authority’s case officer had recommended refusing the application, noting that it did not include information about mobility access and whether there were any cultural heritage issues to consider.
The MTA said it had completed the regeneration of the Mellieħa Parish Square, in conjunction with Infrastructure Malta, in 2023. It said this project involved the repaving of the square and adjoining areas, as well as the laying of new underground infrastructure, in consultation with the local council.
“At the end of the project, the authority submitted a plan to organise and improve the layout of the potential and future areas dedicated to tables and chairs within this open space. The application has since been withdrawn to allow for additional analysis of the area’s requirements by the Mellieħa local council and other stakeholders,” the MTA said.