Vehicles are regularly parking without being penalised in Valletta’s De Valette Square, despite the local council insisting it has not issued any parking permits for the pedestrianised square.

A photo published in this newspaper on January 31 showed a number of government vehicles parked illegally in the square, with local wardens standing by but not taking any action to book the vehicles.

Local wardens who spoke to Times of Malta said the parked vehicles all displayed permits allowing them to park in the square, and that they had received specific instructions from their superiors not to book any vehicles displaying such permits.

They added that the owners of some of the vehicles had also verbally cited the local council’s authority to park there.

None of the permits on display were intended to allow parking in the square

Valletta mayor Alexei Dingli, however, said the local council had not issued any parking permits for De Valette Square, and that, although a number of requests had been received, all had been refused by the council.

Over the last few days, cars – including government vehicles – were seen parked in the square without censure. At least one parked car seen by Times of Malta displayed a permit for the ‘Deposit or Use of Crane or other Machinery’ relating to works being carried out in De Valette Square, which included a CVA exemption form for the vehicle. Others showed only a standard Valletta residents’ parking permit.

The Valletta mayor confirmed that none of the permits on display were intended to allow parking in the square, and that any vehicles using them for that purpose should have been booked by local wardens.

De Valette Square was inaugurated in 2012 as the first phase of the City Gate project, and is to serve as the entrance of the new National Museum of Fine Arts by 2018.