Dean Camilleri’s hunger strike last September at Castille only lasted a few minutes. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

The Pembroke man who last September went on a hunger strike to protest noise pollution is planning further action, as his locality remains “an intolerable nightclub”.

Dean Camilleri, 31, told Times of Malta that amplified music from a St George’s Bay establishment was still making his life a misery some seven months after he held a short-lived protest on the steps of the Auberge de Castille.

Back in September, Mr Camilleri’s protest only lasted a few minutes, as Prime Minister Joseph Muscat called him into his office, telling the irate protester that he would look into the matter.

“It's been more than six months, and the situation is the same. We can’t live like this,” Mr Camilleri said.

“If the situation persists, I will protest again and escalate matters,” he added.

Mr Camilleri told the Times of Malta he had e-mailed Dr Muscat, telling him that the situation had persisted and warned him that he would be calling another protest if he was not able to live in peace.

He said a wedding organised at the Villa Rosa in St George’s Bay had started playing amplified music at 1pm, only to pump up the volume after 5pm.

“It was like being in a nightclub; all of Pembroke was furious,” he said, adding that he and a number of other residents had filed a police report yesterday evening.

Court is not the solution. It takes months and months, and nothing is done

Back in September, Mr Camilleri also initiated court action against the establishment's owners, whom he claimed were noise polluters.

“Coincidentally, the case continues this week. The court is not the solution. It takes months and months, and even then, nothing is done,” he said.

Times of Malta has long been reporting about how Pembroke residents are subjected to noise levels “significantly higher” than international guidelines whenever loud music is played from nearby venues.

A review of the noise generated by St George's Bay entertainment venues which was conducted by the Noise Abatement Society of Malta recorded noise levels which were more than one-third higher than what the World Health Organisation considers to be acceptable.

John Fenech, who heads the association, explained his findings to this newspaper and said that he had recorded noise levels of nearly 80dB, some 30 per cent higher than the 60dB the World Health Organisation insists should be the absolute limit in residential areas.

The sound was recorded at different times in the evening at an irate resident’s apartment block.

Meanwhile, Mr Camilleri said that the establishments’ owners simply did not care about the law.

“The police do nothing, so it is like they are above the law,” he said.

Every weekend, it’s the same story, he said: the music starts at around 4pm and goes on until whenever the police finally shut the place down.

Mr Camilleri said that the establishment hosted weddings and other events every weekend, going on well past the 11pm curfew and generating so much noise that it even drowned out the television in his living room.