The City Council and Coastal Authorities to Meet on Relocation of 'Hippies' from the Esplanade

The relocation of the 'hippies' from the Esplanade of Alicante remains subject to negotiations for their move to the Postiguet beach jetty, located just behind the Melià hotel. The City Council and the Directorate General of Coasts will meet on December 2 to discuss who should apply for the necessary permits and how.

Merchants managed to secure a postponement of their eviction - originally scheduled for October 31 - during the last council meeting on November 5. With the new agreement, they could remain at their current location on the Esplanade through the Christmas season, selling until January 15, and would have until January 31 to dismantle their stalls.

For this new deadline, it was crucial that the Esplanade Vendors Association (AVE) submitted the required documentation to the Coastal Authorities by November 11 to continue the processing of the file. The 'hippies' met this deadline.

However, even before the documents were submitted, the Directorate General informed the merchants that the request should be made by the Alicante City Council. This was communicated to the council once the documents were submitted on the 12th, emphasizing that the authorization for the relocation must be in the name of the City Council, which is responsible for submitting the application. After several days of discussions between the two administrations about who should be the applicant, they have scheduled a meeting for December 2.

The council explains that they refer to the Coastal Law itself, which states that the request for authorization of the relocation must come from the interested party, that is, the merchants, who are responsible for providing all the documentation.

They insist that if it were a concession, the initiative would indeed belong to the council, but in such cases, the service should be tendered through a public competition.

Municipal sources indicate that the City Council has mediated with the Esplanade merchants to submit their relocation request to the Postiguet jetty, as requested by the Coastal Authorities. Additionally, they have reiterated that they are advising the group on any needs they may have.

For the merchants, this new twist only increases their uncertainty. From the AVE, its president Lucía Ramelló insists that they feel "deceived from the start." "This is a bit of a joke, they are laughing at us, and we are uncertain about what will happen from now until January 15," the spokesperson insists.

Ramelló states that the council has not been open to the possibility of presenting other locations, despite the merchants' proposals. "We want them to provide us with a solution, we want to work, and we are open to everything," she insisted.