Mellieħa local council members pushing for the reintroduction of barbecues at Għadira had, in 2009, voted in favour of banning outdoor cooking at the bay, this newspaper has learnt.

According to former mayor Robert Cutajar, at the time the council had unanimously agreed on banning barbecues at the bay. Both current mayor John Buttigieg and vice-mayor Clayton Bartolo were council members then.

“When I was mayor, we had unanimously agreed to ban barbecues to assure that Mellieħa Bay became the most beautiful and clean bay in this country,” Mr Cutajar, a Nationalist MP, said.

“When I was mayor, we had unanimously agreed to ban barbecues to assure that Mellieħa Bay became the most beautiful and clean bay in this country- Former Mayor

He was reacting to the news that the council was in the process of issuing a by-law in the coming weeks allowing barbecues to be held at the Blue Flag bay.

Asked what was behind the decision to reintroduce barbecues at the bay, Mr Buttigieg said the local council was constantly receiving requests from people wanting to hold barbecues on the beach and so it had decided to propose amending regulations.

Mr Cutajar said that when the decision to ban barbecues had been taken years ago, it was not only backed by the council members but also by the political parties, the UĦM, the MHRA, the GRTU and environmental organisations.

“The decision is being revoked not because it was a bad one but because the Labour Party is willing to risk ruining Għadira Bay to please the people,” he said, adding that they were failing to safeguard the common good.

If the ban is lifted, only gas barbecues will be allowed and the council will be responsible to carry out inspections to ensure that no charcoal, or any similar material, is used at the bay, Mr Buttigieg told this newspaper last week.

He said he had already been assured by Nature Trust that the reintroduction of barbecues would not have a negative impact on the bay’s blue flag status.

That is not even an issue. Not allowing barbecues at beaches is not one of the criteria for a Blue Flag status, as is evident at Għajn Tuffieħa, where barbecues are allowed- Mayor

“That is not even an issue. Not allowing barbecues at beaches is not one of the criteria for a Blue Flag status, as is evident at Għajn Tuffieħa, where barbecues are allowed,” the mayor said.

Mr Cutajar insisted this was still a wrong decision and called on those who wanted the bay to remain spotless to oppose the measure.

The ban on barbecues had initially been imposed as part of a series of efforts by the council at the time to obtain a Blue Flag status for Għadira Bay.

The council will be holding a public consultation exercise on the by-law in the coming weeks.

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