This Monday, the Torrevieja City Council initiated an initiative to reduce the occupancy of public spaces on Paseo de Juan Aparicio by restaurant terraces.

The local hospitality industry’s golden mile’s numerous terraces had been violating the ordinance for years by occupying more space than their permits permitted, as evidenced by the use of a few litres of yellow paint, chalk, masking tape, and the labour of municipal employees. In comparison to others, some had implemented numerous square meters of public space into their operations.

Federico Alarcón, Councillor for Safety and Occupation of Public Spacessaid that the City Council would verify compliance on-site after reinstating the payment of the fee for occupation of public spaces, without evaluating whether restaurateurs were complying with the ordinance.

That is to say, the amount that hospitality businesses have been paying since the tax was reinstated in response to the pandemic has been adjusted to reflect the actual space they occupy on a daily basis and the square meters defined by the municipal ordinance for that specific area.

Torrevieja was one of the tourism municipalities that maintained its tax exemption for the longest period following the pandemic. There are four complete years between 2020 and 2023. During this period, local regulations were also exceptionally adaptable, as businesses demanded benefits in the face of extremely adverse circumstances and installed an increased number of chairs and tables, which were protected by health and safety regulations.

Torrevieja City Council has also established a reputation for being one of the most permissive in terms of permitting the occupation of public space, with a preference for the profitable use of hospitality businesses.

The municipality alone generates 1.4 million euros annually from the occupancy of public spaces by terraces, excluding street markets and other taxable activities in public spaces.

“Faced with the need to return to the pre-pandemic line or create an intermediate one, we have decided to return to the previous one,” according to Alarcón. The last time an occupancy limit line was ordered to be drawn, leaving tables that exceeded it visible and readily distinguishable on the ground, was over seven years ago, during the coalition government (2015-2019), when Javier Manzanares was the councillor for the area.

The promenade’s pavement, which is also referred to as Las Rocas, had already begun to discolour after an extended period of time. The PP municipal government discontinued the signage of the COVID measures that were implemented in 2020 to guarantee that the hospitality industry could continue to operate with specific health precautions.

Upon the return of normalcy following the pandemic, residents residing on the front lines had identified the absence of control over the occupation of public space by hospitality businesses. Terraces encircled benches along the promenade, and establishments relocated their tables and chairs just over three meters from the seafront. The permissiveness of the municipality extends to the incorporation of permanent installations, which are provided with designated spaces on the canopies, palm trees, verdant areas, and streetlights on the promenade.

This situation has resulted in significant traffic congestion at pedestrian crossings over the past two summers, as the terraces were required to accommodate unlicensed street vendors, known as the “top manta.”

Yesterday, Monday 17th March, the Municipal Public Road Occupation Department commenced the process of removing chairs and tables from the majority of the hospitality establishments along Juan Aparicio Promenade. Signs have been posted by municipal labourers and the Local Police officer who is responsible for enforcing the ordinance. These signs will be posted from the Hombre del Mar area and will extend along the promenade to Punta Margalla, including those situated on Playa del Cura.

Councilman Alarcón clarified that the Association of Hospitality and Regional Businesses, with which he maintains a close relationship, had been warned and had informed its members. The group’s board of directors has not responded to this newspaper’s attempts to contact them.

Nevertheless, the employees of the establishments were evidently perplexed, as they were required to remove a significant portion of their terraces after the installation. Additionally, they were uncertain about how to dispose of the remaining furnishings. The issue has been temporarily resolved by the rain, which has decreased the number of individuals who can fit in the fixed installations on the terraces that are already covered.

The Libertad promenade, which is one of the main promenades, has been closed to the public since March 12th as a result of the renovation of the port and the removal of vendor stalls, which is also a result of the municipal initiative. The pedestrian area has been further restricted and will be redirected to the Juan Aparicio seafront promenade in anticipation of Holy Week.

Conversely, the City Council has temporarily suspended the finalisation of the new occupancy ordinance due to its extensive nature, which encompassed a wide range of uses, including the amusement park, bohemian craft market, and terraces. Alarcón observed that the current proposal is to divide the text into distinct ordinances to ensure that they are tailored to the specific use.

The City Council’s intention to implement an external software application to facilitate the payment process for the use of public roads has also been impeded. The municipality contemplated transferring the territory to Suma Gestión Tributaria after promoting the project. However, the autonomous body of the Provincial Council is uncertain about certain aspects of this delegation of functions, and the municipality has temporarily suspended this initiative. The councillor also expressed his optimism that the planned reinforcement of Local Police officers will enable the addition of additional officers to the inspection of public roads throughout the year.

The Levante beach coastline, which is the city’s busiest and, if anything, most touristy beach, was entirely renovated by Benidorm in the 1990s. In addition to numerous other components, they instituted a remarkable lighting system that consisted of a garland that connected each lamppost, extending from one end of the beach to the other.

Currently, the catenary is exhibiting the typical condition of an infrastructure that has been subjected to a corrosive element such as the sea for over three decades. The Benidorm City Council has awarded the contract to Elecnor for the second phase of its renovation, which will encompass the section between Avenida de Europa and Calle Metge Miguel Martorell, following the completion of the first phase. The announcement was made yesterday, Monday 17th March.

The mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, has declared that the project, which has a budget of €854,885, is anticipated to be entirely completed “in the first few months of 2026.” The project has a completion period of eight months.

The Benidorm Visión 360 Sustainable Tourism Destination Plan, which is also a component of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, will be used to execute the project. This plan is funded by the European Union-Next GenerationEU.

In this regard, the mayor expressed his disappointment with “the State’s failure to assume responsibility, despite its obligation to execute the task.”

Renewal after thirty years

Toni Pérez recalled that the City Council completed the first phase of the project, which encompassed the section from Plaza del Torrejó to Avenida de Europa, with an investment of €1,972,119.41, entirely financed with municipal resources, three decades after its original installation. This investment resulted in a reduction in energy output of over 33.65%.

“And not only have we managed to become more efficient and significantly reduce CO2 emissions, but this project has also earned our city awards and recognition for its sustainability, such as the one we received in Madrid from the EnerTic platform,” Pérez emphasised.

Finally, the mayor expressed regret that, “as has already occurred with many other infrastructure projects, such as the first phase itself, the access to the tertiary sector, or the so-called second phase of the Paseo de Poniente, this project should have been financed and executed by the State, but what we have found is a further failure to fulfil its responsibility, in what is probably the only municipality in Spain with a seafront promenade where the Ministry fails to fulfil its jurisdiction and responsibility.”

Former ETA leader Iratxe Sorzabal is scheduled to be tried at the National Court yesterday, Monday March 17th, at the National Court, two decades after the attempted explosion at Alicante-Elche airport. He is expected to be sentenced to six years in prison.

A cleaner uncovered the explosive device in a bin situated in the tunnel that connects the car park to the passenger arrivals area on July 29th, 1995. It was defused by bomb disposal experts (Tedax) without inflicting any damage. As per the prosecution’s report, the device was composed of “a digital clock, a 9-volt battery, 500 grammes of Ameritol explosive substance, an electric detonator, and some wires.”

Upon uncovering the box in which the explosive was enclosed, the woman who discovered it immediately recognised its nature. “I was required to mop the area surrounding a substantial bin.” The receptacle I had emptied was present when I returned, as I had left my trolley adjacent to it. She testified during the hearing, “I lifted a heavy bag, opened a box within, and discovered that it was filled with a very hard substance, including wires and a clock.”

According to the former airport employee, she was “calm in a significant way.” “In order to prevent any potential alarms, I concealed the item and promptly fled to notify the terminal staff and the authorities in the vicinity.” She explained, “I went upstairs to ensure that the area was cordoned off and that people were kept away, because I realised what it was.”

Sorzabal has appeared in court for the second time this year. The former ETA commander was charged with an attack that occurred at the Irún border crossing in Guipúzcoa in October 1995, resulting in damage to the Spanish customs office. The trial was conducted in late February. The prosecution is requesting a 12-year penitentiary sentence for that incident.

During her testimony as a defendant, Sorzabal denied “everything” while still anticipating the verdict. The ‘kantada’, a report that an ETA member submitted to the group’s leadership upon detention, was the subject of much attention. This report provided a detailed account of attacks that had not yet been identified, including the two incidents that were previously mentioned.

The former ETA commander asserted that the manuscript contained “everything” she had been “compelled to memorise, with all the details,” while in police custody.

In Monday’s session, the Civil Guard officer who analysed the ‘kantada’ testified again, stating that it contained “far more details and data about each of the actions she participated in, whether it be placing explosive devices or performing other tasks in terrorist actions,” as in the first trial.

An additional witness, who was also an officer, reported that the accused admitted to placing the device in a plastic bag on the Civil Guard premises. “According to the bombing report and the explosives technical report, that was precisely the container of the device—a black plastic rubbish bag,” said the investigator.

The trial will recommence today, when it will be prepared for sentencing. Sorzabal, who has requested to testify after all evidence has been presented, will be heard by the court.