Malta’s limited land mass has its advantages, at least on paper. Commuting is contained and the infrastructure is more manageable. Moreover, the country’s size also contributes to a better quality of life and a greater sense of security.
However, the island’s size also means limited wide open spaces and makes us more protective of our property. Home ownership is most people’s greatest aspiration and investment.
The limited footprint also leads to presumption of ownership, especially in the case of public land. Thus, any unoccupied land may appear tobe ‘conquerable’.
A race to plant the proverbial flag usually ensues, taking various forms, from unauthorised encroachment to illegal boathouses. Even when on a picnic or a day at the beach, most people would tend to define an area, make it theirs and set up a defence system – cars, deckchairs and camps – to protect their territory.
Thankfully, at the end of the day that land is returned to the public but so is the responsibility to clean up the mess often left behind. And that reasoning, in turn, leads to piles of rubbish littering the countryside and beaches.
In 2009, the Mellieħa local council had passed a by-law to ban barbecues from Għadira Bay. This was intended to make the locality cleaner and safer while helping the council in its efforts to attain Blue Flag status for the beach. At the time, then mayor Robert Cutajar, now a member of Parliament, had said that banning barbecues would eliminate various hazards, including glass that was often left on the beach and charcoal buried under the sand.
As expected, the decision to ban barbecues from Għadira Bay triggered off protests. Still, despite the decision not ranking high in the popularity stakes, it did help the council to successfully apply for the Blue Flag status.
Recently, the present Mellieħa mayor, John Buttigieg, said that the local council would be launching a consultation process to consider the revocation of the by-law banning barbecues at Għadira Bay.
The reason given is that the local council was constantly receiving requests from people wanting to hold a barbecue there. The council is insisting that only gas barbecues would be allowed and regular inspections would be carried out to ensure that no charcoal or similar material was used.
Permitting barbecues at Għadira Bay does not, in itself, carry the risk of losing the Blue Flag status. However, if glass or charcoal are left on the beach, then such status could be compromised.
While the council says that regular inspections would be carried out to ensure that the rules in place are observed, regulation will come at a cost, especially considering the size of the bay in question and the number of people it attracts. The danger in the long run would be that enforcement would suffer.
Moreover, the reasoning behind the latest decision is in itself flawed. Saying the 2009 decision was being reviewed because of many requests for barbecues is not good enough reason to change it. That was probably the situation even when the original decision had been made. In any case, there are other beaches and sites where barbecues are allowed.
The council should therefore stand by the 2009 decision because the collective right to enjoy one of the country’s most beautiful beaches must be upheld. And this, within a wider context of greater awareness to protect the environment and the hope that voters truly appreciating all serious initiatives in that direction rather than pandering to populism of the false kind.