Bar plan hits big freeze
Council opposes beach bar and restaurant project
CONTROVERSIAL plans to build a restaurant and bar alongside a “magnificent” stretch of unspoilt rocky beach in Javea are being opposed by the town hall.
A private company wants to develop the last vacant plot on Calle Ultramar, which runs along the Montanar II beach, a residential street connecting the popular Arenal area with Cala Blanca.
People living in the residential area launched a campaign to fight the development in August and submitted an online petition of more than 2,500 signatures to the local authority.
And now Javea Town Hall is taking steps to revoke planning permission and a building licence granted in July for the bar and restaurant – and believes it has a solution.
It noted the “strong opposition” to the development and has “responded to the outcry” which made headlines in local newspapers.
A town hall spokesman said the council agreed the proposal would “adversely affect” the particular characteristics of the stretch of coast; Mayor Jose Chulvi requesting a thorough review of the planning application.
It was revealed the licence was requested on the afternoon of May 30, last year; just hours before a preliminary version of a new Javea general plan was made public – but the fees were not paid until June 22, when the plans for future urban development were open for public discussion.
The spokesman said: “Regulations in Javea make it clear that the payment of the fee is considered as an essential requirement to process the licence. Council staff reconsidered the date of the application and the date of the payment of fees – a key element in this particular case.
“In parallel to the public consultation phase of the new general plan, the council agreed to suspend licences and proposed agreements for two years in areas where the new planning regulations are not compatible with the old ones; as is the case in the area affected by this proposal.
“Based on this new information, the mayor has issued a resolution which proposes to initiate proceedings to revoke the licence granted last July due to its incompatibility with the new planning regulations and because it could cause damages impossible or difficult to repair.”
The developers will have the opportunity to make representations before the matter is taken before a full council meeting.