An illegal wooden kiosk in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, whose owners even built a concrete ‘pavement’ to accommodate tables and chairs, has been slapped with an enforcement notice by the planning authority.

The kiosk, which serves burgers and other fast food, coffee, cold drinks and ice cream, has had a thriving business since it opened.

The owner supplies his kiosk with electricity from his nearby home and constructed a seven-metre stretch of concrete pavement to comfortably accommodate tables, chairs and umbrellas for shade.

A Mepa spokesman said that enforcement action was initiated for the construction of the “illegal concrete platform and the placing of a kiosk”.

A daily fine on the illegal concrete platform is also being applied, he added.

An annoyed resident remarked to Times of Malta how ashamed he felt to call himself Maltese when he saw such illegal structures mushrooming and running lucrative businesses thanks to people who take the law into their own hands.

Two weeks ago, this newspaper reported on Ronnie’s restaurant – a beach post which was converted into a snack bar years ago – where a large extension at the back of the restaurant was built without planning permits.

The resident said the restaurant’s illegal structure forced people away since it took up a substantial part of the small beach.

The authority had said it was slapping the operators with a €20-a-day fine until they removed the structure.

The fine could go up to €40 daily if the illegality stays for longer than 181 days and up to a maximum of €50 a day if it remains there for more than a year.

However, Mepa did not say how or when it would take direct action to remove the illegality.

Illegal kiosks and restaurants seem to be among the most lucrative of businesses, with recent examples reported in Mġarr ix-Xini, San Blas, Paradise Bay, Golden Bay, Ramla l-Ħamra and Ħondoq ir-Rummien.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.