Complaints about beach concession operators acting abusively seem to have become a summer tradition over the past few years, especially in Għadira.
Every so often, fresh efforts to keep beach operators in check are carried out. But invariably, the situation eventually reverts to the default: With rows of unused sunbeds and umbrellas taking up much of the shore in the early morning, before the vast majority of beachgoers arrive. The situation was no different this year, leading to an online petition calling for the removal on unrented beach furniture from public beaches.
No law prevents people from staying in areas covered by a concession permit without using their facilities, although concession operators frequently seem to give beachgoers that impression if complaints are anything to go by. Operators are simply permitted to charge for the renting of beach furniture within their approved areas, and prevented from encroaching on each other.
Theoretically, then, people can even ask concession operators to remove unused beach furniture and secure their own spot.
In practice, even people who insist on staying close to the sea have faced unpleasant confrontations, with some, including petition organiser Lorna Vassallo Pace, even claiming to have been threatened or harassed if they try to stay in part of the concession’s “territory”.
The petition appears to have spurred the authorities into action: A pilot project is aiming to reconcile conflicting interests.
The task is not simple: Any regulations will invariably be resisted by concession operators, who have argued, among other things, that it is not practical to place beach furniture on demand. On the other hand, the status quo – cramming the best parts of the beach with sunbeds and umbrellas – does help pressure people into paying for their services, especially if, as often claimed, those who do not face harassment.
Ultimately, whatever regulations are set up – and whatever regulations already exist – can easily be enforced in places like Għadira, which is patrolled by beach attendants. If concessions are being used abusively, the relevant authorities have clearly failed to enforce regulations properly, and this needs to be changed.
Ms Vassallo Pace had also claimed, when talking to this newspaper that existing fines do not deter abuse. In many trading sectors, heavier deterrents such as steeper fines or the loss of one’s trading licence are in place: Similar deterrents can also apply to beach concessions, if deemed necessary.
At this point, one can only hope that the pilot project will bear fruit, although scepticism is understandable.
Moreover, whether any fresh controls implemented through the project would still apply when the next beach season comes remains to be seen, given past trends. One can only hope that a fresh petition a few years down the line is not the most likely option.
In the meantime, however, putting up a few signs which clearly explain what rights beachgoers and concession operators actually have would not have gone amiss, especially since they would have helped to settle disputes that seem to crop up from time to time. Such signs would also have clarified just how public our public beaches are.