Summer has begun, the beaches are full but there are no sunbeds for hire on Salobreña and Motril beaches, nor ice-cream kiosks, either.

The reason being that there is a paperwork hold up between the respective town halls and the Junta de Andalucía; the latter is the entity that issues licences for such businesses on the beach; i.e., sun beds and ice-cream kiosks, for example. Or is it?

According to the Asociación de Empresarios de Playas the Junta denies that there is any problem on their part, blaming the delay exclusively on the town halls, claiming that the Planes de Playas were ready back in April.

It appears that a recent law that gives more authority to the municipalities to issue licences themselves has caused delays: Ley 9/2017, states that town halls can establish their own criteria when it comes to issuing licences. Businesses that wish to set up on the beaches during the summer have to meet certain measures established by each town.

However, Almuñécar and other seaside towns have renounced this right, preferring that the Junta de Andalucía has exclusive authority over issuing beach licences. This is not the case with Salobreña and Motril. This year, licences had to be renewed and this delay has meant business owners still haven’t been able to open up for trade, or in some cases, have lost the chance of obtaining a licence for this year altogether.

The Asociación de Chiringuitos, led by Francisco Trujillo, regrets this situation in which affected families find themselves in, as well as the bad impression that tourists get because of this delay.

“Administrative problems have prevented those services from being available, which is detrimental to these businesses,” he said, pointing out that they had already spent funds on the outlay for the season but cannot begin raking it back in takings. He concluded by saying that the image we are projecting is chaotic.

Although chiringuito licences are for longer periods (they are renewed every four years) they need to renew permits to put out loungers & sunshades on the beach every year.

Finally, the Motril Councillor for Tourism & Beaches, José Lemos, apologises for the inconveniences caused and explained that the Town Hall had suffered “bureaucratic problems” but reassured that town officials had been in contact with affected businesses to find a solution that would mean that all would be sorted out by this coming weekend – ice-creams kiosks, that is, but the sun-lounger businesses will have to wait longer.

Editorial: no summer bonus for those responsible; functionaries receive a double salary in January and December, after all. Heads should roll because people are being denied their livelihood.

(News: Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia – Photo: Granadahoy)