Sliema’s Local Council has introduced several by-laws, including limiting the number of cruise booths on the promenade and holding catering establishments responsible for rubbish outside their premises.

According to the new by-law, cruise booths will only be allowed on the promenade if they are 50 metres apart from each other. Moreover, the local council has the discretion to determine where the booths can be placed while limiting the designated areas.

Over the years, the Sliema promenade has become encumbered by the proliferation of cruise booths advertising boat trips around the island. Despite the high number of cruise booths, the majority are owned by just Capitan Morgan and Supreme Cruises.

“No booths can be kept in a state of disrepair as we can’t accept shabbiness. No further promotional material can be placed around the booths in order to ensure that the public promenade is not being obstructed,” the local council said.

The by-law comes into effect on 11th June.

Meanwhile, the local council has taken steps to address the mounting pollution problem outside catering establishments by introducing another by-law that will make them responsible for “the cleaning and clearing of any waste deposited by patrons in the outside space of their establishment”.

The by-law comes into effect on 7th June.

Last month, the Sliema Local Council called for more rubbish collection times as litter and takeaway boxes continued to pollute the locality’s promenade. The issue was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic which meant that patrons weren’t allowed to dine in and thus took to the streets, eating out of takeaway boxes.

While the by-law encourages catering establishments to look after their area, it does not address the issue of pollution down by the ever-so-popular Sliema beaches, which have also become a dumping ground for people’s rubbish.

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