Concerned councillors are looking at pulling down the shutters on companies using buildings in residential areas as warehouses.
An inquiry has been launched over the safety of materials being stored following complaints from residents of noisy trucks parking in busy streets for loading and unloading.
The issue over the misuse of ‘shutters’, as they are known locally, was discussed by the Muharraq Municipal Council during its recent meeting, where council chairman Ghazi Al Murbati outlined several examples of rule breakers.
Mr Al Murbati pointed out that although storage facilities and warehouses are not allowed in residential areas they appear to be spreading across neighbourhoods in several constituencies.
Unscrupulous store owners are buying up any empty buildings with shutters in their areas and turning them into makeshift places to store their supplies, the meeting heard.
“Whenever a cold store or supermarket opens it usually takes another ‘shutter’ for storage purposes that’s next to it and that’s fine because they are moving the goods by hand,” said Mr Al Murbati.
“However, for example, we have one store that carries out furniture upholstery which has bought ‘shutters’ far from its location and converted them into storage facilities for cloth and other materials. They are often seen parking up a truck, loading it and then unloading at their store.
“There is concern over the storage of materials that might prove hazardous in a residential area.
“Another example is a store that exports items, such as furniture, where trucks are parked up for hours in residential areas, disturbing the residents.”
The council has officially invited the inspection committee at the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Ministry to offer guidance over the matter so that they can monitor the situation and come up with a strategy to tackle the issue.
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