The plenary session approves asking the CHJ that ecological flows be covered with regenerated water to avoid flooding of the swamps

The plenary session of Benidorm City Council has approved today by majority and urgently requesting the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ) that in its Outline of Important Issues (EpTI) -to be carried out in compliance with European regulations- Ecological flows of the rivers in the region are covered with "regenerated waters" instead of using water resources from Guadalest and Amadorio reservoirs. The councilor for the Water Cycle, José Ramón González de Zárate, has indicated that this solution, which is reflected in many allegations to the EpTI transferred by the CHJ, would avoid “discharges” of water to comply with such ecological flows, and in consequently the loss of water resources of the swamps.

De Zárate has indicated that in order to make use of the regenerated water produced in the Benidorm WWTP, it would be necessary to implement “transport and storage infrastructures” for it.

The motion raised to the plenary session also includes requesting the CHJ that the rivers of the region be considered "temporary" -since the flow disappears in summer-, as well as various "investments in infrastructure." Among these investments, the construction of "a seawater desalination plant" (IDAM) in the city with "capacity" to produce "3 cubic hectometres per year". At this point, the councillor recalled that this infrastructure "is provided for in the urban regulations" of Benidorm and that the city currently has "a seawater pumping station and fully legalized impulse and discharge pipes", which they could be connected to the future desalination plant.

Likewise, the proposal raises “the possibility of doubling the Fenollar-Amadorio pipeline”, since during the drought of 2015 this infrastructure “suffered several breaks that endangered the water supply to the Marina Baja from the Mutxamel IDAM” .

De Zárate has indicated that with the allegations made by the technicians of the Engineering department approved today "the City Council is defending the interests of Benidorm, the region and the farmers". The full text of allegations supported by the plenary session will be sent to the Water Consortium in the region for subsequent referral to the CHJ. The deadline for the presentation of allegations ends next Friday.

On the other hand, and within the agenda of the plenary session, the Corporation has unanimously agreed on the proposal of the Board of Spokespersons to request the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma) the free transfer of just over 3 kilometers of the highway N-332 as it passes through the municipality. This request comes after the Roads Unit in Alicante has rejected the transfer request approved unanimously in the September plenary session, and which affected the entire N-332 as it passed through the city, almost 8 kilometers between kilometer points 144 + 40 and 152 + 360; response that has been reported in the same plenary session.

In view of this response, the Board of Spokespersons agreed to reformulate the proposal and limit the assignment to the section between kilometer points 149 + 200 and 152 + 360. Or what is the same, to the section that runs between the surroundings of Sant Jaume cemetery to the municipality of l'Alfàs del Pi, whose City Council has recently obtained from the Ministry the transfer of the entire section of the N332 as it passes through the town.

The spokeswoman for the government team, Lourdes Caselles, has indicated that the section requested now "would meet the requirements" set by the Ministry to be considered as "urban road", and therefore would be susceptible of being transferred to Benidorm City Council. Caselles has stressed that it is "a fundamental artery for the day to day" of the mobility of Benidorm. As indicated last week, the section of just over 3 kilometers requested is now "frankly improvable" in terms of mobility and security, and its management by the City Council will favor municipal activity and that of residents of Benidorm and the region that use this road, whose urban character has been increased after the release of the AP-7.

Asimismo, el pleno ha aprobado hoy por mayoría las actas de la Comisión Paritaria de la estación de autobuses, en las que se plasma el acuerdo alcanzado entre las partes para liquidar el actual contrato y volver a licitar todo el complejo.  A grandes rasgos, el acuerdo de resolución del contrato recogido en las actas de la Comisión Técnica y que posteriormente deberán plasmarse en un convenio contempla liquidar la estación de autobuses por un importe máximo de 24,5 millones de euros, cuantía que no comportará desembolso alguno al Ayuntamiento ya que se cubriría en la nueva licitación, a realizar en un plazo máximo de seis meses –con posibilidad de añadir un plazo adicional de 3 meses por si se requiriera una segunda licitación-.

The spokesperson for the government team has indicated that the concessionaire - Estación de Autobuses de Benidorm SL - must "carry out a comprehensive rehabilitation project of the complex that amounts to 287,141.07 euros to leave the facilities in perfect condition."

Caselles recalled that this Joint Commission was created "in October 2018" with the aim of trying to reach an agreement to "liquidate the contract by mutual agreement" and thus "comply with a judgment of the Supreme Court" that forced the City Council to tender for new operation of the bus station. Likewise, it has had an impact on the “technical” nature of this Commission, in which “politicians have not participated” and of which the municipal secretary and auditor, a technician of the Financial department and the representatives of the commercial Station of Benidorm buses SL. The local government spokeswoman has highlighted "the work carried out by municipal experts" within this commission, as well as their "impartiality.

Prior to voting on the point, the withdrawal requested by the opposition groups has been rejected and the municipal secretary has ratified the legality of the agreement adopted by the Corporation, having all the required documentation.

Unanimously, the plenary session has manifested "the firm commitment of Benidorm City Council with the defense of the right to private property and the fight against illegal occupation of houses"; a commitment that "is compatible with the support and protection of those neighbors and families who are in a situation of social emergency, vulnerability or social exclusion due to housing".

The motion, presented jointly by the local government and the socialist municipal group, urges the Government of Spain to "urgently approve a law that guarantees the constitutional right to private property and effectively combats the illegal occupation of homes"; while supporting "legal modifications and the necessary measures to expedite the immediate resolution of cases of illegal occupation." For this, it is necessary "to provide more human and technical resources to the State Security Forces and Bodies and the Administration of Justice."

Also with the vote of the entire Corporation, it has been agreed to initiate the procedure for the granting of the Police Merit Cross with Blue Distinction by the Generalitat Valenciana to the Local Police officer Manuel Risueño for “standing out with notoriety and perseverance in compliance of the duties of his position, having served more than ten years and being in possession of an individual Public Congratulation, as well as two Police Merit Crosses with a Red Badge ”.

With the same result, it was approved to start the procedure for the granting of Public Congratulations by the Generalitat to the officers of the Local Police Carlos Cedrón and Antonio Gorreta. The councillor of Citizen Security, Lorenzo Martínez, has explained that this request for recognition is linked to an intervention carried out on September 19 by both agents, who performed resuscitation maneuvers on a citizen who suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest inside an establishment until the arrival of SAMU, which stabilized and transferred the person.

In the same session, the agreement of the Local Government Board in which the agreement was approved between the Secretary of State for Tourism of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Turisme Comunitat Valenciana and the City Council to execute the Plan of Tourism Sustainability prepared by the Consistory. Based on the agreement, each of the administrations assumes the commitment to contribute 975,000 euros for the development of this Plan, reaching the figure of 2,925,000 euros