Ta' Qali nightclub operators reject hut tenants' criticism

Odel Ltd, operators of the Ta' Qali nightclub, Numero Uno - which is attracting a crowd of around 3,000 patrons to its open-air environment every Saturday - are surprised that their application to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to sanction a change in the bar has caused a controversy among the tenants of Nissen huts in the crafts village.

The parliamentary secretary in the Economic Services Ministry, Edwin Vassallo, said that if the MEPA permit were issued, it could jeopardise the rest of the development of the crafts village as, according to the Ta' Qali action plan, the site is intended as a garden.

However, Odel Ltd maintained that the nightclub, which has been revived and regained popularity since new management was employed this summer, did not form part of the crafts village renovation plan, but part of the formal garden.

Numero Uno, which has been around for 20 years, is a garden itself, and Odel Ltd said it could not understand why a nightclub that only operated at the weekends at night, when the crafts village is closed, would in any way bother the tenants.

In fact, some hut owners themselves have been seen relaxing at the nightclub, the operators said.

They invited Mr Vassallo to discuss the issue, adding that they employed 60 workers and had even changed the sound system to ensure no disturbance of the peace.

Mr Vassallo explained that according to the action plan, as approved by the MEPA, the nightclub was listed among other units, or huts that would have to be relocated.

Other commercial activities had already been convinced to be transferred inside the crafts village, or to sites outside Ta' Qali, he said, and these would not accept that the nightclub should remain where it was.

Mr Vassallo said that if the permit were issued, the MEPA would be overlooking what was recommended in its own development brief. This would mean that the whole discussion on the relocation of the huts would have to be reopened.

Talks between the tenants, through the GRTU and the government, over the new crafts village had been going on since 1993.

The GRTU, Association of General Retailers and Traders, has sent a memo to Mr Vassallo and other ministers, protesting against the fact that the nightclub would continue to operate in Ta' Qali and claiming that it should be relocated like the others.

For the owners, it was either the nightclub, or the crafts village, Mr Vassallo said.

It had not been easy to convince the hut tenants to agree to be relocated. If it was possible for the nightclub to be allowed to remain on its current site, they would request the same opportunity.

If the MEPA accepted that the nightclub could stay where it was, it should also accept the commercial activities that wanted to stay on their own existing sites, he said.

Mr Vassallo maintained that the owners' point and the complaints of the GRTU were "fair".

It would be an "injustice" if the nightclub had opportunities other operators did not have, he said, stating that he agreed with Ta' Qali operators.

"If the nightclub were granted the permit, they would need to go back to the drawing board and the development of the crafts village would be halted."

Odel Ltd expressed surprise that the issue was raised now, when it had filed an MEPA application to sanction a change in a bar. It said it wondered whether hut owners had any ulterior motive in bringing up the issue, which had nothing to do with their own business and their agreement with the government.