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View of one of the entrances to the Pueblosol car park. L. Cádiz
Slow start for new one-euro-a-day Costa del Sol car park as spaces remain empty
Infrastructure

Slow start for new one-euro-a-day Costa del Sol car park as spaces remain empty

It has suffered a financial loss of more than 20,000 euros in the summer, which is when parking is in higher demand

Lorena Cádiz

Benalmádena

Wednesday, 6 November 2024, 10:37

Many spaces at the new Pueblosol underground car park, which opened in Benalmádena in the summer, remain empty on most days with the site incurring financial losses.

Its opening in the centre of Arroyo de la Miel in June was a milestone as the car park was planned in the year 2000, and had been closed for several years. Opening it resulted in nearly 700 parking spaces made available in an area where it is usually difficult to park, and at the price of just one euro per day during business hours.

However, four months after its opening, the car park which is of considerable size, looks half-empty on most days. The council took on the entire cost of refurbishing the car park after several years of it being shut. This is in addition to the annual rent paid to Tremon, the company which owns Tivoli and which came to an agreement with the town hall to open the Pueblosol underground car park. The council pays Tremon 254,000 euros per year for the car park.

In a report by Provise, the public company in charge of its management, the income from the car park for ten days in June and the months of July, August and September is 47,339.01 euros. Figures which show clear losses.

"In the summer months, which is when we have the highest influx of tourists and visitors to the town, the Pueblosol car park has had losses of more than 20,000 euros. And now comes the winter, which we are already predicting is going to be quite complicated to maintain the carpark," said PSOE spokesperson in Benalmádena, Víctor Navas, this week.

The Socialists have always been against the opening of the car park under the conditions agreed by the local Partido Popular council. Specifically, because it has been rented at a price "above the market price".

The council has always said that its aim is to imitate the model implemented by other municipalities on the Costa del Sol, such as Mijas and Estepona, with car parks in the central area where vehicles can be parked for one euro per day during business hours.

Tivoli esplanade

The Pueblosol underground car park is only a few metres away from the Tivoli esplanade, which has also been used as a car park, with hundreds of spaces available, and which for years has been providing a service to all those who need to go to the centre of Arroyo de la Miel. This esplanade is usually completely full at any time of the day.

When the opening of the Pueblosol car park was announced, the opposition warned that with the Tivoli esplanade, the new car park did not make much sense. They went so far as to suggest that the opening of the car park could mean the closure of the esplanade, a plot of land that was widely desired due to its size and location.

The Socialists even brought a motion to a council meeting demanding a commitment from the corporation that the car park would not be closed or used for other purposes.

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