The Provincial Coastal Authority in Alicante has told the Orihuela Council to remove the beach bars from public maritime land. They are currently closed to the public, and not fulfilling the purpose for which they were authorised. As such, unless they are taken off the beaches the council has been warned that the Coastal Authority will take the appropriate action.
Costas’ letter explains that on 12 January their environmental agent reported that the beach bars on Playa Cala Bosque (La Zenia) and La Caleta (Cabo Roig) were closed, and not offering the service for which they were authorised, and that they had been closed since the 1st of that same month, when the contract extension was terminated.
Since then, the facilities have been closed and will continue to be so over Easter, as the new tender for the service, which includes sunbeds, umbrellas and water sports, has not been actioned by the Orihuela council, which states that it could even be that the summer starts without beach bars, given the complexity of a contract, for which many bids have been received.
Costas states that the General Regulation of Coasts establishes that ” the occupation of the maritime-terrestrial public domain may only be allowed for those activities or facilities that, by their nature, cannot take place in another location.
The letter continues, the beach bars enjoy authorisation for their installation, although they do not currently comply with the purpose established and requested by the City Council, which is to provide a service to the public.
As such, the council’s Department of Beaches issued an instruction on March 8 that requires the previous operator, Chiringuitos del Sol, to proceed with the removal of the beach bars within a period of 10 days, which was notified on the 10th March.
Ten days later, the company expressed its opposition to their removal by email, stating that the closure of the beach bars gives a negative effect to the image, tourism and economy of the municipality, especially during the Easter holiday period. For this reason, in order to continue providing the public service, it requests the City Council for the immediate opening of the facilities.
Even though the term of the order had not expired, on the 22nd, the Local Police sealed off the beach bars. The company said that the measure was adopted before it had received a response to its request.
Thus, the company has now sent a letter to the local administration in which it states that it has legally challenged the resolution of Playas that requires Chiringuito del Sol to proceed with the removal of the beach bars. For this reason, it requests the City Council refrains from carrying out any act, and to stop any attempt to execute the eviction order for the beach bars, until there is a final judicial ruling.
Chiringuito del Sol, which has operated the service since 2018, has also asked the administration for compensation for cases of force majeure, requesting that with the termination of the contract the fee be reviewed to offset the economic losses due to stormy Gloria, the DANA of 2019 , the pandemic and inflation.
Two months before the end of the contract, the company asked the council for an extension during 2023 with the aim of reducing the economic damage that had been caused by previous events.
In the event that it was not agreed, as indeed is the case, the company reserved the right to initiate actions to guarantee the economic balance of the contract.
