In the past few weeks Pietà local council was involved in a controversy regarding the handing over of a car park to it. This was a first and no other council has taken over such an enterprise.

This offers new challenges to the concept of local government, where a council is now to administer and manage what is in effect a commercial enterprise.

In the very near future the council is to take upon itself another devolution. This concerns the Verandah, which is currently used to house small boats. This is in fact a rundown historical site and in the past housed the first customs house in Malta and later on was the P&O offices on these islands.

Undoubtedly, the site is an eyesore and passers by would never imagine that the Verandah was in fact a small piece of our maritime history.

Pietà council bound itself to not only restore it, but give it a use. After lengthy consultations it was decided that the Verandah should be converted into a catering establishment.

In fact the council obtained an outline permit from the Planning Authority to convert the site into a catering establishment.

The council will bind itself to build an alternative boatshed and will do so as the traditional boat users will continue to make use of the same facilities.

Now the council is fully prepared to take on this responsibility.