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María Albarral
Marbella
Friday, 12 July 2024, 11:49
The extension of the terraces of bars and restaurants was a widespread measure among the municipalities of the Costa del Sol to support the hospitality industry during the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. Four years later, in Puerto Banús, this commercial activity continues in the spaces occupied as a result of Covid, which has led the Malaga federation of Ecologistas en Acción filing a complaint for "irregular use of vehicle parking spaces in the port area of Puerto José Banús in Marbella and their consolidation for the use of terraces for bars and restaurants".
In principle, although there is no firm resolution, the proposal of the public ports agency of Andalucía (APPA) could order the removal of these terraces, although the concessionaire of the marina has appealed the complaint. Therefore, "these areas will be maintained while the procedure lasts", as the affected parties have pointed out, and at the same time they have highlighted "the fact that the terraces have energised the gastronomic and tourist activity of the port area".
In total, there are six catering establishments which would occupy approximately fifteen parking spaces of the total area ceded to the hospitality and catering businesses. However, the owners of these businesses defend this service which "dynamises the port". The site keeps open the request to the Junta de Andalucía to continue with these terraces and consolidate them. "The administrative procedure to maintain them is under way, and Puerto Banús is confident that they will be maintained, allowing for an excellent high season", the marina concessionaire points out.
Noelia Thames, owner of Grupo Gaucho, one of the businesses affected, defended the continuity of these open spaces. "In Puerto Banús we have seen after the pandemic that the terraces have worked very well and have given life to the port as well as offering new services to tourists as the interior of the premises is very small and many users could not sit down to eat".
In this sense, the businesswoman has also highlighted the work that these terraces generate because, if they were to be removed, it would mean the loss of employment for around 50 families. "We are making the area more dynamic and this also allows us to stay open all year round, as the attraction of the terraces means we have more activity, as tourists like to be outdoors," she said, adding that "they have already collected around 2,000 signatures from the area in support of the continuity of these open spaces".
The complaint
The ecologists allege in their complaint that "it is forbidden to leave any element that disturbs, obstructs or endangers traffic on the road and in the parking area", at the same time as they understand that "the installation of numerous terraces with chairs and tables in the areas destined for parking for the users of the berths of this port contravenes the law and supposes a reduction in the rights of the owners of the berths, and a risk for the users and the public in general".
The group also pointed out that "the number of car parking spaces in port areas must be 75 per cent of the total number of berths and that parking for people with reduced mobility must comply with the current regulations on accessibility", both of which the port area does not comply with.
The complaint went on, "The consolidation of the terraces in numerous parking spaces in Puerto Banús, denounced in this letter, contravenes the planning of open spaces and the regularisation of terraces in the service area of Puerto Banús, approved by the resolution of 30 December 1998 of the minister of public Works and transport of the Junta de Andalucía, and which the concessionaire of this marina is obliged to comply with," they claim in the letter, while also asking for "the elimination of parking spaces and their transformation into terraces in Puerto José Banús".
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