The Planning Authority would not explain what made it make a U-turn in nine months and issue a permit for a “temporary mobile kiosk” in Gozo’s pristine Ħondoq ir-Rummien, in the limits of Qala.

In July 2015, Frank Portelli, owner of a restaurant in Qala, and Justin Debono applied to place a mobile kiosk at Ħondoq in the summer months. However, in February this year, the Planning Commission, chaired by Elizabeth Ellul, ruled out the possibility of such a permit being issued and suspended the decision “until a master plan for the area was finalised”.

However, the same entity, also chaired by Ms Ellul, decided last month that the permit could be issued “temporarily”, in the same way that another “temporary” permit had been issued in Ramla, another Gozitan popular beach in summer.

Assuming that the permit was issued because a master plan was now in place, the Times of Malta asked for a copy but the Planning Authority said none had been published yet.

Environmentalists said this was possibly “the beginning of the end” of Ħondoq

However, a spokesman said that “in the absence of the master plan, as had been the case with other similar cases in the Ramla area, the application does not infringe the Qala local plan policy since it provides a basic beach amenity”.

Asked what had changed between the time the Planning Commission made its first decision last February and the stand taken last month, since the master plan had not been published, the PA spokesman replied: “The authority has nothing further to add.”

When the new permit was first flagged by this newspaper, environmentalists familiar with the area said this was possibly “the beginning of the end” of Ħondoq as they were sure the “temporary” permit would eventually become “permanent” and that more ”temporary” permits would be issued.

“What probably changed in nine months is more pressure by the applicants on the powers-that-be and getting nine months closer to an election and the obvious quest for votes,” an environmentalist commented sarcastically.

Until the permit was issued, guidelines for the area stipulated that there is place for only one kiosk in the bay. In fact, the only kiosk at Ħondoq has been there for more than 30 years.

The PA had rejected many similar applications in the past.