A café has set up a number of glass houses filled with tables and chairs in a public space in Dock 1 in Cospicua, despite not having a planning permit to do so.

DATE Art Café, situated just behind the American University of Malta in Triq Dom Mintoff in Cospicua, has set up no less than 14 glass houses filled with tables and chairs on the public steps which lead down to the bridge which connects the two sides of Dock 1.

An image of the area was initially shared by independent candidate Arnold Cassola, and the café owner Ivan Zammit replied that the glass houses were a temporary installation for “a few weeks of winter while people find it hard to sit and have a drink in the cold and windy weather.”

Zammit said that his café had transformed the square in question from being one that a person would run away from to a place that was highlighted by CNN as a must-visit and was promoting public wellbeing by offering opportunities for female entrepreneurs, young artists and neighbouring businesses.

He said that the installation had only received positive compliments, and said that the Cospicua local council had given its blessing for the temporary structures over a year ago.

On criticism that the business had taken over the public space, Zammit wrote: “We do not attempt to make the stairs ours. We clean the area every day and we have been part of the group of volunteers who picked up several buckets of syringes from the area a couple of years ago. We have definitely made the area more popular, but we do not call the area ours. We just know from daily experience that nobody visits this area when it's cold and rainy.”

“We're simply a young and positive business trying to make the place more beautiful and at the same time trying to survive winter and keep all our team in gainful employment throughout the difficult winter. We know, from the past two years, that nobody comes to "enjoy" the public space when it's raining, whereas now the place is more enjoyable due to this temporary installation and we've witnessed very enjoyable evenings,” Zammit wrote.

However, public data shows that there was never a planning application for tables and chairs to take up the public space in the first place – meaning that the current take up is without the necessary planning permission.

Zammit had filed a planning application in September 2022 to apply for a change of use for the property from a Class 4C establishment – a food and drinks establishment where no cooking is allowed – to a Class 4D establishment, which allows for food to be cooked at the establishment.

An initial block plan filed under this planning application showed that the business was applying for a group of 11 tables situated at the base of the public staircase.

However, a representation filed in January 2023 by the owner of a property neighbouring the café which is currently subject to a planning application to be turned into a guest house with a restaurant connected to it highlighted the outdoor tables as an issue.

The owner – Daniel Zahra – pointed out that “the applicant is proposing to use the neighbouring public space for the sole purpose of his catering establishment, specifically the laying out of tables and chairs within the public space.”

Given that, he requested that the area of the public space is “allocated proportionately between the establishments in the vicinity” and also wanted Zammit’s demands in the application to be reduced by 50% “so as to allow fair competition between establishments.”

Perhaps in response to this, the initial plans were superseded by new ones filed to the Planning Authority by the café owner’s architect, where any trace of tables and chairs being in the public square was removed.

In his report in fact, the Planning Authority’s case officer noted that “the submitted application does not include an outdoor catering area.”

The planning application for the change of use was subsequently granted by the Planning Authority in September 2023.

No new application has since ever been filed for permission to have an outdoor catering area connected to the establishment, despite the fact that the café has now placed a myriad of tables and chairs, together with the glass houses and other furniture such as makeshift sofas and a heart-shaped bench, across the staircase.