Għadira bathers get a tenth of their beach back
Almost 2,400 square meters of Għadira bay return to public use
A space the size of around five basketball courts has been freed up for sunbathers at Għadira bay in an agreement between deckchair operators and the Malta Tourism Authority.
Bathers have long been complaining that there is not enough space for them to lay down their towels on one of Malta's few sandy beaches.
However, in a deal announced on Wednesday, seven deckchair operators agreed to return almost 2,400 square metres of land along the shore to public use. The entire Għadira bay beach occupies approximately 25,000 square metres, according to a calculation based on Planning Authority spatial maps.
Sunbathers will now have additional space equating to just over five NBA-sized basketball courts that they can use without having to rent out a deckchair.
The added area will be spread across the beach, as each of the seven operators has agreed to reduce their deckchair space.
Announcing the agreement, Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi said that each operator would reduce their allotted space by 344 square metres.
Under an existing concession agreement, each of the seven operators has the right to use 1,334 square metres of sand for deckchairs.
That will now be reduced to 1,000 square metres, effectively returning 2,338 square metres of beach area to the public.
"We want to respect the freedom of the Maltese people to use the space as they wish," he said.
Dr Mizzi said that the 15-year concession each operator had been given in February 2013 was impinging on the public’s enjoyment of the foreshore and that an equitable solution needed to be found.
The minister also said that the MTA was working on having a well-defined beach policy by next year and would be discussing environmentally sustainable measures for beaches in the winter months.