Deckchairs at Mellieħa’s popular Għadira Bay have led to complaints by beachgoers but the authorities found nothing untoward when they investigated, the Times of Malta has learnt.

A spokeswoman for the Malta Tourism Authority said officials had looked into complaints that the owners of deckchair concessions at the sandy beach had completely taken over part of the bay.

Readers complained that they were barely able to spread their beach towel on the sand, especially in the section closest to the Seabank Hotel.

“It’s absurd, the first section of the beach is packed with deckchairs all the way to the water’s edge. Are our beaches public or what,” reader Jon Grech commented.

Others said rude concessionaires “act like they own the place”.

The Planning Authority and the MTA are the two entities responsible for overseeing the placing of deckchairs and sun umbrellas on the beaches.

The MTA spokeswoman said the regulator was bound by contractual agreements, signed more than five years ago, that granted permits for operators to function within a given area on the beach. The concession area, however, varied every year.

All beaches where sunbeds and umbrellas were provided were monitored daily, she said.

Asked why deckchairs and sun shades arrived right up to the water’s edge on some parts of the beach, seemingly occupying a larger area than in previous years, the spokeswoman noted that there had indeed been changes in the concession for that part of the bay which bathers were complaining about.

“Given that the sandy area varies from one year to another due to the winds, the designated area of this particular establishment was varied from last year,” she said.

The spokeswoman added that the operator was not found to be breaching the conditions of the licence because all beach furniture was within the designated area.

She recalled that the government had commissioned studies to regenerate Għadira Bay through a sand replenishment exercise.

The project was expected to provide an enhanced sand area, improved facilities and better parking.

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