The beaches of Benidorm and their services return to the situation prior to the pandemic

The plenary session of Benidorm City Council has today unanimously approved the cleaning, rescue and accessible services on the beaches provided before the pandemic. The councillor for Playas, Mónica Gómez, recalled that "from June 13, 2020, to April 25, 2022" the services have been adapting at all times "to the evolution of the pandemic" to "guarantee at all times health safety” to users.

After the agreement is adopted today, from July 1 the beaches "return to normal", resuming the provision of services under the conditions set out in the contract, except for the price of the hammocks, which is set at 6 euros. In this way, 21 hammock sectors can be installed, with a maximum number of 6,315 hammocks.

Gómez explained that “the only measure” adopted during the pandemic that “will continue at the request of the users” of the beaches is “the 6-meter strip” along the shore that was established at the time to “guarantee that The safety distance was maintained on walks along the shore. The councillor has indicated that "we understand that it is a good measure that avoids crowds on the front line" and that is why it has been considered to maintain it.

Also unanimously, the plenary session has expressed the will of the City Council to "extend the agreement for the next 4 years" signed with the Thematic Projects Society of the Valencian Community (SPTCV) on July 31, 2018, for the construction of the cultural centre to tackle the second and last phase of the project. The proposal was finally raised to full as an agreement of the Board of Spokespersons proposes as an alternative to the extension of a "collaboration protocol for the preparation of a new agreement".

The motion requests the president of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig, and the management of the SPTCV to "adopt the same resolution" and "express their willingness in writing to extend the agreement."

"Regardless" of when that extension is signed, it is necessary that the agreements to expand the agreement be "notified and exchanged before July 31" to "avoid the extinction" of the agreement.
About the cultural centre, by a large majority and by way of urgency, the green light has been given to a budget modification to "address" the expense derived from the delivery to the City Council of the first phase of the work, based on the protocol of intentions and agreement signed between the parties, as specified by the Councilor for Finance, Aida García Mayor. To pay VAT on this partial delivery, 3,989,576.48 euros will be allocated, which will be financed "through a long-term bank loan".

The budget modification also includes 464,950 euros to be used to "supplement existing items" to meet the new needs of various departments and municipal areas. This money, the mayor has exposed, will come out of the negative Treasury Remaining; that is, of the money saved by the City Council during the year 2021. Among the concepts included in such an amount, is to increase by 100,000 euros the nominative subsidy granted to Benidorm Handball Club after its European classification.

The plenary has also agreed to the extension of the garden maintenance contract with the vote in favour of the three political groups. At this point, the Councilor for Street Cleaning has insisted that it was "a mere procedure" and recalled that "there are favourable reports and the possibility of the extension was already stipulated in the contract. That's why we're going forward." However, he has clarified that "it will be the last year of extension of the contract".

Unanimously, the Corporation has given the initial green light to the municipal regulations for the services 'Menjar a casa' and 'Major a casa', which to date have been provided by the Ministry and which have been assumed by the City Council. The mayor of Social Welfare, Ángela Llorca, has pointed out that this document "regulates" both services, which constitute "basic social benefits" aimed at "elderly people" or "with some type of disability and/or functional diversity having sufficient resources to maintain and improve their degree of autonomy and quality of life within their reach”.

Llorca recalled that the 'Menjar a casa' service is "a preventive resource that aims to improve the nutrition of users by understanding that proper nutrition contributes decisively to health, well-being and quality of life by offering them a healthy diet at the home of the user and adapted to their needs. For its part, 'Major a casa' comprises "a set of services and supplies related to each other, which will be provided in a coordinated and continuous manner at the user's home, will constitute an integrated service, in general, for food benefits in the home and home cleaning.

In urban matters, the Interior Reform Plan (PRI) of Primavera Park hotel and the Interior Reform Plan for a block in the Poniente sector, where the future athletics track will be located, has been approved with the favourable vote of all the groups.

Lourdes Caselles, Councilor for Urban Development, has detailed that the approval of both plans will report to the City Council 338,000 euros in urban charges in the case of the hotel, which will be allocated to the Municipal Land Heritage, and 2,034,710.41 euros in the case of the hotel. of the Poniente block, which will be in this case for the execution of the sports facility.

Caselles has highlighted the hotel's PRI, which involves "renovating the hotel plant and improving the urban scene, with more accessible streets and more space for sidewalks."

Also unanimously, the Benidorm City Council's Register of Action Programs, Urban Interest Groups and Collaborating Urban Entities have been created. The Councilor for Urban Planning, Lourdes Caselles, explained that with this procedure "we are adapting to the modification of the Law on Territorial Planning, Urban Planning and Landscape", which establishes that the municipalities must be the ones to create this local Registry that was previously carried at the regional level.

The groups have also approved an institutional declaration issued by the Board of Spokespersons on the occasion of the International LGTBI Pride Day in which homophobia is denounced "because it is discrimination" and advocates fighting against it "to achieve free and equal cities and guarantee the effective equality of LGTBI people”. The declaration underlines the need to "stop the hate speech that has been heard for some time so that all people can exercise without fear and with respect all the powers that correspond to them." In this sense, the City Council has adhered to the FEMP declaration, which "shows its commitment to continue promoting attitudes and policies that favour a change in mentality and that eradicate LGTBIphobic attitudes." Likewise, the institutional declaration shows its “concern” for the many internationally documented cases that today reveal the criminalization of homosexuality and transsexuality”.

With the votes of the government team and the Ciudadanos group, a motion has been approved to urge the Consell to rectify the withdrawal of the Music subject in the third year of ESO. The spokeswoman Lourdes Caselles has affirmed that with this measure "an attack on the subject is verified" and added that "it makes no sense that learning is suddenly cut short or that all knowledge is learnt now in two years". Caselles, in addition, has warned that this cut "will affect the staff of this speciality, who do not know if they will continue working next year."

Unanimously, the plenary session has asked the Generalitat Valenciana to grant public congratulations to an officer and three agents of the Local Police who on April 23 managed to revive a man who was in cardiorespiratory arrest until the arrival of the health services.

In the same session, the change in the dedication of PSOE councillors has also been reported, as well as the accounting information for the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2021 and the first of 2022.

Opposition motions

Only the Ciudadanos (Cs) group has abstained in the debate on a PSOE motion to extend the modification of the cleaning contract for educational centres dependent on the City Council, which has been amended by the government team. The final motion calls for the Ministry to maintain the reinforcement measures in cleaning and disinfection during the school day in all the IES and centres dependent on the Ministry itself in the city. The government has argued its amendment, as explained by councillor José Ramón González de Zárate, "because the reinforcement of cleaning and disinfection of schools is already included in the contract that was voted on in 2020, but we cannot say the same of the institutes, which depend on the Generalitat”.

Also with the abstention of Cs, a PSOE motion has been approved, amended by the municipal group of the Popular Party, on the abolition of prostitution. In the text finally approved, it is indicated that "the Government of Spain approves a state legislative framework through a Comprehensive Law for the abolition of prostitution", and that from the Ministry of Equality and Inclusive Policies "the autonomous regulations are adapted to state law."