The Floriana Local Council will close its doors on Tuesday 25 August as it stages a symbolic protest over what it describes as the locality's worsening depopulation crisis.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, Deputy Mayor James Aaron Ellul said the one-day closure is intended to raise awareness after years of unsuccessful efforts to persuade the authorities to address the issue.

Ellul described the move as a symbolic gesture aimed at making people more aware of the problem. The council has spent more than two years meeting ministers, Opposition politicians, planning officials and other organisations, while also holding press conferences, yet no concrete action has followed.

Last January, Floriana Mayor Nigel Holland addressed a press conference in which he said that every week, residential buildings are being converted into offices, hotels, and other commercial purposes. He maintained that authorities habitually disregard the local council's persistent protests, therefore abandoning the interests and standard of living of residents.

While Floriana's 2002 local plan restricts new office development, it contains no similar safeguards against tourist accommodation.

The council argues that Floriana has become increasingly dominated by administrative, commercial and tourism-related activity at the expense of residential life. A month ago, it wrote to both the government and the Opposition asking whether either intended to tackle the issue. Opposition Leader Alex Borg agreed to meet the councilors, while the government has yet to respond.

Population figures illustrate the scale of the challenge. Floriana's population has fallen from around 5,600 residents in the late 1940s to less than 2,000 today, making it Malta's second least-populated locality after Mdina. Ellul also said that the average age of Floriana residents is over 60, making the population an ageing one.

The council is calling for an immediate moratorium on new permits for boutique hotels and Airbnbs until the government clarifies its policy and reviews the outdated local plan. It also argues that government projects have reduced the amount of land available for housing by allocating sites for institutional uses.

Although the council has welcomed the government's Grand Harbour Revival Plan, it insists that restoring historic buildings alone is not enough if the communities living within them continue to disappear. It says the same concerns affect Valletta, Cottonera and the Three Cities, which are also experiencing population decline.

Nationalist Party councillors in Msida expressed solidarity with Floriana, saying local councils lack the powers needed to protect residents' interests. They called for stronger administrative and enforcement powers and for local communities to have a greater say in major planning and infrastructure decisions.