The temporary burger kiosk was placed right in the middle of Pjazza de Valette.

The Malta Arts Council is drawing up new guidelines to ensure last week’s incident in which a burger kiosk was placed next to the statue of Grand Master Jean de Valette at the entrance to the capital will not be repeated.

“Talks have already begun with the relevant authorities so that guidelines are drawn up ensuring that the aesthetics of the capital are prioritised in temporary cultural festivities and beyond,” a spokeswoman for the Malta Arts Council said.

The placement of a temporary burger kiosk in the middle of Pjazza de Valette – part of the multimillion-euro regeneration project at Valletta’s entrance – had hundreds of online commentators crying foul as soon as timesofmalta.com reported the matter.

It took the personal intervention of Culture Minister Owen Bonnici, who, days earlier, had declared the area to be a no-parking zone, to have the kiosk removed.

At first, the kiosk owner refused to budge, arguing that the local council had issued a valid permit and he had paid the relevant fees. However, he later agreed to move.

Asked who had decided on the siting, the spokeswoman said the choice had followed a call for expressions of interest issued by the council for temporary stalls throughout the six-day carnival festivities.

Talks have already begun so that guidelines are drawn up ensuring that the aesthetics of the capital are prioritised

According to the spokeswoman, officials of the arts council and the Valletta local council selected the stall locations jointly.

The local council insisted that the arts council had made the final selections, including that of the controversial kiosk, and the permit it had issued by law was just a “rubber stamp”.

The incident itself and the apparent shifting of blame also led the local council to declare it had lost confidence “in the choices made by the Malta Arts Council”.

The two entities are now trying to come up with a way forward to avoid repeating such an embarrassment.

Asked whether the Malta Arts Council derived any income from kiosks and concessions stalls, the spokeswoman said stalls paid a participation fee, adding that such funds were reinvested in the organisation of national festivities.

The kiosk issue reignited an earlier controversy on Valletta’s new entrance, in which the government announced its decision to place the monti open air market next to the new Parliament building on Ordnance Street.

That announcement too led to a public outcry. Although the government said it would reconsider the decision, its final plans have yet to be announced.