CalpeNoticias EN

The X Fira de Nadal opens its doors tomorrow with several new features, the first is its new location, as instead of the streets of the Old Town the Fair will be concentrated in the Plaza Mayor, and the second novelty is that it will take place every weekend in December.

The main objective of the X Fira de Nadal 2024 is to promote the business and associative fabric of Calpe, as well as providing an additional attraction for tourists visiting our town and encouraging the active participation of the inhabitants of Calpe in the promotion and consolidation of local businesses and associations.

The modifications introduced this year aim to offer the opportunity to participate to a greater number of companies and associations, while expanding the activities that, on the Christmas holidays, are organised by the Town Hall to promote local commerce.

The Fair, organised by the Departments of Economic Promotion, Creama-Calpe, Citizen Participation, Revitalisation of the Old Town and Culture, will provide a free stall or stand where local traders, restaurateurs and associations can exhibit and sell their own products and manufactured goods.

The first two weekends of the fair (the weekends of 6-8 December and 13-15 December) will mainly involve trade and service companies and non-profit associations, and the second fortnight (the weekends of 20-22 December and 27-29 December) will preferably involve companies from the hotel and catering sector.

This event is an opportunity to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere as well as to collaborate with numerous local charitable and festive associations. Visitors will be able to find crafts, gastronomy, Christmas articles, traditional sweets, local trade products, as well as children's entertainment, musical performances, exhibitions and the visit of Father Christmas and the Royal Page Boy. The Fair is rounded off with numerous leisure and entertainment activities, with musical performances, parades and concerts, dance performances, workshops, exhibitions, etc.

Calpe Town Council is finalising the implementation of the Spanish Urban Agenda, through a document that will establish the roadmap for Calpe to become a more sustainable, competitive and inclusive municipality.

Calpe's Urban Agenda is a strategic plan for the city that will include the major projects to be carried out until 2030 following the 10 strategic objectives of the Spanish Urban Agenda and the SDGs of the United Nations.

For the development of the Urban Agenda, the Calpe City Council will consider previous documents that have been prepared such as the Local Action Plan 2020 as well as projects that were already aligned with the SDGs of the United Nations, such as the Strategic Plan for Tourism (2020-2030).

Having the Urban Agenda will also make it easier to attract European funds, especially those belonging to Spain's Multi-regional Operational Programme (POPE 2021 - 2027) such as the EDIL plans, Local Integrated Development Strategies, 60% of which are financed by ERDF funds, with grants that can range between 5 and 15 million euros for projects in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. In fact, Calpe is also preparing to apply for these funds. Calpe Town Council has already been a beneficiary of other European funds such as the Integrated Urban Development Strategy EDUSI and the projects of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) financed by the Next Generation EU Funds.

Citizen participation

For the development of the Urban Agenda of Calpe, the City Council intends to involve the citizens of Calpe. For this reason, an online survey has been launched to find out their demands and needs.

In addition, to implement this strategic document, the City Council is holding several meetings between its various departments this week to discuss the challenges of the municipality until 2030.

Councillor Marco Bittner pointed out that: ‘This participatory process is essential to design a strategy that responds to the real needs of our city. We want all the citizens of Calpe to be protagonists in defining the future of our municipality’.

Take part in the survey

The construction of the other major educational project of Calpe, the CEE Gargasindi, already has a start date: next Monday, December 9th, the same day on which the construction works of the second IES of the municipality are also scheduled to begin.

This morning the act of commencement of the works was signed at a ceremony attended by the mayoress Ana Sala, accompanied by the director of the centre, Inés López, the councillor for Education, Mariola Mulet, the councillor for Territory, Juan Manuel del Pino and the councillor for Contracting, Ximo Perles, as well as representatives of the company awarded the works, Orthem Servicios y Actuaciones Ambientales.

The construction project of the CEE Gargasindi has been awarded for an amount of 7,055,799.57 € and a completion period of 15 months, so it is expected that the centre can open its doors for the academic year 2026/2027. The Basic and Execution Project was drawn up by the architects Miguel Ródenas Mussons, Jesús Olivares Casado and Juan Miguel Ochotorena Elicegui.

This new project arose because the previous facilities were insufficient to meet the needs of this educational community. In fact, the pupils moved to Benissa in June 2020 and the facilities of the old school were demolished in March 2021. The new centre is expected to have a capacity for 100 pupils.

The site on which the centre will be built was provisionally used as a public car park a year ago, pending the Generalitat's authorisation of the modification of the delegation of powers due to the increase in the budget for the project included in the Pla Edificant. For this reason, given the imminence of the works, it is expected that in the next few days parking will be prohibited on this plot, located on Avenida Ausiàs March and which previously housed the old Gargasindi school and the Virgen de las Nieves nursery school.

‘We could not have received better news today, 3 December, International Day of Persons with Disabilities. At last, a much-needed infrastructure will become a reality, for which we have not tired of fighting and claiming, as well as the second secondary school’, said the mayoress of Calpe, Ana Sala.

The Gargasindi Public Special Education Centre of Calpe was born in September 1980, as a resource and care centre for children with serious and permanent educational needs in the Marina Alta region. Over the years and in response to the needs of the area, pupils from Marina Baixa were also integrated. This year the centre has around 50 pupils with a wide range of special and permanent educational needs.

The Casa de Cultura of Calpe celebrated on Saturday an emotional gala - tribute on its 25 years of history. An event in which tribute was paid to all the councillors of Culture over the last 25 years: Maite Boronat, Paloma Granados, Ximo Tur, Manolo Cabrera, Miguel Ángel Martínez, Pilar Cabrera and the current Culture councillor Guillermo Sendra, as well as to the staff who work in the facilities and whose work makes it possible for the citizens of Calpe to enjoy a varied cultural programme throughout the year.

During the event, a video mapping was projected on the cultural history of Calpe from the origins of the municipality to the present day. A spectacle for the audience, as this technology offered simultaneous audiovisual projections on the walls of the auditorium itself and on the central screen.

The gala included a performance by an acrobatics group from Fam Produccions and ended with a small concert by the Sinfonity Electric Guitar Orchestra, a music group that performs the great pieces of classical music on electric guitars.

On 23rd May 1999, these facilities were inaugurated, from which art and culture have been and continue to be promoted and which have become a reference point in the cultural life of Calpe.

EXFICALPE, the philatelic and collecting exhibition organised every December and January by the Calpe Philatelic Association, will start next Monday 2nd December and will commemorate this year the centenary of the Fishermen's Guild and the 25th anniversary of the Casa de Cultura.

The philatelic exhibition, which reaches its 29th edition, will be the culmination of the commemorative events of these two anniversaries that have been the protagonists of Calpe's cultural and social life throughout 2024. The Calpe Philatelic Association has already dedicated a stamp to the 75th Anniversary of the Pòsit de Calpe (1999) and the 10th Anniversary of the Casa de Cultura (2009) and now, on occasion of this exhibition, Correos Correos will issue special stamps for the occasion.

Likewise, this edition, which will be held in the exhibition hall of the Ajuntament Vell, will house a total of nine collections from all over Spain, some of which have won awards in recent national philatelic competitions. This group of collections will offer visitors the chance to contemplate in the same room a wide range of philatelic specialities, all of them recognised by the International Philatelic Federation, as well as giving them the opportunity to learn about current Spanish philatelic events.

Along with the philatelic part, EXFICALPE 2024 will feature for the first time an exhibition of ‘Postal Cartography’ with reproductions of postal maps from the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the traditional photographic exhibition which will be dedicated on this occasion to the world of the sea and fishing in Calpe.

And so that visitors can get to know the world of philately, activities open to the public have been programmed, such as the presentation of the issues that Correos (Spanish Postal Service) will put into circulation for the occasion in ‘Tu Sello’ format, which are the stamps that are made personally at Correos, which will take place on the same day as the inauguration. There will also be guided tours of the exhibition.

In addition, a philatelic exchange conference will be held on the 6th December in the same exhibition hall, and on the 15th December the traditional International Philatelic Exchange will take place at the Calpe Tennis Club. Both days will start at 10 am. On Sunday 8 December, a special day dedicated to ‘Philatelic Literature’ will be held, with a discussion starting at 18.30 hours, and the possibility of looking at old philatelic publications.

To all this we must add a very significant celebration for Calpe's philately: 10 years of uninterrupted philatelic informative activity through the Blog IFAC FILATÉLICO, a celebration for which a talk has been organised by the Blog's coordinator, José Ivars, scheduled for Saturday 7th December at 6 pm in the Exhibition Hall of the Old Town Hall of Calpe.

The exhibition, which has the collaboration of the Department of Culture of Calpe Town Council, can be visited until 31 January.

Calpe Town Council has announced that it is opening a public consultation on the new Ordinance on Trenching and Trenching in the Municipal Public Domain, in order to gather public opinion before approving the new ordinance.

The new regulation, the first of its kind, aims to improve the management of works, guarantee safety and reduce inconvenience to the public during interventions in the public domain. It also aims to establish clear procedures and a system of penalties in the event of non-compliance by companies carrying out works on the public highway.

Citizens are asked to consider questions such as the convenience of establishing a period of time between the completion of a work in a certain area of the public road and a new execution of work to avoid inconvenience to neighbours, or to coordinate the work of different companies to take advantage of the same trench opening (e.g. water, gas, telecommunications) or to oblige companies to include additional installations (e.g. pipes) in anticipation of subsequent actions to minimise the requirement for new works.

Other issues raised by the public consultation include ensuring accessibility when road works are carried out by means of routes for people with reduced mobility or giving greater visibility to notices to neighbours prior to the start of road works.

Citizens can also make their contributions on the control of deadlines for the execution of works on public roads or request that the public road be restored to the way it was before the works or propose penalties for unjustified delays in the replacement of pavements or other elements of the public road.

The Town Council urges citizens to participate in this consultation either in person by submitting their suggestions at the Citizen's Advice Bureau or electronically through the Town Council's electronic office: https://Calpe.sedelectronica.es/ (digital certificate required). You can also send an e-mail to consultas_territorio@ajCalpe.es. The deadline for submitting suggestions is 8 January.

Friday, 29th:

• 18.30 h - Christmas lights switch-on. Sort Square. Parade to the Plaza Mayor with the charanga ‘La Xarlotà’ and entertainment by the Crazy Christmas Elves.
• 21 h - Santa Cecilia Concert by the Unió Musical Calpe-Ifach Youth Band. Saló Blau.
• Photographic exhibition on the occasion of the Centenary of the Calpe Fishermen's Guild. In Plaza Colón, Plaza Constitución, Plaza Beato Sendra, Plaza Manuel Miró and in the port (next to the Fishermen's Guild).

Saturday, 30th:

Day of the Quintas. Plaza Mayor:

• 11 h - Opening of the marquee, lunch enlivened by the Xirimita.
• 12 h - Performance by the Xaranga ‘La Xarlotà’.
• 12 h - Children's playground
• 14 h - Brotherhood lunch
• 15 h - Performance by the Xaranga ‘Los Mataos’.
• 18 h - Change of the children's banner
• 18.15 h - Performance by the orchestra ‘Mónaco’.
• 22.30 h - Change of the banner and the orchestra continues
• 23.30 h - Dj. Ángel Belmonte

With inflatables toys for kids

• Bars in charge of the prefesteros 2024
• 19 h - Gala 25th anniversary of the Casa de la Cultura. Auditorium.
• Photographic exhibition occasion of the Centenary of the Calpe Fishermen's Guild. In Plaza Colón, Plaza Constitución, Plaza Beato Sendra, Plaza Manuel Miró and in the port (next to the Fishermen's Guild).

Sunday, 1st:

• 12 h - Travelling Christmas Concert by the Calpe Ifach Musical Union. Starting at La Fuente street.
• Photographic exhibition on occasion of the Centenary of the Calpe Fishermen's Guild. In Plaza Colón, Plaza Constitución, Plaza Beato Sendra, Plaza Manuel Miró and in the port (next to the Fishermen's Guild).

The Culture Council has begun this week the comprehensive rehabilitation of two emblematic murals located on facades in the old town, the mural located in Vicente Gallard street by the painter Fernando Baquero and the mural in Purísima street (Pòsit building) by Gerda Pasteur.

The rehabilitation of both murals is comprehensive and consists of cleaning up the entire façade; after removing the façade cladding, a new special waterproofing mortar will be applied, followed by two coats of chemical primer to increase durability and, finally, the original drawing will be reproduced.

The cost of both restoration works is €28,919 in the case of the Pòsit mural and €54,450 in the case of the mural on Carrer Vicente Gallard, with a completion period of two months.

Both murals date back to 1988 as a result of a mural competition held at that time to beautify the old town of Calpe with the collaboration of local artists or artists based in Calpe. With the passage of time these works have deteriorated and hence the need to rehabilitate them, for which the Town Hall signed collaboration agreements last year with the owners of the facades to carry out the rehabilitation work.

In addition, the Department of Culture has begun work to restore three emblematic places of the municipality's historical and artistic heritage which are in a state of deterioration. Specifically, these are two parts of the old wall and the Gastón Castelló mural in the Plaza del Mosquit.

The Department of Culture intends to continue recovering the different murals in the old town, which is why the restoration of the mural by Pierre Le Fleur in front of the Torreó de la Peça and the one in the Casa del Cocó by Elías Úrbez are also in the pipeline.

The Councillor for Culture, Guillermo Sendra, expressed his satisfaction with the execution of both rehabilitation projects ‘as it will mean the recovery of two murals that were seriously affected by the deterioration of the façades’.

The works of the second secondary school of Calpe, one of the most awaited and demanded projects of the municipality, will start next Monday, December 9th. Representatives of the company Vialterra Infraestructuras S.A. made this known this morning to the Mayoress of Calpe, Ana Sala, in a meeting that was also attended by the Councillor for Education Mariola Mulet, the Councillor for Infrastructures, Juan Manuel del Pino, and the councillors of the PP municipal group, Miguel Crespo and Francisco Fernández de Ybarra.

The IES Les Salines has been awarded the contract for 14,748,935.36 € and will have a completion period of 24 months. It is expected that next week the company will begin to occupy the land with the construction huts and the corresponding fencing will be put up so that on 9 December, the signing of the official record of the reconsideration and, therefore, the start of the works can take place.

The project, drawn up by the architects Miguel San Juan and Pablo Peñín, proposes the centre in the shape of an L around a public square. Three spaces are established: the one for the vocational training classrooms, the secondary and high school classrooms and the administration area and multipurpose rooms (cafeteria, library, etc.), so that each of these spaces can be accessed independently. It is a longitudinal piece to adapt to the orography of the plot characterised by a significant slope, so the centre will be organised with steps respecting the environment and creating a pleasant visual impact.

According to the decree of creation of the new Institut d'Educació Secundària Les Salines, approved by the Conselleria de Educación last September, this centre, which has begun its activity this academic year provisionally in the Casa de Cultura, will have a capacity for more than 900 students: 600 of ESO, 210 of Bachillerato and 96 of FP. In addition, it will be equipped with 20 units of Compulsory Secondary Education, 6 of Baccalaureate and 4 of Vocational Training (2 of Basic Vocational Training and 2 of Intermediate Vocational Training).

‘The day we have been waiting for so long is now very close; we cannot be happier for the news after so many years of fighting and claiming for Calpe's students to have the educational infrastructure they deserve’, said the mayoress of Calpe, Ana Sala, who added that, in this way, the new IES will be finished before the end of 2026.

The group Carpe Diem Teatro from Tomelloso won yesterday the prize for the best show of the XII Certamen Nacional de Teatro Amateur ‘Antonio Ferrer, el cartero’ (XII National Amateur Theatre Contest ‘Antonio Ferrer, the postman’) with the play ‘La habitación del niño’ by Josep M. Benet i Jornet. This play was the big winner of the gala, winning three prizes.

The award for best leading actress went to Mercedes González of Carpe Diem Tatro, while the award for best supporting actor went to the young Saúl Berzosa for his role in ‘La habitación del niño’ by Carpe Diem Teatro. The award for best direction went to Hernán Brave of the association Twister Teatro for the play ‘Cuando no ves la luz’.

The finalist companies were the association Twister Tetro with the play ‘Cuando no ves la luz’ and the association Amigos del Teatro de Castellón with ‘El trastero’. The prize for the best show is endowed with a prize of 3500€ and a sculpture valued at 242€, while the prize for the finalist companies is endowed with 2000€.

Since the beginning of November, the Casa de Cultura of Calpe has hosted the performance of the three finalist plays. Yesterday was the reading of the jury's decision and award ceremony of this edition that culminated with the performance of Emilio Gutiérrez Cava with ‘Coplas del Alma’ accompanied by the baritone Luis Santana and the pianist José Manuel Cuenca.

The contest was created in 2012 with the aim of paying tribute to the theatre, an artistic discipline that has been a tradition in Calpe for over a hundred years, and to the deceased local actor Antonio Ferrer.

The Town Council, through AEMCO, is once again launching a campaign aimed at stimulating purchases in local shops and boosting the commercial fabric, the Bono Consumo, which has a budget of 290,845€ financed entirely by the Alicante Provincial Council.

The difference between this campaign and the two previous editions of the Bono Comercio is that not only shops and restaurants can participate in this programme, but also service companies such as gyms, car repair shops, electrical and plumbing installation services, legal and technical services, and a wide range of companies that were not present in the Bono Comercio campaigns.

With this campaign, citizens registered in Calpe can apply through a platform for vouchers worth 20, 50 and 100 euros that can be redeemed in the establishments participating in the campaign. The vouchers are 50% subsidised for residents of Calpe and can be exchanged in local businesses. With this campaign, consumers double the value of their purchase.

These vouchers can be purchased by citizens registered in Calpe over 18 years old. Vouchers can be purchased on the https://www.bonoconsumoCalpe.es platform from 26 to 14 December or until stocks last.

This campaign joins the two that have already been developed in the municipality under the name of ‘Bono Comercio’ to reactivate consumption in local commerce and that have had an investment of 540,830 € in the case of the first one and 230,935 € in the second campaign.

The government team of Calpe Town Council has agreed to allocate €120,000 from the 2023 municipal budget to the victims of the recent storm and flood in Valencia. These are items belonging to Protocol and Publicity of the current budget.

The necessary budget amendment has already been initiated to allocate the amount of €120,000 to help the affected populations and the amendment file will be transferred to the Local Government Board to start its processing.

This economic aid is in addition to the solidarity campaign of collection of products and food carried out by the Calpe Town Council, thanks to which 40 trucks of urgent humanitarian aid were sent to Valencia. In addition, the Town Council has sent personnel, vehicles, machinery and security and emergency material to the affected areas.

The municipalities affected by the recent storm and flood in Valencia. have been visited by members of the Calpe Civil Protection, Local Police officers, municipal General Services workers who have participated in the cleaning tasks, as well as vehicles and workers from Acciona, the company concessionary for the local cleaning service, and Aguas de Calpe.

The City Hall also provided two free buses to transport volunteers to the affected areas in Valencia.

The mayoress, Ana Sala, pointed out that ‘as a municipality we do not forget the towns affected by the recent storm and flood. This contribution demonstrates our commitment to the recovery of their infrastructures and services and our willingness to collaborate in the return to normality as soon as possible’.

The decree for the granting of subsidies for the promotion of sport 2023-2024 aimed at local sports entities has been published. These grants have two lines: line 1 with aid for participation in official sporting competitions and promotion of local grassroots sport and line 2 with aid for the organisation of sporting events.

A total of 10 sports clubs have benefited from the first line of these subsidies, while in the second line, three sports organisations have received aid. A total of €224,039 has been allocated to aid for the promotion of sport, which is the largest amount allocated so far to sports organisations in the municipality.

One of the objectives of these aids is to promote associations and therefore to obtain 100% of a subsidy of more than 12,000 euros, the sports organisation must have a minimum of 100 members, otherwise the subsidy drops to 75%. For grants of up to 12,000 euros, a minimum of 50 members is required; if this figure is lower, the grant is 75%.

Other assessment criteria are the number of sportspeople with a federation licence or participants in the Jocs Esportius de la Comunidad Valenciana, the number of categories of the club, the type of competition or the qualifications of the coaches and medical-health staff, as well as the ownership of the sports facilities.

On the other hand, travel expenses for attending national competitions or those derived from the competition itself, such as refereeing, sports equipment, monitors' expenses, etc., have been included as eligible expenses. All expenses derived from the organisation of the sporting event that is the object of the subsidy will also be considered eligible expenses. The promotion of local sports will also be taken into account.

Calpe will bring the centenary celebrations of the Fishermen's Guild to a close this Saturday with the 1st Calpe White Prawn Gastronomic Day organised by the Guild and the Town Hall. This event will also serve to present the ‘Calpe White Prawn’ brand with which the Guild and the Town Council want to raise awareness of this product, which is undoubtedly the king of the town's gastronomy.

On 6 April 1924, the regulations of the Calpe Fishermen's Warehouse were presented to the Provincial Civil Government with a social and protective purpose for the seafaring class. For this reason, the Town Council agreed to dedicate 2024 to the celebration of the centenary of the Calpe Fishermen's Guild to vindicate its seafaring roots and the work of its fishermen. Throughout the year, numerous cultural, gastronomic and recreational activities have been organised by the Centenary Commission to celebrate the event.

One of the initiatives launched was the participation in Madrid Fusion of the three Michelin-starred chefs in Calpe (Rafa Soler, from Audrey's, José Manuel Miguel, from Beat, and Andrea Drago, from Orobianco) to cook the ‘Peix de Calpe’ on loan from the Fishermen's Guild, which included the white prawn, emblem of the local gastronomy. White prawns also played a special role at Fitur with the distribution of white prawn fried cones.

For all these reasons, before the end of the centenary, the Brotherhood and the Town Council wanted to pay tribute to this product, of which a thousand kilos arrive at the port of Calpe every day.

On Saturday 23rd November, the main square will be the setting for the event, starting at 12 noon, and throughout the day there will be tastings of boiled, fried or fried prawns with rice. The gastronomic aspect will be combined with parallel activities: from theatre for children to the performance of the Muixeranga de la Marina Alta, activities for children or musical performances by Mala Manera Tarifa and Mina Ritz DJ.

Throughout the day there will be a bar service for the benefit of the Costaleros de la Mare de Dèu del Carme who will donate 50% of the proceeds to those affected by the DANA in Valencia.

The ‘Gamba Blanca de Calpe’ brand joins the already recognised ‘Peix de Calpe’ brand launched by the Town Council, Creama and the Cofradia years ago to promote the fish marketed by the town's Cofradia. The ‘Peix de Calpe’ campaign consisted of the creation of a quality label, so that those establishments with the ‘Peix de Calpe’ symbol could guarantee that their fish was landed and marketed in the Calpe fish market.

The brand emphasises the excellence of this gastronomic product as well as its great variety and versatility, which makes it an ideal delicacy both for haute cuisine and in the kitchen of any home.

Last Saturday the Local Police of Calpe received a call from a citizen reporting that a swimmer was in difficulty in Cala del Mallorquín. A patrol of the Local Police went to the scene and once there, the officers found that a middle-aged man was sheltered on the rocks of the cliff of the cove, unable to get out of it due to the force of the waves.

The officers immediately alerted the fire brigade and Maritime Rescue to rescue the swimmer, but during the wait the Calpe Local Police officers made use of one of the recently acquired resources: a state-of-the-art drone.

The UMAC (the Calpe Local Police Aerial Resources Unit) flew the drone over the bather and, thanks to the built-in loudspeaker, reassured the bather and gave him instructions on how to find a way out of the cliff. Finally, the bather came out on his own, helped by the instructions of the officers and thanks to the invaluable help of the drone.

Last August, the Calpe Local Police set up a specific aerial resources unit called UMAC (Calpe Aerial Resources Unit) made up of four officers trained in the use of security drones.

This unit was created with the acquisition by the City Council of 2 latest generation security drones’ model DJI Pack Mavic 3 PRO, one of which has an infrared camera for night vision to locate people or animals. The drones have cameras with different zoom, loudspeaker and spotlight and have a range of 10 kilometres.

The new unit of the Local Police is already beginning to demonstrate the multiple possibilities of use, from traffic control or pursuit of vehicles and people to surveillance of boats, assistance in health services, search for missing persons, surveillance at rallies and events, pursuit of illegal dumping and environmental crimes or surveillance of promenades and pursuit of illegal sales.

The cleaning of the seabed in the port of Calpe on Saturday resulted in the collection of nearly 1000 kilos of waste. IMEDMAR, the Catholic University of Valencia, the Fishermen's Guild, the Royal Yacht Club, Costaleros de la Mare de Déu del Carme, Calpe Blau, Gravity Wave and the Town Hall, among other entities and associations, participated in the day.

The day was attended by volunteers on land and divers from clubs all over the Valencian Community. The cleaning of the seabed in the port of Calpe was carried out by volunteer divers supported by the fishermen of Calpe and the volunteers carried out the extraction on land.

Among the debris extracted was a large quantity of large wheels, glass, nets, boats and plastics. The waste was separated and deposited in different containers. In addition to the cleaning of the harbour bottoms, waste was also collected in Las Salinas.

José Rafael García, director of IMEDMAR, said that ‘the assessment of the day is very positive because this initiative has brought together diving people, fishermen, volunteers, university, sports people, all together for the same goal: to work for the environment and raise awareness.

The Plenary Hall of Calpe Town Hall yesterday hosted the first meeting of the Animal Welfare Working Committee, made up of members of the government, Pere Moll, Itziar Doval and Mireia Ripoll, municipal technicians, local police officers, animal associations and local veterinarians in order to establish a municipal basis to work for the benefit of respect, care and protection of animals.

This working group was set up after the City Council joined the Network of Cities for the Welfare of Pets last year, as agreed in the municipal plenary session. The first meeting dealt with the drafting of a protocol for injured, sick, abandoned and deceased animals.

It was also agreed to start drawing up a draft ordinance to regulate the keeping, taxation and coexistence of pets and potentially dangerous animals in public spaces, in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act, as well as to process complaints about animal mistreatment.

The adhesion of the City Council to the Network of Cities for the Welfare of Pets implies taking on a series of commitments and the first steps are already being taken in this direction.

On the other hand, the Animal Welfare Department, in collaboration with the Tourism and Commerce Departments, has launched a campaign aimed at those establishments and businesses where pets are welcome.

An identification badge has been created for those shops that allow pets to enter and stay. The identification stickers are being distributed to businesses that request them, identifying them as ‘Pet Friendly’ and making it easier for customers to know where their pets are welcome.

Interested Calpe businesses can go to the citizen participation offices to pick up the ‘Calpe Pet Friendly’ stickers. In addition, the name of the participating establishments will be included in a list that will be made public.

Friday, 15th:

• 20 h- Extraordinary concert by ADDA Simfónica Alicante on occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Unión Musical Calpe-Ifach, in the Auditorium of the Casa de Cultura. Free entrance until full capacity is reached.

• Expo 28th R.C.N.C. Children's / Youth Drawing Contest: ‘The Calpe Royal Yacht Club and the Fishermen's Guild’. Exhibition Hall of the Casa de Cultura. Until the 19th of November.

• Exhibition ‘10 years committed’ by the Association of Women for Equality Calpe. Women for Equality Association of Calpe. Old Town Hall.

• Photographic exhibition on occasion of the Centenary of the Calpe Fishermen's Guild. In Plaza Colón square, Plaza Constitución square, Plaza Beato Sendra square, Plaza Manuel Miró square and in the port (next to the Fishermen's Guild).

Saturday, 16th:

• 10 h-VIII Waste Collection Day. Underwater waste will be collected in the Port of Calpe and on land in the salt marshes, organised by Calpe Town Council, Calpe Fishermen's Guild and IMEDMAR-UCV. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• 10 a.m.-World Children's Day. A day full of activities for the whole family to enjoy with games, workshops, dances, theatre and music, from 10:00h to 14:00h in Calpe's Parc de la Creativitat. Free admission.

• 18 h-Calpe Gaming Festival. Come and enjoy tournaments, games, console area, virtual reality, simulators....From 18:00h to 00h at Punt Jove Calpe. Free activity.

• 8 p.m. - Tribute concert to the great sopranos by Jovita Gómez Couto, soprano, Agatha Martínez Soria, soprano, and Shlomo Rodríguez, pianist, in the Saló Blau, free entrance until full capacity is reached.

• Expo 28th R.C.N.C. Children's and Young People's Drawing Contest: ‘The Calpe Royal Yacht Club and the Fishermen's Guild’. Exhibition Hall of the Casa de Cultura. Until the 19th of November.

• Exhibition ‘10 years committed’ by the Association of Women for Equality Calpe. Women for Equality Association of Calpe. Old Town Hall.

• Photographic exhibition on the Centenary of the Calpe Fishermen's Guild. In Plaza Colón square, Plaza Constitución square, Plaza Beato Sendra square, Plaza Manuel Miró square and in the port (next to the Fishermen's Guild).

Sunday, 17th:

• 18.30 h - Certamen Nacional de Teatro Amateur Antonio Ferrer ‘El Cartero’: ‘El trastero “, by ”Amigos del Teatro de Castellón’. Auditorium. Free admission.

• Photographic exhibition on occasion of the Centenary of the Calpe Fishermen's Guild. In Plaza Colón, Plaza Constitución, Plaza Beato Sendra, Plaza Manuel Miró and in the port (next to the Fishermen's Guild).

Calpe (13-11-2024) - The plenary session of the Calp Town Council has approved with the only votes in favour of the government team (Somos Calpe - PSOE - Compromís) to start the process to declassify the Garduix I and II, Pla Feliu I and II and Ràfol I sectors and II to reclassify them as endowment land. Defendamos Calpe voted against and the PP abstained.

The aim of the government team is to preserve the last green lung that exists in the municipality of Calpe, an area of 300,000 m² contemplated in the PGOU of 1998 as developable to use it as a sports, educational, recreational or cultural endowment. To this end, the council intends to acquire the land by compensating the owners through expropriation.

The proposal has been the subject of intense debate between the different municipal groups.

Defendamos Calpe councillor Toni Tur explained that his party is in favour of declassifying the land at zero cost, i.e. to rustic land and not for use as a public use site, and that there was a report supporting this option. And he has accused the councillor for Territorial Planning, Juan Manuel del Pino, of changing his opinion on this matter. ‘He understands that in a case where the budgets and the economy of our municipality are going to be compromised, we have reticence in the face of these changes of opinion’, he said.

For his part, the spokesman for the PP municipal group Miguel Crespo said that this proposal, which he described as ‘populist’, ‘reckless’ and ‘utopian’, ‘has no legal guarantee for our municipality’ and that ‘it could compromise our council as has happened in neighbouring municipalities such as Benidorm with the Serra Gelada land’. And he added that: ‘we consider it necessary to develop these six sectors with the preservation of green areas and the cultural heritage they contain as well as obtaining land for our municipality but always through urban development agreements with the owners to safeguard their rights’.

The spokesman for Somos Calpe and Territory councillor, Juan Manuel del Pino, pointed out that this proposal is the result of reflection by both the political powers and the citizens, who participated massively in the prior consultation process, and assured that it is backed by jurisprudence and, therefore, with legal certainty to carry it out. ‘We wanted to take advantage of the power of the public to act in the urban planning of our municipality, to give a design to our urban planning that serves the general good of our citizens and our environment’ and added that “the people of Calp will thank us for it”.

Guillermo Sendra, spokesman for the socialist municipal group, said: ‘We have taken a historic and courageous decision, and the best proof is that none of the previous councils have taken it’ and that it is ‘based on the necessary legal reports’. ‘It is a step forward in sustainable development, the biggest ever taken in Calp, with this measure we are going to safeguard this green lung. And he explained that if they were to remain as rustic land, they would remain in private hands and could not be enjoyed by the citizens of Calpe.

Compromís spokesman Ximo Perles explained that in the public consultation, this municipal group presented an environmental report commissioned to a private company so that it could objectively propose different options to protect this space and assess which was the most protectionist of them all. The report determined that ‘the greatest degree of protection was achieved by expropriation’, which is the option that was finally chosen. ‘It is the fairest option and the one that best protects the public interest. She added that she would like to think that future generations will come to believe that ‘politics is useful and that there was a corporation at the time that was not motivated by economic interests and that assumed the responsibility of making decisions with future generations in mind’.

The mayoress Ana Sala stressed that ‘the urban planning that we have in Calpe was decided 30 years ago, today after 30 years and seeing what we have, we have to make other decisions; we need sports and educational infrastructures, we have no land for infrastructure; we have the responsibility to make decisions that are best for the general interest’. In addition, he pointed out that ‘there is nothing at zero cost’ and that to date there are 14 million euros in land use units in Calp pending materialisation.

Cemetery Commission

The plenary session also approved the creation of a special commission to investigate exhumations carried out in the municipal cemetery without the consent of the legal heirs, following a new case detected recently. The agreement was adopted with the votes in favour of the government team and Defend Calpe and the abstention of the PP.

The commission will be made up of one councillor from each municipal group and chaired by the councillor responsible for the Eternal Rest Park, Marco Bittner, who has been delegated by the mayoress.

Quisi Ravine

Likewise, it was unanimously approved to request the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar, the body responsible for the cleaning and naturalisation of public watercourses in the municipality of Calpe, especially the Quisi ravine. It is intended that the CHJ remove the Arundo Donax reeds, invasive species through the technique of solarisation - with black tarpaulins that reach a high temperature that kills the root of the plant - and then planting native species.

Following the recent storm that has affected several Valencian municipalities with catastrophic consequences, Calpe's Environment Department has begun work to clean up the Quisi ravine, specifically in the area of the Casanova bridge, despite the fact that it is the responsibility of the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation.

Two bulldozers are working on the ground in this preventive emergency action. The aim is to remove the Arundo Donax reed that proliferates in the bed of this ravine and thus avoid possible obstructions that could lead to the river overflowing. The Environment Councilor, Pere Moll, stressed that: ‘we cannot remain impassive in the face of the threat posed by this situation; if we do nothing, a catastrophe could happen and we want to avoid a repeat of the disasters we have suffered and guarantee the safety of our neighbours’ and indicated that ‘the CHJ's inaction cannot be an excuse’.

A measure that takes on greater importance in view of the weather forecast of a new storm for the middle of this week.

On the other hand, the Environment Department has placed Posidonia meadows in the southern area of La Fossa beach - the closest to Penyal d'Ifac - in order to prevent sand loss during the next storm.