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Benidorm joins the regional agreement to inspect tourist accommodation and sanction illegal ones.

The plenary session unanimously approved the Cooperation Agreement with the Generalitat (Catalan Government) to invest €14.5 million in the wastewater treatment plant.

 

Benidorm City Council has approved its adherence to the framework agreement signed on December 13 by the Generalitat Valenciana (Generalitat Valenciana), through the Ministry of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism, and the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FVMP), to assume the delegation of powers to inspect and sanction tourist accommodation located in the city. The proposal was approved with the support of the 16 local government councilors and the Vox councilor, compared to seven abstentions from the Socialist municipal group. This will make the city one of the first in the Valencian Community, along with Valencia, to carry out this inspection task. 

With this proposal, presented to the plenary session by the city's mayor, Toni Pérez, the Benidorm City Council continues to move forward with its intention to assume these powers, a proposal formally requested from the Ministry of Tourism in September of last year, which will now begin to materialize. The Councilor for Urban Planning and local government spokesperson, Lourdes Caselles, explained that the Tourism, Leisure, and Hospitality Law approved by the regional government of PSOE and Compromís in 2018 already introduced the possibility for city councils to carry out these inspections, "with the difference that previously, city councils were entrusted with all the work except for the collection, which was collected by the Generalitat itself. Now, with the latest amendment to the law by Decree Law 9/2024, of August 2, city councils will be allowed to collect the amount of fines imposed" on unregulated tourist accommodation. 

Caselles explained that "there have already been several meetings with experts from the Regional Ministry and the city councils who have expressed interest in ensuring that this delegation is effective as quickly as possible" and that, once these powers have been assumed, the City Council will have to compile "a quarterly report on the complaints filed, the procedures initiated, their resolution and whether or not they result in disciplinary proceedings, and the fines imposed that are paid into the municipal coffers." Furthermore, to better carry out this function, the Councilor for Urban Planning explained that the Architecture Department "is working on an ordinance to regulate tourist housing and to provide security and strengthen this type of tourist accommodation, provided that the regulations are complied with." She also noted that the City Council will strengthen the Local Police force by opening 20 positions, meaning that "there will be more material and personnel resources." 

The Corporation's plenary session has also approved, in this case unanimously by all groups, the final text of the Cooperation Agreement for the Financing of Improvements and Replacement of the Sanitation and Wastewater Treatment Facilities of the Municipality of Benidorm, an agreement that will provide them with an investment of 14,520,000 euros and will allow the deficiencies in the electrical and structural installations of the wastewater pumping stations (EBARs) to be resolved and the renovation needs of the current Benidorm WWTP, particularly its old line (Line B) and the sludge line, to be resolved.

The Councilor for Water Cycle, José Ramón González de Zárate, pointed out that, thanks to this agreement, of this total investment, "only 10% will be paid by the city of Benidorm, while the remainder will be financed by EPSAR." Thus, the regional entity will assume €13,068,000, and the remaining €1,452,000 will be covered by the City Council. The councilor noted that, unlike many other treatment plants, the WWTP is a municipally owned infrastructure and that the city has "been waiting for these works for many years and demanding their execution," but lamented that the previous regional administration, formed by the PSOE and Compromis, "did not want to invest a single euro" in this treatment plant. 

Regarding the works to be carried out as a result of this agreement, González de Zárate listed the renovation of the electrical installations at the wastewater treatment plants (WBAR) in Benidorm; the renovation and repair of the WBAR at Parque de Elche; the improvement of the old water treatment line (Plant No. 2) at the WWTP; the improvement of the sludge treatment line at the WWTP; and the adaptation of the personnel building, control room, and workshop at this wastewater treatment plant. 

On the other hand, the plenary session also unanimously agreed to grant a municipal civil servant the opportunity to teach part-time at the University of Alicante, given that all reports were favorable, as explained by the Councilor for Human Resources, Ana Soliveres. 

Likewise, two economic agreements were also approved by a large majority: an out-of-court credit recognition for the payment of invoices worth €393,122.08 and the approval of other invoices totaling €687,404.63 to pay for services provided by various public concessionaires in these first months of 2025, contracts for which are pending tender. The Councilor for Finance, Aida García Mayor, emphasized that in both cases, the payment procedures are "completely legal and have been informed and thoroughly reviewed by both the various departments and the Municipal Audit Office." She also noted that "if these invoices were not paid, we would be causing harm to many municipal providers or failing to receive basic services." 

The first of these issues was passed with the PP voting in favor and the PSOE and Vox abstaining; while the second also passed with the PP voting in favor, the Socialists voting against, and Vox abstaining.

Finally, the plenary session also debated a motion presented by Vox councilor José Miguel San Martín, seeking to unify the aesthetics of shop windows and signage in newly opened businesses in the city. Javier Jordá, the Councilor for Commerce, explained that the technical and aesthetic criteria proposed by this motion already exist in various municipal regulations, including the Municipal General Urban Development Plan itself. He also indicated that tax breaks are already established and legally regulated, and that the Department of Commerce is conducting informational campaigns on the regulations and possible aid, while also working on developing a quality seal for local businesses. He explained that "everything proposed in this proposal is already being implemented," while also warning of the need to comply with Article 38 of the Spanish Constitution, which protects freedom of enterprise. The proposal received only a favorable vote from Vox, while the rest of the City Council voted against.