The extension of a pavement outside of a Nadur wine bar and restaurant has irked its neighbours, who have filed an appeal against the decision to grant a development permit due to its impact on traffic flows.

The extended pavement in question is in Dun Martin Square, a small square which is located at the back of the Nadur parish church at the heart of the town.

The square regularly serves as a venue for outdoor activities - including in the popular Nadur carnival, when it typically hosts a number of musical acts. But most of the time, the square is open to two-way traffic, and according to nearby residents, extending the pavement has created havoc.

An application to extend the pavement was made by the owner of Anthony's Restaurant, which is located in one corner of the square.

The restaurant already had a permit to place a small number of tables, and last April, it applied for a permit to "extend pavement under the area covered with the concession for placing of tables."

The case officer assigned to the application recommended that a permit should be granted, and on 26 August the Environment and Planning Commission (Division A) granted a full development permit.

The decision was publicised in the press the following month, and residents filed an appeal on 22 September. The pavement was extended in short order, using tiling that does not match that of the existing pavement.

No permit was issued to extend the area in which tables and chairs were placed, but this did not appear to deter the restaurant, which ended up incurring an enforcement notice for occupying a larger public space than it was allowed to. Eventually, however, the restaurant relented, and the offending street furniture was removed.

But nearby residents' main gripe with the project is not any increase in the number of tables, but its impact on traffic.

According to one of the objectors, the square "is now always congested with traffic... they have created a bottleneck." Adding insult to injury, the restaurant - and the newly-extended pavement - is actually located at the narrowest part of the slightly-tapering square.

The objector even pointed out that it took just a few days for some of the new tiles to be shattered, due to vehicles driving over the pavement in a bid to prevent a bottleneck from forming.

The appeal is now scheduled to be heard on 27 November. The objectors were disappointed that the appeal did not stop the extension from being built, but this is in line with Maltese planning laws.