In general terms, the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) that the Town Hall is considering implementing in the municipality will only be applied in Mijas Pueblo and will not affect residents nor business owners, who will be able to move around the town centre with any type of vehicle. Pending final approval of the ordinance regulating vehicle access to the village, both residents and business owners would also have two free passes per person to allow entry to family members and workers, regardless of the type of vehicle. In addition, special authorisations would be issued for loading and unloading vehicles and employees working within the LEZ.

The Low Emission Zone is a figure included in the Spanish Government’s Climate Change and Energy Transition Law that must be implemented in municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. Its objective is to improve air quality by reducing motor vehicle emissions into the atmosphere. “It is an EU imposition that should have been implemented in Mijas a long time ago. So what we have done is to draw up a draft ordinance for this Low Emission Zone which has been on public exhibition so that everyone can make allegations and the proposal can be perfected”, said the councillor for Mobility and Transport, Marco Cortés (PP). The aim of the government team, once these allegations have been analysed, is to convene a meeting to inform neighbours of the final document, which will then be taken to a plenary session for initial approval. The councillor sent a message of reassurance, assuring that “this zone affects mainly people from outside the municipality, because Mijeños are going to be authorised”. Thus, visitors who do not have a vehicle with a C label (belonging to a category of relatively low emissions) will not be able to drive through the town centre, having to divert to the municipal car park or the quarry of El Puerto. “Nowadays, rental cars usually have this label, so they can travel in any municipality”, said Cortés, who urged neighbours to consult official sources for information. 

 

Draft

He also insisted that this is a draft ordinance. “Once the allegations have been included, it will have to be published, taken to the plenary for initial approval; then comes another period of public exhibition before final approval”, he explained, while detailing that its implementation will be slow in time so that it is as light as possible for all neighbours. 

“We will study all the allegations and everything that is good to improve the ordinance because that is what it is all about, to collaborate with each other and listen to the neighbours”, he concluded.

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