The lopsided stairway to Għajn Tuffieħa bay, the target of complaints over the years, may be removed and replaced by more eco-friendly and less invasive wooden steps, embedded in the clay.

The project, which would not materialise before 2011, would be similar to many features found along slopes outside the Maltese islands, said Rudolf Ragonesi, the director of NGO Gaia Foundation which manages the site.

He was responding to public criticism over the state of the area, with particular reference to the broken stairs that provide access to the bay below.

Dr Ragonesi acknowledged they were “quite lopsided” due to the fact that they had been constructed along the clay slopes, which, by their very nature, were dynamic, causing structures to move over time.

The Gaia Foundation has been liaising with the Office of the Prime Minister and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to study the possibility of having them removed and replaced.

“It would obviously require planning permission and funding. We are hoping for some developments in this regard in 2011,” Dr Ragonesi said.

But the stairs in Għajn Tuffieħa are not the only eyesore. The dilapidated, dangerous structure hanging precariously over the beach is hardly fresh and continues to pose a health hazard that the public regularly draws attention to.

Although both are long-standing issues, they have never blended into their surroundings. On the contrary, they continue to stand out, raising the public’s ire and marring one of Malta’s more picturesque areas.

Dr Ragonesi said the derelict structure in the car park had been in a state of abandon for over 30 years, and agreed it was an “obvious eyesore” that was clear to all the visitors to what he considered one of Malta’s most beautiful sites.

Asked whether the foundation had applied any pressure to sort out the issue of the shell structure, he said a case was pending in court, instituted by the Commissioner of Land, and was currently sub judice.