The Mayor of Calp, Ana Sala, presented a motion "in voce" yesterday in plenary session, asking for the support of all political groups to ask for the inclusion in the general budget of the project for the pedestrian bridge over the N332, having noted yesterday that this work does not appear in the draft of these budgets.
In December 2018, the Ministry of Public Works announced the call for tenders for the construction of the pedestrian bridge over the N-332 in Calp, one of the municipality's most sought-after projects. The project was put out to tender with a budget of 1.3 million euros, although it was not awarded.
For its part, the town council began years ago to reach agreements to acquire ownership of the 5,176.78 square metres needed to build the bridge, which will cross the N332 to the railway station and will eliminate one of the most dangerous points in the municipality. According to the land acquisition agreement, the land was transferred to the Ministry of Development to tender for the project. It is now up to the Ministry to carry out the administrative procedure for the tendering of the works, to award the contract and to launch the project, which already has a formulation and design. The City Council has already awarded the works on the road that will provide exit for the inhabitants of the area.
The project consists of a pedestrian bridge that will exit from the area bordering the road at the southern access to the municipality. In this part it will have a lift and will be connected to the access road to the FGV station, where the slope will allow access via ramps. The works also deal with the adaptation of the pavements and the development of this area. These works will enable the citizens of Calp to cross the N-332 on foot to reach the station and the Oltà urbanisations from the town centre, thus eliminating one of the most dangerous points in the municipality.
All the political groups, with the exception of Defendamos Calpe, which abstained, supported the proposal. The Mayor said that "it was a surprise to learn now that the works are not included in the budget and it is very difficult to explain to the citizens why, after so long, we still do not have a footbridge".
Defendamos Calpe's spokesman, Paco Quiles, said that "we want the footbridge to be built, but we lack data, it seems to us that this is a show being put on, as it is not a municipal responsibility".
Ximo Perles of Compromís added: "We support the motion, the representative of Compromís in Parliament has already requested it, I would go further and ask not only that it be included in the budget but that it be implemented". Mr Perles also added that "it is the strength of all groups that gives strength to the proposal".
The Socialist spokesperson, Santos Pastor, commented that "we do not know the situation, but I promise to contact my PSOE colleagues in Parliament and see what happens with this investment, we will support the proposal, which is nothing more than a declaration of intent".
The spokesman for Ciudadanos, Juan Manuel del Pino, also said that "we support the application because we consider it to be a fundamental project for the municipality.
Change in fees for municipal services
Yesterday's plenary session first approved changes to the fees for municipal cattery services and administrative work to carry out tests for staff selection. And the Cemetery Service Ordinance was amended for the purposes of internal procedures.
The amendment to the fees of the municipal kennel will maintain the price of 10 euros for registration in the dog census; it will stipulate that 10 euros per day will be paid for the accommodation of animals of less than 10 kg and 14 euros per day for animals of more than 10 kg. The price for the collection due to the loss of the animal is fixed at 70 euros, but the accommodation will be charged for each day that passes from the second day. The pet fee remains at 550 euros and the adoption fee remains at 90 euros.
As regards the fees for access to the tests and selection tests in the Town Hall, the price is fixed at 40 euros for tests A1, 35 euros for tests A2, 30 euros for tests B, 25 euros for tests C1, 20 euros for tests C2 and 15 euros for tests AD.
Joining SICTED
The plenary session unanimously approved Calp's accession to the Integrated Quality System for Destinations. This is a project to improve tourist destinations, promoted by the State Secretariat for Tourism with the support of the Spanish Municipal and Provincial Council.
It is a system focused on the destination as a whole, which pursues a homogeneous quality system for all services offered to tourists within the same destination (accommodation, travel agencies, transport, restaurants, tourist offices, museums, shops, municipal services, street cleaning, etc.).
SICTED has a double objective: it improves the destination in general and the facilities/services. There are currently 202 destinations throughout Spain that have joined SICTED. SICTED offers technical assistance from approved consultants to companies/service providers who have followed a training plan, collective workshops, working groups to develop proposals for improving the destination, and evaluations.
SICTED implements quality standards aimed at satisfying and retaining customers, and all this culminates in the award of the label "Tourist Quality Commitment". It is awarded to all services and/or companies that have met all requirements in terms of training, technical visits and evaluations. It is valid for two years and is a recognition of the work carried out.