ARCHIVED - Second runway and rail link at Alicante-Elche airport could thwart plan to legalize car hire firms
The new infrastructures will reduce the space available for established businesses in the area
The legalization of the rental and car park companies located around Alicante-Elche airport in El Altet airport will be conditioned by the second runway at the airport, the planned rail link and the new access points.
A recent municipal report has revealed that in 2003, the council offered the businesses the chance to operate on non-developable land and if they met a series of conditions, awarding them provisional licences. However, it is reported in the provincial newspaper Información that some of the 55 businesses are still operating with a provisional license and that some are carrying out their activity illegally.
This situation has led, according to Elche council, to an “uncontrolled occupation of the land” which negatively impacts the surrounding area.
The plans to build new infrastructures including the second runway and the railway track at Alicante-Elche airport mean that the provincial authorities need to be sure that the surrounding businesses are compatible with the new projects. In order to determine which of the 55 car rental and parking businesses will be able to operate legally, the council has devised a plan to delimit an area of rural land in which a new urban classification will be established, and to determine some basic rules regarding these commercial activities.
Included in the new regulations the council will establish minimum indivisible area, the maximum height and the maximum occupancy of the plot, as well as other similar considerations.
It is also important to remember that the airport is close to areas of environmental importance such as the wetlands of Agua Amarga and the Clot de Galvany, and care must be taken to avoid any negative impact on this land.