New rules could end umbrellas battle

Beach management rules will come into force at Ghadira Bay, in Mellieha, tomorrow, hopefully spelling an end to the disorderly placement of beach umbrellas by lidos that have reigned over this sandy realm for years.

The Malta Tourism Authority will be investing a minimum of Lm30,000 to better organise one of Malta's most popular beaches and bring it to Blue Flag quality standards.

The lidos will have to keep their umbrellas strictly within their designated areas and maintain a distance from the waterline, or face a penalty.

For the authority, achieving its goals and getting this far has meant roping in all the stakeholders - from the lands and health departments to the police, the local council, and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, among others - and having discussions, often heated, with the five lido operators.

Mario Attard, the MTA's director of product planning, believes that the measures being introduced will benefit everybody, especially the lido operators.

"Our approach has been to work together and, to this day, I can say we have the operators' cooperation," he told The Times.

Mr Attard admits that disorder has ruled at Ghadira Bay for far too long, with lidos positioning their sunbeds right along the shoreline even though they were not allowed to do so.

But he is now quite confident that, following the talks, the operators are coming round to the idea that if the beach is managed properly, they stand to gain a lot.

The process has been intensive. It started when a beach management committee was formed to establish national guidelines, focused on international practices, starting off with Ghadira Bay.

The Lands Department has delegated the management of the beach and enforcement to the authority.

From tomorrow the area will be patrolled by lifeguards, a beach manager and beach attendants who will ensure that everything runs smoothly. It has been crucial to reach consensus on the infamous umbrella battles, as lido operators competed with each other to occupy the biggest stretch of beach. A war of words would then ensue with bathers who had no intention of paying for an umbrella or beach bed but were left with little space where to set up their own.

Under the beach management rules, the lido operators will now have to abide by their encroachment concessions. On average, each lido operator cannot set up sunbeds and umbrellas beyond the permitted area of 31 by 12 metres.

The authority has made it clear it will not be reducing the existing footprint, but neither will it enlarge it.

"We didn't want to spark more issues. However, we are insisting that operators abide by these conditions," Mr Attard said.

Meanwhile, the encroachment fee of Lm200 a year has been reduced to a nominal Lm1, but, instead, operators will now pay a beach management contribution fee of Lm2 per square metre a year, which adds up to about Lm750.

The new rules also stipulate that the operators must make a bank guarantee and if they breach the conditions laid down, the guarantee will be forfeited.

"The bank guarantee is our tool to control the situation," he said.

The surrounding kiosks will also make a contribution towards the management of the beach.

In return, the MTA will manage the area and will be responsible for cleaning the beach, as well as shifting the sand once a week to remove any buried debris or glass.

"We are going to move and enforce. However, we want to move together with the operators. Whatever they require to enhance the area we are ready to consider it and support them," Mr Attard insisted.

"The critical factor here is not enforcement, but having the operators on board to share the same vision. We can make the beach a better place for all, if everybody cooperates," he added.