Sliema mayor concerned over parking spaces being taken up by outdoor tables and chairs

The Tas-Sliema Local Council is protesting the impact that the Policy on Outdoor Catering Establishments as it is being applied in Sliema without the necessary studies on the sustainability and impacts of the removal of parking spaces.

Addressing a press conference, Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop said that since the Policy was approved, Sliema has seen the removal of twelve parking spaces through the permits granted to one establishment on Tower Road, and four on the Strand. He said many more will follow in the coming weeks.

“Neither the Environment and Resources Authority nor Transport Malta evaluate these applications from a traffic or parking perspective. Owners of cafes are given rights over our public roads to remove parking spaces from roads which are residential and the authorities concerned do not evaluate the sustainability of such a practice and the cumulative impact of so many applications. As you are aware on Tower Road and the Strand, there are bars, cafes or takeaway’s every couple of metres.”

Mr Chircop said that the Sliema Local Council attends the hearings and submits objections, however the Planning Commission blindly approves these applications as it is incorrectly interpreting the new Policy as allowing a blanket approval for all applicants, when the Policy clearly states that the removal of parking spaces will be ‘considered’ and not granted automatically.

The SPED policy states that the lack of parking is causing a deterioration of urban areas. It also states that the creation of a demand for parking without the required supply of parking spaces is a health hazard, as traffic is composed of cars being driven around the urban centres looking for parking spaces.

During the month of October, the Sliema Planning Authority file contained the following staggering numbers of development applications: 177 new units spread over developments on 72 different sites, which in view of a lack of onsite parking availability will result in a shortfall of 184 parking spaces. So in just one month, the Authority has evaluated an unsustainable additional demand for 184 parking spaces, and in the same breath it is removing existing parking spaces.

“How exactly are such decisions in conformity with the SPED Policy?”

The Council is also highly concerned on the health and safety implications of the manner in which these tables and chairs are being allowed to be set up. “How could the Planning Authority consent to the placing of tables on a stretch of the Strand where cars speed and people get run over regularly? No authority in Malta is entering into the safety issues.”

The Sliema Local Council will be appealing the applications which were granted a permit in front of the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal.

In the meantime, the Council has asked for the Parliamentary Secretary Dr. Deborah Schembri to suspend all pending applications, until a sustainability study is carried out on the removal of so many parking spaces in residential streets, and until a thorough evaluation of the health and safety implications takes place.