Malta’s summer season is here and eager benefactors of the government’s al fresco dining policy are taking it on step further, with tables and chairs now lining the centre of Valletta’s busiest pedestrian roads, Republic Street.

Photos sent to Lovin Malta show how two restaurants, one of which is the Labour Party’s club in the capital city, have plonked themselves right in the middle of the road.

Sources well-informed on Valletta’s administration said that it appears that neither restaurant has a permit to be there.

However, the Tourism Ministry has so far refused to respond to questions sent on the issue. It is the MTA who enforces and dishes out such permits.

“Currently the business in the city is still suffering and everyone is trying to invent to save but obviously we cannot exceed the limit,” sources said.

The ‘tables and chairs’ policy, which was introduced in 2013 and targeted at promoting an ‘al fresco’ experience in touristic hubs, has been controversial with eager restauranteurs occupying more and more of Malta’s public spaces.

The initiative has also been plagued by numerous abuses, New policies aimed at curtailing encroachment abuse appears to have yielded few results, with daily illegalities regularly witnessed by residents.

In fact, local councils have regularly flagged their disproval at the haphazard dishing out such applications.

Earlier this year, the Lands Authority waived all encroachment fees for more than 100 restaurants and bars in Valletta, in a bid to help the island’s capital get back on its feet, in the wake of COVID-19.