The application to the Planning Authority by Infrastructure Malta to develop a part of the Coast Road into a temporary caravan site has been suspended, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said.

Bartolo announced on a Facebook post that the decision was taken after consultation with the Naxxar Local Council and Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia.

Bartolo said this is being done to work on a holistic strategy. The strategy is intended to limit conflicts between various potential uses of recreational land. He said that it is also intended to control the effects of such use of recreational land to reduce their impact on the environment.

Bartolo said that another goal is to shift to specific sites that move away from unstructured activity.

Naxxar mayor Anne Marie Muscat Fenech Adami had held a press conference at the site condemning the application for a temporary caravan site in the area, saying that the Local Council was not consulted with over the matter.

She had appealed for the immediate suspension of the application and proposed for a properly equipped caravan site which can be enjoyed by the greatest amount of people, as well as plans to make the area attractive for water sports such as windsurfing.