Alicante takes up the issue of relocating kiosks from the Esplanade and San Juan Beach

The City Council will approve on Thursday, March 30, the extension of the kiosks at La Explanada until October 31, 2024 and the study of another location.

The City Council of Alicante will submit to a plenary meeting on Thursday March 30 the issue of revising the city's handicraft and nut markets, which are installed on the Esplanade, San Juan Beach and in the San Anton area. This Friday, the Presidium and Home Affairs Committee is to rule on a proposal to extend until October 31, 2024 the transitional period for the dismantling of the kiosks at the Explanade until another location is found; and also move the "hippie" stalls to Avenida de Napoles and the beginning of Avenida de Nisa on Playa San Juan. In addition, the management of the Porrate de Sant Anton street market will be handed over to the municipality. 

The Plenum will decide on the introduction of a transitional period for the dismantling of the Esplanade Craft Market until October 31, 2024, in order to allow time for the creation of an alternative public space suitable for the installation of a similar facility, in accordance with the agreement reached with the Esplanade Merchants Association. This decision was approved by the Local Trade Council held on February 1st to promote the plenary agreement promoted by the Departments of Urban Development and Commerce with the support of the Municipal Tourism Board.

The City Council indicates that the reason for the removal of the installation at the location of the esplanade is due to the need to restore this symbolic space for recreation and entertainment for residents of Alicante and visitors to the city, in order to create a more transparent promenade, open to the general use of citizens and visually connected to the promenade, as well as a demand put forward by various neighborhood groups of the Traditional Center, supported by District Council No. 1, who allege the need to remove the installation from this location.

The justification for the agreement explains the need to restore the look of the city's most emblematic waterfront and recalls that renovation work has been carried out to give the area a uniform urban layout from Plaza del Mar to Plaza de Canalejas.

Street market in Playa San Juan

The plenary will also approve the proposal of the Public Roads Adviser to relocate the handicraft market at Playa San Juan from its current location at the head of the promenade, between Napoles and Nisa Avenues. This decision was made due to the fact that its current location was affected by the installation of sports modules on Nisa Avenue, and after reaching an agreement with the Association of Sellers of the Summer Craft Market, according to which next summer it will move to a new location between Napoles avenues number 1 and Bottom number 3, where 46 kiosks will be moved.

However, given the special circumstances of its location, since it is affected by the coast protection easement of public maritime land ownership, the effectiveness of this transfer will depend on the conditions that may be established, if necessary, by the Generalitat of Valencia, for the use, construction or activities that will be carried out in a resolution corresponding to the autonomous administration.

San Anton Street Market

Finally, the plenary will decide, after the approval of the standing municipal committee on the presidency and home affairs, convened this Friday, to permanently close the San Anton Market in its current form and at the suggestion of the Department of Celebrations and Occupation of Public Roads , which will take over its management through the San Anton Porrate Celebration Commission, thus ensuring that the tradition of setting up stalls selling dried fruits and nuts on the occasion of this holiday is maintained.

In practice, during the last few years, it was the San Anton Porrate Festival Committee that took over the organization and operation of the stalls that were the object of the market, relying on ordinary sellers, for this reason it is considered appropriate to normalize this situation, which will be regulated By a regulation governing the festivities of the city of Alicante, in order to avoid possible duplication of requests formulated by the Festival Committee and requests that may be formulated in the future by third parties who may be interested in this event. This agreement, like the two previous ones, was also positively accepted by the Local Trade Council on February 1.