The mayoress of Mijas, Ana Mata (PP), along with the councillors for Beaches, Daniel Gómez Teruel (PP), and Environment, Marco Cortés (PP), as well as the president of the Association of Beach Entrepreneurs of Málaga, Manuel Villafaina, held a meeting this Tuesday with the beach business owners of Mijas in the Branch Offices of La Cala. Among other issues, Mata announced that she is going to ask the Andalusian Regional Government to extend the Municipal Beach Plan to eleven months per year instead of the current nine months. The idea is to provide the coastline with more activity, both economically and in terms of employment generation, by increasing the time that the services and facilities will be available, since throughout the year there is a large influx of visitors. "The business owners have asked us to increase the opening months and we believe that this is an appropriate measure. In this way, users will be able to enjoy the facilities throughout the year", said the mayoress. 

The seasonal service operation plans or beach plans are the documents in which the town and city councils reflect the management planning of the services to be located on the coast. They include, for example, a proposal for the delimitation of the areas of occupation, plans for the location of facilities such as sunbeds and services, as is the case of the nautical channels, dry docks and walkways.  

Work is now being carried out on the plan, which is in the tendering phase, to include the proposed increase. Furthermore, the mayoress explained that "once approved by the Andalusian Regional Government, the plan will be in operation for four years". 

The government team considers this type of meeting "necessary" to address, attend and satisfy those issues that are of interest to entrepreneurs in this sector of the municipality.  "The objective is to be coordinated with the entire beach sector of Mijas to work together on the part of the Town Hall and also for them to communicate to us all the needs and demands, and that from the Town Hall we have to promote so that these needs are reduced," said Mata. 

In this regard, Villafaina, valued that this type of meetings "are very good, especially at the beginning of the season, it is good that we know the situation we are in, what we are going to do and what the beaches of Mijas should do after the storm. He also added that "the rules must continue to be complied with, looking for relevant solutions for later, especially for the new concessions that will come and the works that have to be done". 

Stabilisation of the beaches

One of the main issues of major concern for the business community is the beach stabilisation plan, as the delegate of the Mijas Beach Business Association, Carlos Morales, pointed out: "The last storm we have had is the most significant example we have, the stabilisation of the beaches is something fundamental, we have been working on this problem for many years and let's see if this time it can be solved", he said, also valuing this meeting positively. 

On the current situation of the state of the Mijas coastline ahead of the Easter season, the mayoress assured that "the beaches will be in optimal conditions after the storm that caused significant damage, all thanks to the relentless work of municipal staff". She also recalled that the damage caused in El Bombo has been quantified at half a million euros and "we have already actively and passively demanded (from the government) this comprehensive plan to stabilise the beaches". 

The most recent case we have in our town was the one that affected the Chiringuito Nacho Playa. Fortunately, it will be able to open at Easter. "The Town Hall has invested a great effort and being ambitious, I think that by next week we will be able to open", said the manager of this establishment, Ignacio Rueda, who thanked the mayoress, the councillor for Beaches and the department's technician, Juan Antonio Peinado, for their involvement. 

Apart from these matters, it was also reported that while the fourth drought decree of the Andalusian Government remains in force, "we will have restrictions, there will be no water in the showers, but the public toilets will be available for use", said the mayoress, while the councillor for Beaches, said that this year, through the Association of Municipalities of the Costa del Sol, Mijas will have two water surface cleaning boats that will work until 16 hours. 

Public-private collaboration

The mayoress invited the Mijas business owners to share their leisure proposals with the Town Hall in order to encourage collaboration: "To organise activities that can have an impact on the municipality and to inform the public of the activities that the beach bar owners are promoting with the idea of making their establishments attractive, where customers not only go to eat, but also as a place of leisure". 

Security 

On improving security on the coast, Mata said that, although there is currently police presence with plainclothes officers in the evenings on the Coastal Path, "perhaps we will increase it for the high season". On the subject of street vending in the municipality, she recalled that, according to municipal ordinance, "it is forbidden and we will convey the need for compliance with the municipal ordinance to the councillor responsible for security and the chief of police". 

Share it with this link: https://mijasint.com/?a=30209