The sweet sounds of clinking glasses and amorous music have given way to honking horns and political prattle around Parliament, with the Valletta council unable to issue street furniture permits for the areas where MPs park their cars. Most restaurants and cafes in Archbishop Street and Market Square are no longer permitted to place tables and chairs outside now that Parliament’s summer recess is over, the local council confirmed.

Five eateries have been affected by the decision, with one owner accusing MPs of killing the night-time atmosphere in Valletta.

Since July, the council has run a ‘Knights in the City’ initiative to encourage restaurateurs to seat their customers at tables in the street.

Weekly permits were issued against a fee on the premise that the proprietors would also provide live music on the street for their customers, breathing life into the capital in the process.

Councillor Vince Fabri helped the eateries book musicians and the council also partly subsidised entertainment through funds obtained from the central government.

Mayor Alexiei Dingli said the council was instructed by the police to no longer issue permits in Archbishop Street and Market Square as of last week because Parliament was reconvening.

These areas are used for parliamentary parking, meaning the quaint streets are now clogged with cars instead of contented customers on weekday evenings when Parliament is in session. Dr Dingli said the council did not want to stop issuing permits to the affected eateries but it had no choice.

“When Parliament is next in recess we’ll be more than happy to give them another permit,” he said.

A business owner who spoke to The Sunday Times of Malta said the police had suddenly become very proactive in ensuring that no street furniture was placed near Parliament without a permit, and several proprietors had been summoned to appear in court over the issue.

The police did not respond to questions by the time of going to print.

Asked if it planned to find an alternative area for parliamentary parking, Transport Malta said it had carried out an extensive assessment of pedestrian streets in Valletta in relation to the placing of tables and chairs.

A spokesman added that Transport Malta was currently working on a revised car parking policy to meet the demand in “critical and sensitive areas,” but could not provide further details at this stage.

The mayor hailed ‘Knights in the City’ – now in its second year – as a resounding success.

pcooke@timesofmalta.com