Residents of a Swieqi road say they are fed up with being left with only one way to access their properties, despite repeated promises from the local council to remedy the situation.

Triq Josef Kalleja residents say that despite their road being in Swieqi, they no longer have direct access to the locality after works began more than two years ago to turn a former dirt track at the top of the street that used to provide secondary access into stairs.

They have been campaigning for the stairs, which are now almost finished, to be turned into an access road instead and blame council inaction for the lack of progress on the issue, despite all involved parties seemingly being in agreement.

Residents told Times of Malta they are forced to detour round St Julian’s and San Ġwann to reach the rest of Swieqi while being left completely without vehicular access when their one access road, Triq il-Mensija, is closed.

They say they have been trying to remedy the situation since late 2022, when works on the stairs began, but despite numerous assurances from the local council, they remain stuck in limbo. 

“Primarily, it’s a health and safety concern, not to mention a massive inconvenience... Basically, we are Swieqi residents, but we don’t have vehicular access to Swieqi,” said Christian Bajada.

He explained that on weekends Triq Josef Kalleya was “chaotic” with people trying to find place to park close to St Julian’s only to find it a dead end, and during large events like St Patrick’s Day, its access road could be closed altogether.

Residents want to see the stairs returned to use as an access road.

And with temporary Enemalta works having kicked off in the area last week, the situation was likely to only become worse, he said. 

Fellow resident Karl Scibberas said that during construction works in Triq il-Mensija, emergency vehicles such as ambulances had struggled to reach Triq Josef Kalleja and that school buses also refused to come to the road, deeming it too far out of the way.

He said that despite numerous meetings between residents, the local council and government authorities, who all indicated their support for opening an access road, “we residents are left in limbo”.

Primarily, it’s a health and safety concern, not to mention a massive inconvenience

In a letter to residents in October, the Swieqi local council said that following a meeting with Infrastructure Malta (IM) to see how turning the stairs into a road could be “accelerated”, it had been told it needed to obtain permission from the owners of the land first.

“This was the last stumbling block... but we are confident that once this last stage is resolved, the process will be able to move on,” the letter read. 

However, despite the council having recently received permission, the issue remains ongoing, with residents left scratching their heads at the continuing delays.

Not all residents agree with turning the stairs into a road, however; one property owner Times of Malta spoke to said that when he bought his home at the top of the street, he purchased it without foreseeing a road being built.

A spokesperson for IM said the agency was “in discussion” with the council after the latter filed an application to change the schemed stairs into a road, adding the agency was “committed to assist” should the application be approved.

What does the council say? 

Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat said he understood the residents’ frustration and agreed with them “100 per cent,” but said he was waiting for the notary acting on behalf of the council to submit the relevant paperwork to the Planning Authority (PA).

A spokesperson for the PA confirmed it had asked the council and notary to submit documents confirming ownership of the land before the application could be validated.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Muscat of the ongoing saga, claiming that being unfamiliar with the process there was nothing he could do. 

The mayor confirmed that the owners of the land had recently given permission for it to be turned into a road. 

Muscat said that while he supported turning the stairs into an access road, in light of the delays he would now push for the opposite end of the street to be joined with Triq Il-Qasam on the other side of adjacent agricultural land as an alternative access point.

Residents said they had previously been told by IM officials that connecting the road on that side would be too expensive, however – a claim the authority rejected when responding to questions from Times of Malta. 

Rejecting concerns of inaction, Muscat said the council had “not avoided them [the residents]; we have nothing to hide. [But] we have a communication problem, I admit it, and we have to improve”.

However, he stressed the council was working on the issue: “It’s my duty and I’m doing it, but unfortunately, it’s taking longer than thought.”