Press statement by the Mayor of Calp, Ana Sala:
This year the Fallas have had to adapt to the Coronavirus pandemic, but they are still very present for the Falleros of the city and for the Generalitat Valenciana (regional government), which has paid special attention to the organisation and security of the festive events. Although the 2021 celebrations have been postponed and the new date has not yet been set, the Consell has ensured that Valencia's March can be enjoyed with diverse and varied online activities.
Calp City Council is celebrating "Tree Day" with the planting of 120 specimens in the Botanical Gardens. This is an initiative of the Rotary Club of Calpe Ifach, joined by Calp City Council through the Education, Environment and Gardens Departments.
The first of the two planned plantings took place this morning, in collaboration with the I.E.S. Ifach Horticulture Training Cycle, which has been transforming the Calp Botanical Garden into a natural space to enjoy outdoors since the course began.
If there is one goal that deserves to join forces, it is concern for the environment. On 22 March, International Water Day, the Marina Alta is launching its first joint project to protect something as important as its natural environment. This is the "The Sea Starts Here"" awareness campaign, involving 18 cities and all the Rotary Clubs in the region, in the hope of reducing the waste that ends up in the Mediterranean Sea.
As part of the project for the works at Club Social La Manzanera, which required an environmental assessment to be awarded, as the area is part of the Red Natura 2000 network, a colony of vertebrates was discovered in the area. It is an extraordinary mollusc, found in our province only in Cova Tallada in Xàbia, Tabarca and La Manzanera in Calp, and it lives in unique conditions between the surface and the water.
Faced with uncertainty about what will happen to local festivals in 2021, and in the absence of clear guidelines from the Generalitat (regional government), several Marina Alta municipalities have decided to join forces to present a common front and agree on a roadmap regarding events and festivals this summer. A total of 18 county councillors and mayors in the region have held telematic meetings to contribute positions and know the situation of their neighbours.
Calp today initially approved the municipal budget for 2021, which amounts to 37,870,275 euros, against the votes of all opposition parties.
Today saw the opening of the new smart zebra crossing installed by Pavapark Movilidad, a company that manages the regulated parking service on public roads through ORA CALP.
It is a system that increases road safety at a point in the municipality that has a high daily density of pedestrian and vehicle traffic, namely at the junction of Avenida de los Ejércitos Españoles with Corbeta and L' Esport streets.
Today the first decree for the disbursement of €114,000 under the Plan Paréntesis was signed. The City Council is already working on the second one, which will start tomorrow. Grants totalling 1,545,222 euros will be paid out in the first batch of the Plan Paréntesis in Calp to self-employed people and businesses affected by the pandemic.