Until recently, if you walked through Valletta in the late evening, you would be forgiven for believing that it was deserted. And deserted city streets are really not terribly enticing to walk through, even if you are a local who knows they are safe.

What a difference to walk down Strait Street, where tiny outlets have managed to lure patrons, spilling out on to the streets and creating a buzz that others want to be a part of. Or the bridge over Victoria Gate, where cushions, candles and live jazz sessions attract standing-room only crowds.

People attract other people. Which is why the Valletta local council’s idea of Knights in the City, encouraging restaurants to set tables out on the street, was such a great idea. Just consider how a handful of outlets turned the Ferries in Sliema – and, more recently, at the Strand – into a ‘destination’.

Yet, something as simple as allowing tables and chairs on pavements is actually complex and fraught. Mepa and the Malta Tourism Authority have a say, as also do both Transport Malta and the Land Department.

We need to have a policy that considers the conflicting requirements of pedestrians, residents and traffic, the economic benefits, the revenue derived from publicly-owned land and so on.

And the idea is not without its pitfalls: give them an inch and they will take a mile. Far too many outlets cannot curb their natural greed and either squeeze more tables into the space allowed by the permit, drift beyond their footprint, get aluminium fever and decide that planters are more attractive than parking bays.

So, even once a policy is in place, the nightmare of enforcing rules and regulations is not far behind.

But the concept is sound: we are privileged to live in a country blessed with a mild climate. Tourists and locals alike love being al fresco. Valletta needs tourists and locals in the evening.

So, the council gave out weekly permits, presumably not only to reflect demand and the weather but also to retain some form of control over those who abused.

Revoking the permits so that MPs can park there now that Parliament is back in session is ridiculous and misguided.

But this is not why the decision to clear Archbishop Street and Merchants Street of tables and chairs is so worrying.

The point is not where MPs should park if not there or whether they should just walk like the rest of us. It is that a decision was taken to promote Knights in the City, that outlets went ahead and applied for permits, that tables and chairs were put outside, that patrons noticed and the momentum gradually picked up... And then Parliament’s summer recess was over. Then, along came the police and they revoked the council’s authority to issue the permits.

This heavy-handed attitude is anathema to business. Businessmen want clarity; they want policy; they want consistency. They do not want to have to weigh up the feasibility of investing, decide to go ahead and then have things capriciously taken away from them.

We are not just talking about five outlets and a few dozen tables. We are talking about a much broader principle here, with much more serious ramifications.

We either get serious about reviving Valletta, which is, once again, becoming the beautiful city, or relegate it forever to ghost town status.

The choice should be one of the easiest this government will have to make.