The plenary session of Calp City Council has initially approved the Local Action Plan for the implementation of its Urban Agenda, a key document that defines the major projects that will be developed until 2030 with the aim of making the municipality a more sustainable, competitive and inclusive place. This strategy is part of the 10 objectives of the Spanish Urban Agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The plan, which analyses the current situation of the municipality, includes a total of 168 actions distributed across ten strategic axes: territory, landscape and biodiversity, sustainable urban model, preventing and reducing the impacts of climate change, sustainable management of resources and circular economy, promoting proximity and sustainable mobility, fostering social cohesion and seeking equity, promoting and favouring the urban economy, guaranteeing access to housing, leading and promoting digital innovation and improving intervention instruments and governance.
Among the most notable projects are the construction of the 21st century Tourist Office, the remodelling of the Fossa promenade and the Plaza Mayor, the renaturalisation of the Quisi ravine and the creation of the Centre for Social and Socio-Labour Recovery and Inclusion (Crisol) for people with mental health problems.
To prepare the Urban Agenda, work sessions were held with municipal political and technical representatives, as well as a process of citizen participation through a questionnaire, aimed at all residents of the municipality, companies and key agents of Calp.
Having the Urban Agenda will also facilitate the acquisition of European funds, especially those belonging to the Pluriregional Operational Programme of Spain (POPE 2021 – 2027) such as the EDIL plans, Local Integrated Development Strategies, 60% financed by the ERDF Funds, with subsidies that can range between 5 and 15 million euros for projects in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. In fact, Calp is also preparing to submit its candidacy to the call for these funds and is already preparing the Integrated Action Plan, which is the document that will include the projects that will opt for these European grants.
The Councillor for Grants and European Funds, Marco Bittner, explained the importance of this document, stating that "it contains what Calp will be like in 2030, what plans and projects we want to promote from the different areas. It is a complex and extensive document that contains all the needs and is mandatory in order to apply for any European aid or fund. It is an open document in which more things can be integrated."
From Defendamos Calpe, Paco Quiles, argued that "this urban plan is necessary to resolve long-term deficiencies, there are issues that are necessary, but others are not, there are needs that are not resolved. The most important concerns of the residents, such as housing, traffic or parking, are not resolved."
In the Popular Party group, Miguel Crespo said that "our vote is in favour, since the plan includes projects initiated by Popular Party governments and which we consider important. It is a vote of confidence to see if they are capable of getting the funds in a timely manner."
The City Council has launched an online survey to find out the opinion of citizens on the needs of the municipality, available at municipal website.
