Frustrated St Paul’s Bay residents are set to protest this Sunday against the ongoing privatisation of public beaches, with Bugibba's Perched Beach at the centre of the controversy.

The protest, which will take place at 5 pm at the popular beach, will be led by residents and supported by activist groups Moviment Graffitti and Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA).  ADPD Chairperson and St Paul’s Bay local councillor Sandra Gauci, a vocal critic of beach privatisation, is one of the main organisers.

“We are losing our beaches, centimetre by centimetre. If we don’t act now, soon there will be nothing left,” Gauci told Times of Malta.

She urged residents from across coastal areas to unite in the fight to keep public spaces accessible.

“The coast belongs to the people, not private businesses,” she said.

Sunday’s protest is a rallying cry to reclaim public beaches.

“What we don’t fight for today, we lose tomorrow,” residents said in a statement, calling on the wider public to join them in their stand against beach privatisation.

Protest Poster by Residents

Perched Beach, initially approved in 2006 as a sandy retreat for tourists, has seen increasing encroachment by private enterprises.

Tourism Minister at the time, Francis Zammit Dimech, wrote an article for the Times of Malta that same year in which he specified that the beach would remain public: "Once again, we shall ensure that the public area remains just that—public: for the free enjoyment of one and all,”

However, local concerns have grown over recent years, with the latest plans from the Dolmen Hotel sparking fresh outrage.

Proposals to build kiosks, restaurants, and pool decks along the Bugibba promenade have been criticised heavily by residents who fear even further loss of access to the beach.

Adding fuel to the fire, the Planning Authority recently approved temporary beach furniture and a mobile bar at Perched Beach.

Critics also pointed out that the Malta Tourism Authority had spent over €900,000 to replenish sand at Perched Beach and St George’s Bay. 

In 2017, the Planning Authority approved DB Group's lido and tunnel development despite opposition from the local council, which argued that it would further restrict public access.

This protest comes amidst a broader backlash against what residents describe as unchecked overdevelopment in St Paul’s Bay. Gauci and other local leaders last year expressed concern that public spaces are being sacrificed to developers, leaving the community in “dust, dirt, and noise.