A resolution that will end the current pedestrianisation of Mosta square on Saturday evenings and on Sundays was moved by Mayor Joseph Gatt at a meeting of Mosta local council late on Tuesday.

It provides that traffic would be allowed to flow through the square on all days from the first weekend of September.

The resolution says the decision was being taken because of complaints by residents and businesses and also points out that the partial pedestrianisation had been introduced “without the authorisation of the competent authorities, and was therefore illegitimate”.

The resolution was moved in the last half-hour of the three-hour council meeting and also provided for closures of the square in the days prior to the town’s feast on August 15.

Former Mayor Chris Grech denied that the square had been closed on weekends without the approval of the authorities and said the closures had also been advertised in the Government Gazette.

Much of the brief but heated discussion, however, focused on the road closures for the feast.

The Labour councillors walked out at 9pm, when the meeting was due to end, before the discussion on the weekend partial pedestrianisation could be held.

The rehabilitation of Mosta square and its subsequent closure for traffic on Saturday evenings and on Sundays was the central element of the former Labour-led Mosta council's term, but the Nationalist Party took over the council after the June 8 elections.

The partial closure of the square to traffic was controversial from the outset. Some praised the initiative as good for the environment, removing traffic and harmful emissions from the town centre and creating an open space where the community could meet.

Residents of streets which have taken the brunt of the diverted traffic have, however, complained of the traffic in their streets. Others have complained that it takes them too long to reach the centre of the town, while businesses have complained of a drop in business.

The architect responsible for the square’s redesign defended the project in comments to Times of Malta on Monday and said he felt let down by the present mayor’s decision to reconsider it, warning that if it goes ahead, other local councils may also be dissuaded from taking such courageous environment-friendly decisions.