Paceville was in the news twice these past few days.

In the first instance, representatives of Parliament’s Social Affairs Committee visited the area where it was explained to them by a representative of the Malta Tourism Authority that the intention is to develop Paceville into a 24-hour hub of activity.

In the second occasion, Ministers George Pullicino and Mario de Marco went on site where work is being carried on some main roads leading from the centre at a cost of €250,000.

Developing Paceville as a 24-hour hub may be ideal for the businesses in the area, but it is certainly not welcome news for the residents. Added to this, it might also prove to be a costly exercise for the St Julian’s local council – the council has so much work that involves Paceville that it often neglects other areas in the locality, to the detriment of the residents there.

That the roads are being done up to provide uniformity in the infrastructure is good news, and one hopes that once the project is finished, the maintenance services make sure that the area is kept in ship-shape condition.

But the problems of Paceville go beyond roads and infrastructure. The large concentration of bars, night clubs and restaurants makes it ideal for people who want to entertain themselves, but Paceville’s name is unfortunately also associated with fights, drunken people and general misbehaviour – which is certainly not ideal for the family tourists who take up accommodation in one of the many hotels that are in the vicinity.

The contrast between the elegance of the five-star hotels, which cater for a certain kind of visitor, with the hullabaloo in the Paceville streets is enormous. Paceville is certainly not a five-star destination that it is being projected to be.

For many, Paceville is still a mecca of entertainment, and the place to be every single weekend, if not every single day. But many have learnt to avoid going there for reasons mentioned earlier – they have opted to seek other locations where it is more tranquil, and where the chances of being hit with a bottle are very limited, unlike what happens in Paceville.

Paceville has too much of a bad name for people of good intentions to be caught anywhere near.

If Paceville is to survive, there needs to be a general clean-up of the situation – not only in the physical sense, but in the way matters need to be controlled. We are not advocating a police state, but neither is it possible that people do what they like there – from a small misdemeanour such as smoking in a public place to violent incidents.