CalpeNoticias EN

Friday 28th:

• 5pm. Blood Donation. Local Red Cross Assembly. Calle María Jorro, 1.
• 8pm. Inauguration of Punto de la Sororidad. Paseo Arenal-Bol (near Calle Alemania).
• 21h. Teatro Bar Manolo. Casa de Cultura Auditorium. Avenida Masnou, 1.
• Lesya Yavorska Exhibition. Exhibition Hall of the Old Town Hall. Until 29th March.
• Alamar Exhibition by Francis Rubio. Exhibition Hall of the Casa de Cultura. Until 31st March.

Saturday 29th:

• 10:30 a.m. Rubbish collection in the Las Salinas area.
• 5 p.m. 2nd Table Football Tournament. Youth Club (Punt Jove - Plaza de la Constitución).
• 7:30 p.m. Presentation of the 19th CreamPop Minifestival. Calle De Fora, 7. Filà Tuareg.
• Lesya Yavorska exhibition. Exhibition hall of the Ajuntament Vell. Until 29th March.
• Alamar exhibition by Francis Rubio. Exhibition hall of the Casa de Cultura. Until 31st March.

Sunday 30th:

• 11 am. Free guided tours of the historic centre of Calpe. Registration required: 965836920 / 965 83 85 32 / turismo@ajcalpe.es. Maximum 25 people per group. Meeting point: Casa de Cultura.
• 5 pm. Board games. Youth Club (Punt Jove - Plaza de la Constitución).
•  7.45 p.m. Concert of sacred music. Parish of Nuestra Sra. de las Nieves in Calpe.

Calpe Town Council and the ONCE Social Group held a working meeting yesterday with the aim of laying the foundations for establishing effective channels of collaboration between the two entities in the areas of accessibility, labour inclusion and visibility of people with disabilities.

The meeting, chaired by the mayor, Ana Sala, was attended by several councillors from the government team: Pedro Moll, Guillermo Sendra, Francisca Solivelles, Marco Bittner, Mireia Ripoll and Mariola Mulet. Martina López, an Inserta Empleo specialist, and the representative of the ONCE Social Group in Les Marines, in charge of the business management of ILUNION and ONCE itself, attended on behalf of the ONCE Social Group.

During the meeting, the ONCE Social Group was presented, along with its areas of activity and policies aimed at promoting the labour inclusion of people with disabilities. For their part, the municipal representatives presented the projects in progress and highlighted the importance of incorporating accessibility and inclusion measures across the board in all municipal areas.

Specific actions agreed upon include technical sessions to advise on and harmonise job placement efforts, a specific employability workshop for young people, the evaluation of practical aspects of accessibility in everyday life, and the identification and application of best practices in inclusion, already proven in other contexts.

Likewise, it was determined that universal accessibility will be a key element in all municipal policies and projects. Both parties agreed to continue holding sectoral meetings throughout the year to specify specific actions that will improve the quality of life of people with disabilities in the town.

Calpe City Council views this first meeting very positively, as it represents a significant step towards a more inclusive and accessible society that is committed to everyone.

Next Friday, 28th March, at 20:00 hours, Calpe Town Council will inaugurate the so-called “Sorority Point’”, an initiative designed to spread and make visible the concept of sorority among the citizens. This event is part of the programme of activities organised to mark International Women's Day, celebrated on 8 March.

The ‘Sorority Point’will consist of a virtual spotlight that will project a symbolic image of a woman made up of multiple female figures on the ground, thus representing the union and mutual support between women.

The inaugural event will be attended by the Women's Association for Equality and the Association for the Fight against Cancer, the latter offering a batucada to accompany the celebration. In addition, a symbolic activity will be carried out with balls of wool, which will be passed among the participants with the aim of creating visible networks that reflect the connection and solidarity between women.

This virtual installation will be switched on daily at sunset, as a constant reminder of the importance of mutual support and female solidarity as key elements in the move towards a more egalitarian society.

The aim of this initiative is for the ‘Sorority Point’ to become a point of reference for the people of Calpe and visitors, providing a symbolic place that promotes dialogue, reflection and awareness of gender equality throughout the year.

The Councillor for Equality, Itziar Doval, emphasised ‘the importance of sisterhood as a value that connects us and makes us weave networks of fellowship with all the women in the world, regardless of our cultural, social or geographical differences’.

Calpe will host Kortrijk Drumt, a well-known collective percussion event held in the Belgian town of Kortrijk, which will bring together more than 70 drummers in the town of Penyal. The show will be held on Monday 21st July to coincide with Belgium's National Day in the Plaza Mayor in Calpe.

The initiative is the result of a collaboration between Belgian resident in Calpe Xavier Samijn, friend of the founder of the event, and the town councils of Kortrijk (Belgium) and Calpe. The event will not only feature Belgian drummers but also Spanish musicians, as the organisers want to open it up to anyone interested in playing the drums.

According to the founder and artistic director of Kortrijk Drumt: ‘We will transport seventy drum kits to Calpe. We will also bring carpets to place the kits on, identical caps and sunglasses, and uniform clothing adapted to the weather conditions at the time’.

‘We want to show people what playing the drums involves and that it really is accessible to everyone, with drummers from all walks of life. Our aim is to encourage everyone to play,’ he said.

Those interested in taking part in Kortrijk Drumt in Calpee should send an email to radioCalpee@ajCalpee.es.

‘This is a unique event being held for the first time in Calpe and we invite everyone to join in and take part,’ said the Councillor for Residents and Twinning, Marco Bittner.

The event in Calpe is part of an international expansion plan for Kortrijk Drumt, which has already performed in Malta and plans to do so in New York, Brazil and Tenerife in the coming years.

Kortrijk Drumt has been held in Kortrijk since 2015 and brings together drummers of all ages. The first edition brought together 137 drummers who simultaneously played ‘Uptown Funk’ by Bruno Mars, setting a Belgian record. Since then, the event has grown in popularity, participants and international reach, always maintaining its commitment to free access for the public.

2025 will be an important year for the organisation, as they will also be holding the biggest Kortrijk Drumt ever on 28th June in Kortrijk with 250 drummers and the participation of international guests such as Therapy? drummer Neil Cooper and members of the Florianópolis Drum Orchestra (Brazil).

The National Institute of Statistics has notified Calpe Town Council that the proposed population figure as of 1 January 2025 resulting from the revision of the municipal register is 27,616 inhabitants. A period for objections has now begun and if no objections are made, the INE's proposal will be officially approved. This means that the municipality has gained 795 inhabitants since the last official census, as on 1 January 2024 the figure was 26,821 inhabitants.

The Town Hall estimates that hundreds of foreign residents are not registered with the INE because they have not renewed their registration on the municipal census, since by law EU residents registered in the Central Register of Foreigners or non-EU residents with a long-term residence permit must renew their registration on the census every five years and all other foreigners every two years.

For this reason, the Town Council has launched successive campaigns, aimed at all citizens, foreigners or not, residing in Calpe, to encourage registration or its renewal.

Last September, with the slogan ‘Let's make our town grow’, a campaign was carried out to encourage registration and updating data. To this end, the Town Hall's Register Office distributed a paper in the Citizen's Advice Bureau explaining, by means of a QR code, that it is compulsory for everyone to register in the local register where they reside.

It also provided information on the documentation needed to register on the census or to update details in the event of a change of address, as well as the procedure for carrying out these formalities.

The councilor for the Register, Paqui Solivelles, pointed out that ‘this department carries out silent but continuous work to encourage registration’.

The Education Council is launching an Easter camp to facilitate family-work balance for families in Calpe.

The camp will take place at the Oltà school on 22, 23, 24, 25 and 28 April from 9am to 2pm and costs €40. The activity is aimed at children aged between 4 and 12.

Those interested should register their children at the Punt Jove (Constitution Square) from 8 to 16 April from 9am to 2pm.

The Department of Education, directed by Mariola Mulet, has emphasised that the Department of Education is organising this workshop to make it easier for working parents in particular to give their children a period of time and a space in which to spend time together and have fun, with time for games, art, music and crafts.

Friday 21:

• 21:00 h – Stations of the Cross for Peace organised by the Calpe Holy Week Brotherhoods and Associations Committee.
• Lesya Yavorska Exhibition. Exhibition Hall of the Old Town Hall. Until 29 March.
• Alamar exhibition by Francis Rubio. Exhibition Hall of the Casa de Cultura. Until 31 March.

Saturday, 22:

• 17 h – 4th Ping-pong Tournament. Youth Club (Punt Jove - Plaza de la Constitución).
• A la llum dels ciris. Historic centre of Calpe:
• 19 h – Travelling concert of the Unió Musical Calpe Ifach
• 8 pm – Concert by the Rondalla de Calpe. Plaza de la Villa
• Lesya Yavorska exhibition. Exhibition Hall of the Old Town Hall. Until 29 March.

• Alamar exhibition by Francis Rubio. Exhibition Hall of the Casa de Cultura. Until 31 March.

Sunday 23:

• 11 am – Free guided tours of the historic centre of Calpe. Registration required: 965836920 / 965 83 85 32 / turismo@ajcalpe.es. Maximum 25 people per group. Meeting point: Casa de Cultura.

• 5 pm – Hip hop: rap session IV. Youth Club (Punt Jove - Plaza de la Constitución).

The departments of Culture and Revitalisation of the Old Town, in collaboration with the Junta Mayor de Hermandades y Cofradias de Semana Santa (the organisation that coordinates the Holy Week processions), are launching the initiative ‘A la llum dels ciris’ which will consist of lighting only with candles the Plaza de la Villa and adjacent streets in the centre of the old town next Saturday 22nd March.

The aim is to create an intimate atmosphere within the Easter events that will serve as a setting for a travelling concert by the Unión Musical Calp Ifach and a concert by the Rondalla de Calpe which is scheduled for 8pm at the door of the Parroquia Virgen de las Nieves.

This initiative completes and enriches Holy Week in Calpe, offering a special night in which the inhabitants of the city can enjoy the historic centre of Calpe from a new and intimate perspective.

The Councillor for Culture and the Old Town, Guillermo Sendra, is calling on local residents and businesses to take part in this event and to decorate their shop fronts and balconies with candles or torches that night and collaborate with this municipal initiative.

Calpe continues to add to the number of tourism establishments committed to the continuous improvement of their services and customer care. This morning, seven new tourism companies and services received the SICTED tourism quality award from the mayor, Ana Sala, and the councillor for tourism planning, Mireia Ripoll. The companies that obtained the award in 2022 have also renewed it, bringing the total number of businesses in Calpe with this recognition to 45.

This year, the following establishments have obtained the SICTED award: A.R.T Beauty Salon, Centro Salufit, Enigma Restaurante, HomeinCalpe, Interhome, Plusholidays and Restaurante Baydal and have been renewed by Audrey's Restaurant, Beat Restaurant, Casa Cultura Jaume Pastor i Fluixà, Centro de Buceo Dive&Dive, Club Náutico Les Basetes, Komfort Restaurant, Mare Beach Restaurant, Museo de Historia de Calpe and Restaurante Puerto Blanco.

SICTED, the Spanish acronym for the Integral System of Spanish Tourist Quality in Destinations, is a project to improve tourist destinations promoted by the Secretary of State for Tourism with the support of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces. Calpe joined this programme in December 2020, as part of its commitment to offer a competitive tourist destination.

To obtain this recognition, companies have had to meet a series of requirements such as participating in training modules, individual and collective technical assistance, improvement groups and evaluations, although, as announced by the Secretary of State for Tourism, a modification of the methodology for awarding these distinctions is planned as of this year and will be ready in June.

The Councillor for Tourism Planning, Mireia Ripoll, emphasised that ‘today we are going to celebrate the work you have done, the collective effort to make Calpe bigger and of higher quality, we continue to work together so that SICTED continues to grow and more and more companies join’.

‘This recognition is the result of your commitment to excellence, which guarantees that our municipality will continue to stand out as a leading tourist destination. Your perseverance and effort are essential to consolidate Calpe's image as an excellent destination,’ said Ana Sala, who together with Mireia Ripoll congratulated the companies of Calpe for their involvement in the project and their dedication to making Calpe a higher quality tourist municipality.

Calpe City Council has opened the call for entries for the 13th edition of the ‘Antonio Ferrer, El Cartero’ National Amateur Theatre Contest. This event, which has established itself as a benchmark in the national amateur theatre scene, will take place in November 2025 at the Jaume Pastor i Fluixà Cultural Centre.

The contest, which is free of charge, will be held on Sundays 9, 16 and 23 November at 6.30 p.m., culminating in the awards ceremony and closing on Sunday 30 November at the same time. The Contest is open to amateur theatre groups from all over Spain who wish to present their productions to the Calpe audience and a specialist jury.

The performances will take place in a space equipped to offer the best technical conditions to the participants, allowing each company to show their work in a professional environment.

Registration will be open from 12 March to 31 July 2025 via the Calpe Town Council website (www.Calpe.es), using the form SUB15 - Application to Participate in the ‘Antonio Ferrer, El Cartero’ National Amateur Theatre Contest. The rules and regulations can be consulted in the BOP No. 59 of 25/03/2024 and the 2025 call for entries has been published in the BOP No. 48 of 11 March 2025.

The selected groups will compete for different awards, including the Best Performance Award (1,500 euros), the Best Director Award (1,000 euros), the Best Actor and Actress Award (500 euros each) and the Audience Award (700 euros). In addition, the organisers of the event will cover accommodation expenses for the selected groups, with the aim of facilitating their participation and promoting cultural exchange between the artists and the local public.

The jury will be made up of professionals from the world of theatre, critics and the performing arts, who will evaluate the plays based on criteria such as the quality of the acting, the stage direction, the originality of the proposal and the staging. Aspects such as the cohesion of the cast and the impact of the play on the audience will also be assessed.

The Contest has become a showcase for amateur theatre, with previous editions welcoming companies from different regions of Spain who have presented works of various genres, from comedy to drama, including classical adaptations and innovative proposals. Each year, the event attracts a loyal and diverse audience, consolidating Calpe as a benchmark in the amateur theatre scene.

From today, a sculpture of the Virgen del Carmen, patron saint of sailors, welcomes all those who enter the port of Calpe. The sculpture, which the Calpe City Council has installed in the port area, was unveiled at midday today.

This sculpture, designed by the artist Arturo Serra Gómez, is intended as a tribute by Calpe to the seafaring family and was originally scheduled to be installed in 2024 to coincide with the celebration of the centenary of the Fishermen's Association. However, delays in administrative authorisations prevented it from being installed last year.

The sculpture was created by the sculptor Arturo Serra and cost €155,000. The work represents the Virgin of Carmen, patron saint of sailors, according to traditional iconography, that is to say, with the child in her arms and the scapular in one hand, on a pedestal of the offering of flowers, and accompanied by three (anonymous) bearers and a child, representing three generations (grandfather, father, young man and child).

The pedestal is completed with details related to the marine world: a fishing net and a thick knotted ship's hawser. The pedestal also incorporates the plaque with the commemorative text.

The base with the figure of the Virgin and Child is approximately 3 metres high and is made of bronze with a thickness of 7 millimetres. The sculpture has been installed on a 19 m2 area of urbanised land at the entrance to the port and the image faces the sea to welcome sailors as they arrive at the port.

At today's ceremony, which was attended by the regional director of Fisheries, Juan Planelles, the sculptor, Arturo Serra, said that ‘the sculpture is intended as a tribute to the seafaring family represented in the four generations accompanying the image of the Virgin’.

The head of the brotherhood, Paco Catalá, said that ‘this image also symbolises those who came before us, those who dedicated their lives to the sea and are no longer with us’.

For her part, the mayor, Ana Sala, declared that ‘this is Calpe's tribute to the brotherhood on its centenary, a well-deserved tribute, especially in these difficult times for the sector. We support the Brotherhood in its struggle and its demands in the face of the cuts in fishing days’. The event ended with a performance of the traditional maritime hymn by the group Solera Artística.

Friday, 14th:

• 7.30pm - Celebration of the Cristo de Marzo. Holy Mass and Stations of the Cross through the old town.
• Lesya Yavorska Exhibition. Exhibition Hall of the Old Town Hall, until 29 March.
• Exhibition Alamar by Francis Rubio. Exhibition Hall of the Casa de Cultura. Until 31 March.

Saturday, 15th:

• 12h - Inauguration of the Sculpture ‘Mare de Déu del Carmen’. Avenida del Port.
• 17 h – Role-playing workshop. Youth Club (Punt Jove - plaza de la Constitución).
• 19:00 - Concert by the Valencia Philharmonic Society Chamber Orchestra. Auditorium.

Sunday, 16th:

• 11 am – Free guided tours of the historic centre of Calpe. Registration required: 965836920 / 965 83 85 32 / turismo@ajcalpe.es. Maximum 25 people per group. Meeting point: Casa de Cultura.
•   5 pm – Youth Challenge – New challenges. Youth Club (Punt Jove - Plaza de la Constitución).

Last week, the Casa de Cultura Auditorium hosted the Calpe Music Festival for the DANA flood to raise funds for two musical entities affected, specifically, La Unión Musical Catarroja and La Unión Musical La Artesana de Catarroja, which suffered serious material damage.

Various local artists performed free of charge at a gala that was a complete success, both in terms of the audience - the auditorium was completely full - and in terms of the quality of the participating artists. As reported at the interval of the event, the amount raised reached 6,620 euros. The organisers also offered a ‘zero line’ for those who were unable to attend the event.

The organiser of the event, Batiste Pastor, distributed the amount raised between the two music bands in the town of Catarroja, transferring 3,310 euros yesterday, Wednesday, to the account of the Societat Musical Unió, and another 3,310 euros to the account of the Sociedad Musical L'Artesana.

The presidents of both bands, José Peiró, president of the Unión Musical de Catarroja and Oscar Guillem, president of the Unión Musical La Artesana de Catarroja, have expressly thanked the citizens of Calpe for their solidarity.

One positive aspect of the recent rainfall has been the rise in the level and recharge of the Lucifer well in Vall de Laguar, the main aquifer that supplies water to Calpe. The Lucifer Well is at full capacity, with 249 litres per square metre collected so far this month and 427 litres per square metre so far this year.

The water accumulated after the latest rainfall guarantees supply for the whole of 2025. Even so, the Town Hall and Aguas de Calpee are urging responsible water consumption and are continuing to work on renewing the pipes and optimising the systems to achieve more efficient consumption, as well as having other contingency instruments in place, such as the Barranc Salat desalination plant.

In addition, the project for the construction of a second well next to the current Lucifer Well is already in the drafting phase. Last January, the Provincial Council of Alicante granted the Mancomunitat de Calpe, Murla i La Vall de Laguar-Pozo Lucifer a subsidy of 400,000 euros for the construction of a second well in the Vall de Laguar.

This new infrastructure, which will be located some 400 metres from the current well, will ensure the supply of drinking water in the event of a breakdown in the existing well, reinforcing the water security of the municipalities of Calpe, Murla and La Vall de Laguar.

This is a back-up infrastructure, which will not involve the extraction of more water, but will be used exclusively to guarantee the supply in case of incidents in the current Lucifer well.

The work will be carried out directly by the Provincial Council of Alicante and the amount of 400,000 euros will cover the total cost of the work. The works are expected to be completed in 2026.

The Plenary Session of Calpe Town Council will initially approve the regulations for the use of the municipal swimming pool which establishes the rules for the use of and access to the sports facilities for the public. The aim of these regulations is to optimise the use of the swimming pool, guarantee safety and promote the practice of sport among the population.

The regulations establish a series of mandatory rules that affect the general use of the facilities, the services offered, the supervised activities and the swimming courses. Among the measures included are the rules of access, the conditions for registration in activities, and a protocol for the use of the facilities.

The regulations cover, for example, the use of changing rooms and lockers, which will be available to users on payment of a deposit of 1 euro, which will be returned once they have been used. There are also rules for minors, who must be accompanied by an adult if they are under 9 years old.

Regarding swimming courses at different levels and for different age groups, the regulations govern the ‘ratio’ for each class. Thus, for example, in the case of the course for 3 to 5-year-olds, the number of pupils per instructor will range from 4 to 8. In the case of free swimming, the maximum duration of each session will be 60 minutes.

To guarantee the safe use of the facilities, certain behaviours are prohibited, such as eating in the bathing areas or the use of materials not related to bathing. Furthermore, in order to offer the service to as many users as possible and to ensure that reservations are actually used, the third non-use of the reservation without just cause, and without being cancelled sufficiently in advance, will result in the inability to make reservations for activities during the following week.

The proposed regulation will be subject to a 30-day public information period, during which citizens may submit allegations and suggestions. In the event that no allegations are submitted, the regulation will be considered definitively approved and will be published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Alicante.

The Calpe City Council has presented the Integrated Action Plan to the call for EDIL Plans (Strategies for Local Integrated Development) of ERDF funds, which has a total budget of 12,260,500 euros, 60 percent of which would be subsidised through these European grants.

The Integrated Action Plan (PAI) is a document required to be eligible for this call for proposals; it is based on Calpe's Urban Agenda and includes three strategic projects for the sustainable urban development of Calpe: the remodelling of the Paseo Marítimo de la Fossa and the Plaza Mayor and the construction of the 21st Century Tourist Office, which are now eligible for these European funds. The Calpe Integrated Action Programme highlights the transformative capacity of these initiatives for the municipality - a requirement established by the EDIL Plans call for proposals - as they will favour a more inclusive, sustainable and innovative urban development.

In fact, these projects aim to improve the capacity, accessibility and adaptation to climate change of these public spaces, as well as integrating them into the Calpe Smart City project.

The refurbishment of the Fossa seafront promenade is the project with the largest budget, a total of 9,070,000 euros, and aims to modernise and improve this infrastructure, built in the 1970s and which is significantly deteriorated not only due to the passage of time but also due to recurrent damage from increasingly intense storms caused by climate change.

The project will consist of redeveloping the seafront promenade by reinforcing and replacing retaining walls and renovating the pavement, as well as improving its green areas. In this sense, flowerbeds and planters will be redesigned and climate shelters with native vegetation will be created to provide shaded areas and adapted furniture. The supply, sanitation and electricity networks will also be renovated - with LED lighting to improve energy efficiency - as well as street furniture and architectural barriers will be removed. The project also includes inclusive play areas for children with functional diversity, as well as a new tourist office in the Plaza del Mediterráneo equipped with interactive digital information systems, among other actions.

The remodelling of the Plaza Mayor, meanwhile, has a budget of 2,300,000 euros. With 9,586 m², it is the town's busiest space, hosting 95% of Calpe's cultural activities, events and celebrations, and is currently in a state of disrepair with problems of leaks in the car park located underneath. With this project, as well as solving this problem, the aim is also to adapt it to climate change with the introduction of a system of textile awnings and misting systems as well as vertical gardens and green roofs to increase vegetation and improve thermal comfort. It should be remembered, in this sense, that the square is currently a surface without shade, which limits its use in summer. In addition, this project will see the installation of solar panels and improvements to accessibility with the elimination of architectural barriers.

Sustainable mobility will also be promoted with car parks and recharging points for bicycles and electric scooters.

The 21st-century tourist office has a budget of 890,500 euros. It will be located in a building that the Town Council acquired in 2018, on Llibertat Street, in the heart of the historic centre. It will replace the current premises in Mosquit Square, which have become obsolete in terms of digital equipment, accessibility and space to serve its 62,000 annual visitors.

The aim is to create a modern centre equipped with cutting-edge technology to promote Calpe's tourist attractions as part of its goal of becoming a smart tourist destination. In fact, it will involve a new concept in tourist service as it will be provided through new technologies, not only through electronic brochures or digital screens but also by offering visitors immersive experiences.

With a surface area of 180 m², it will have a ground floor open to the public, visually connected to a small square. The first floor will house offices and a terrace with a multipurpose space for events and will have photovoltaic panels. It will also have a bicycle and scooter parking area with electric recharging points and a container return point.

‘The PAI Calpe lays the foundations for a more inclusive, sustainable and innovative urban development. Its implementation will consolidate the town as a benchmark in accessibility, digitalisation and environmental resilience, improving the quality of life and its positioning as a tourist destination in the Mediterranean,’ said Marco Bittner, councillor for European Grants and Funds.

The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal lodged by the company Deborja S.A. regarding the land occupation in the Las Salinas area. In February last year, a ruling by the High Court of Justice dismissed the claims of the company Deborja S.A., which was seeking compensation of €61,651,947 on the grounds that the privately owned salt flats were occupied for public uses and services. The company appealed against this ruling to the Supreme Court, which has ruled that it is inadmissible, making the decision final.

Deborja's initial appeal was brought against Calp Town Council, the Alicante Provincial Coastal Service and the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition on the grounds that the privately owned salt flats were occupied for public uses and services, including the drainage and pumping of seawater into the lagoon.

The Salinas de Calp are included in the catalogue of wetlands of the Valencian Community and have the municipal classification of special protection non-developable land. However, in order to maintain the water level of the area and guarantee its biodiversity, a water pipe was built to bring water from the sea that runs under Luxemburgo Street, not over Las Salinas or on land owned by the company.

Last year's Supreme Court ruling determined that the City Council should remove the installation of elements such as signposts with explanatory signs, waste bins, a bench, a footbridge and a wooden screen placed to allow ornithological observation.

That ruling dismissed the company's exorbitant claims for compensation, but as it was not final, an appeal could be lodged, which has now been dismissed.

The Mayor, Ana Sala, has expressed her satisfaction with the outcome of the appeal and has stated that ‘our interest has always been to protect the Las Salinas wetland and to guarantee the ecological value of this ecosystem. This resolution reinforces the municipal actions in terms of the protection of the area’.

Friday, 7:

• 12h-Institutional declaration on the occasion of Women's Day. In the Saló Blau.
• Lesya Yavorska exhibition. Exhibition Hall of the Ajuntament Vell, until 29 March.
• Exhibition Alamar by Francis Rubio. Exhibition Hall of the Casa de Cultura. Until 31st March.

Saturday, 8:

• 11am - Art for 8M. Street workshops, collective painting and ceramics. C/ De Fora. Organised by ADA.
• 5pm - 8M Mural. Youth Club (Punt Jove - Plaza de la Constitución).
• 7.39pm - Calpe Music Festival for DANA Flood. In the Casa de Cultura Auditorium.

Carnival in Calpe:

• 5 pm – Kids' Carnival: lively parade, mini disco, children's entertainment, snacks for the children..., organised by this year's Festeros (festival organisers) with the collaboration of the Town Council.
• 11 pm – Falkata on Tour concert with Xavi Plastik and DJ Syfo, organised by the Department of Youth; bars run by the Festeros.

Sunday 9th:

• 11 am – Free guided tours of the historic centre of Calp. Registration required: 965836920 / 965 83 85 32 / turismo@ajcalp.es. Maximum 25 people per group. Meeting point: Casa de Cultura.
• 12 noon - Twinning mass for Easter brotherhoods and guilds. Parish of La Merced.
•    5 pm - Kahoot competition. Youth Club (Punt Jove - Plaza de la Constitución).

Calpe Town Council is already preparing an ethical management programme for cat colonies with the aim of regulating and improving the coexistence between urban cat colonies and citizens, as well as improving the quality of life of community cats. This is an obligation stipulated by state and regional animal welfare regulations which establish that cat colonies are the responsibility of local councils, and to this end they must develop cat colony management programmes.

The ethical management programme aims, on the one hand, to control the feline population in the municipality through the T.S.R. method, trap, sterilise and return, which has been shown to be the best system for this, as well as for maintaining the health of the cats. The programme will establish the locations of the cat colonies as well as the people who will be authorised to feed the cats, for which they will need a feeder card. Likewise, through this programme, measures will be established to guarantee the health care of the cats and, finally, the aim is to minimise inconvenience to the public, as well as to encourage collaboration between animal protection associations and volunteers and the city council.

As a preliminary step to the development of this programme, the council has opened a public consultation for citizens to make their contributions and suggestions. They can do so in person at the Town Hall Registry (Citizen Service Office), electronically through the Virtual Office of the Town Hall: - https://Calpe.sedelectronica.es/ - or by sending their contributions to the email bienestar.animal@ajcalpe.es. This public consultation ends on 1 April.

The Investigation Committee of the Municipal Cemetery ‘Parque del Descanso Eterno’ in Calp held its first meeting yesterday, attended by representatives of all the political groups in the council.

At the November plenary session, the City Council agreed to set up a committee to investigate possible cases of illegal exhumation of niches in the municipal cemetery without the consent of the legal heirs.

This Commission, chaired by the councillor for the Eternal Rest Park, Marco Bittner, is made up of government councillors and representatives of each municipal group as well as municipal technicians. The objective is to clarify possible irregularities in the management of funeral concessions and transfers of remains that took place during the period 2010-2016. The Commission has established the basis for its operation and has agreed on a comprehensive work plan.

Among the agreements reached in this first session, the periodicity of the sessions stands out, as it has been unanimously agreed to meet on a quarterly basis, with extraordinary sessions being held when the progress of the investigation so requires.

As a first measure of transparency, all members have been given a technical report, prepared by the person in charge of the municipal cemetery, which details the procedures and records of the transfers carried out in the aforementioned period. The preliminary report identifies approximately 45 cases of individual transfers that require review, although this figure is not definitive as the Commission will carry out an exhaustive screening to determine which ones were really inappropriate according to the regulations in force at the time. This document will serve as the basis for the Commission's analytical work.

The Commission has approved a research plan that includes an exhaustive review of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to funeral concessions and an analysis of the administrative procedures followed for notifications and transfers. In addition, the Commission will evaluate the organisational chart of responsibilities and actors involved in the decision-making of the entire procedure and a comparative study will be carried out with the practices and regulations of other similar municipalities.

The preliminary analysis of the data has made it possible to identify certain patterns that will be the subject of special attention, such as the concentration of transfers in certain periods (especially in 2012 and during 2015), as well as the possible existence of selective criteria such as nationality in the choice of the niches affected.

Another issue addressed by the Commission is that of reparation. The Commission has begun to study possible reparation measures for the families affected, considering different options that will be specified in upcoming sessions.

The chairperson of the Commission has stated: ‘Our commitment is to carry out a rigorous and transparent work that clarifies what happened and establishes the corresponding responsibilities. We also seek to ensure that similar situations do not happen again, reinforcing the protocols and municipal regulations if necessary.’

The Commission invites any citizen who has relevant information on this matter to contact the Municipal Secretariat, which will set up a specific channel to receive testimonies and documentation related to the investigation. The next meeting is scheduled for June 2025, when an initial progress report with preliminary conclusions will be presented.