Tables and chairs began to clutter St George's Square in Victoria, hours after four authorities moved in to act against encroachment on public space.

Police had to intervene at about 11pm on Thursday night after one establishment began to spread outside its permitted space, Gozo and planning minister Clint Camilleri said.

The square has been the focal point for a wider problem across Malta and Gozo of restaurants eating in to public areas.

Activists and the local parish priest had previously demonstrated against encroachment in the square, which was impacting funerals and wedings at St George's Basilica. 

On Thursday afternoon, the Lands Authority, the Planning Authority, the Malta Tourism Authority, and the police converged on the Gozitan square to order the removal of tables and chairs that were outside the permitted spaces.

The Gozo capital’s archpriest, Joseph Curmi, praised Thursday’s interventions and thanked the authorities for taking action.

“I hope that there will be continued enforcement so that table and chair concessions are obeyed,” he said.

The current table and chair concessions are regulated via a master plan for the square.

Camilleri has said the authorities are working on updating that plan. 

Residents and activists have also highlighted other areas including Merchants Street in Valletta, where an ambulance recently struggled to pass through. 

Applications for tables and chairs on pavements and promenades accelorated amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when outdoor eating was advised for health reasons.

However, the land grab by businesses continued afterwards, prompting activists to launch sit in and sticker campaigns calling for pavements to be returned to citizens.