Three band clubs facing eviction have had their premises bought out by the government, the culture ministry announced on Tuesday.   

Attard's Stella Levantina, Circolo San Giuseppe Filarmonika Sagra Familja of Kalkara and Duke of Connaught's Own Band Club in Birkirkara were all at risk of being kicked out of the place they call home.

Bailing out the three band clubs cost taxpayers more than €6 million.

Most of that fee - €4.5 million - went to bailing out the Birkirkara band club on Valley Road, as the government also paid damages to the owner and legal fees, Culture Minister Owen Bonnici said. 

The government also spent €1.1 million to buy Stella Levantina's Attard premises and €750,000 to buy the Kalkara club site, for a combined total spend of €6.35 million. 

Having purchased the properties, the government will now lease them back to the band clubs, allowing them to continue basing themselves there.

The threat of eviction followed court judgements declaring that rent laws dating back to 1995 went against owners' right to enjoy their property.   

The Birkirkara band club on Valley Road cost €4.5 million. That figure includes damages to the owner, and legal fees, culture minister Owen Bonnici said.  Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

"We had the choice to either save these band clubs and buy them or allow villages to lose their band clubs," Bonnici said during a press conference at the Birkirkara club. 

Six other band clubs at promise of sale stage

Two other band clubs have already been "saved" by the government's actions, and there is an ongoing process to buy six other clubs following an agreement with the property owners.

Negotiations to buy the San Gaetano band club in Ħamrun are also in their final stages, Bonnici said.   

The chairperson of the Band Club Acquisition Board, James Pearsall, said that band clubs are not only vital components of the village festa but pillars of communities.  

"Band clubs are an essential part of Maltese society and an essential element in village identity and its sense of community," he said.  

Band clubs have been the subject of lengthy legal battles in recent years. Where the owners have gone to court, they have obtained judgments stating that the old rent laws breach their property rights. 

The government opted to buy out band club properties after an initial attempt to shield band clubs from eviction through legal amendments failed, after a court declared the changes unconstitutional and in breach of landlords' rights.