ARCHIVED - Free parking zones for Benidorm residents

Areas will be reserved exclusively for residents of the Costa Blanca resort in the Marina Baixa comarca of Alicante province.

As international travel restrictions are relaxed and Benidorm prepares for the long-awaited return of tourists, reserved zones are being set aside to ensure residents can continue to park for free.

Working with residents' and traders' associations, the council is drawing up plans which will see subzones - green and orange - added to the current white parking zones for people who are registered in the municipality.

In the coming weeks, the current residents' zones will be converted into orange bays for the rest of 2021, reserved exclusively for residents who can park for free.

Green parking zones will be located near homes and bars and restaurants for people who live in the area, who won't have to pay, and visitors and holidaymakers who can use the spaces for 50 cents per hour - the same price as a Blue Zone.

The aim is to ensure the rotation of vehicles while also benefiting local businesses.

"We have to make it easy for people who live in Benidorm to park, but also the tourists and people who work here," explained Pablo González, president of the Association and Cooperative of Bars, Restaurants and Cafes (Cobreca), who has been involved in shaping the new parking scheme.

In another bid to kickstart trade and attract visitors to Benidorm - home to more than 2,600 British expats - shoppers who spend €20 or more in local stores will get free parking for an hour in one of six central car parks.

IMAGE: Archive