Valletta 2018 chairman Jason Micallef has insisted there were never any plans for the square outside is-Suq in Merchants Street to be used as exhibition space, despite a statement by the operators to that effect.

Arkadia Group was on Thursday granted planning permission for tables and chairs outside the renovated market, a flagship European Capital of Culture infrastructural project, and to enclose the area with a glass railing. The furniture had been in place illegally as the market opened in January.

“I have followed the entire application process and nowhere was it ever said that the area would be an exhibition space. There was never an application for that purpose,” Mr Micallef told Times of Malta on Friday.

Read: Tables and chairs instead of exhibition space as PA reverses decision on Valletta's Is-Suq

When it was pointed out to him that Planning Authority deputy chair Elizabeth Ellul said she had been told the area would be used for exhibitions – and indeed issued a permit for a separate dining area in Merchants Street on this basis – Mr Micallef said this merely “confirms that there was no application”.

He repeatedly dodged a question on whether, as Valletta 2018 chairman, he agreed with the use of the formerly public square as a private catering area, insisting instead that “the entire Maltese and Gozitan population agrees with and supports the results we have achieved in regenerating Valletta”.

Pressed further for his view on the development, which has been met with opposition from the Valletta local council and residents, he said: “What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

“Merchants Street is full of tables and chairs. Do the people approve of those? If the operators submitted an application which the PA unanimously approved, who am I to contest that decision?”

The Valletta local council has said the development creates a privatised space on what was supposed to be a public square and sets a precedent for other piazzas around the city, while mayor Alexiei Dingli criticised the market renovation as an overly commercial project which gave nothing back to the community.

The outdoor dining area at Is-Suq.

Market to have artistic director, cultural centre

Mr Micallef stood by a pledge made by Valletta 2018 to have 15 per cent of the building dedicated to cultural activity, and said details would be announced in the coming weeks.

He said the market’s first floor, which has not yet been opened to the public, would function as a “cultural centre” with a programme of events coordinated by an artistic board and an artistic director “of national renown”.

Arkadia said on Thursday it had signed an agreement with Valletta 2018 and Arts Council Malta to host one cultural event a month on the first floor. The PA included this as a condition in the permit for tables and chairs.