With reference to the post about the visit by the police last Friday. The new government team were only sworn in on Saturday. So nothing to do with them. The new government will start on Monday. We will be looking at ways to encourage tourism through providing entertainment for visitors.

A quick thanks to Jeff for at least having the decency to answer a query on this forum.I hope he will keep us informed on all actions taken by the council.I hope that his other comment regarding encouraging tourism isnt the only thing on the agenda,we still have the problem of dogs muck and graffiti to contend with.Now it looks like they need to sort out with the police how one complaint can ruin many a persons night (tourist or resident)by making pubs and clubs quieten down at 10.15pm.

Further to your post. I spoke with the temp chief of police today on this subject. He informed me that they recieved a call re excessive noise. They used a decibel counter and he stated that it was over the permissable limit. He was unable to comment on the actions of his officers, but we have agreed that we will talk together to try and establish some better rules for premises playing music. I have checked and there are only two music licences granted for premises in San Fulgencio. We are working on it. Our new councillor for tourism is a young man by the name of Borja. I will also pass on your comments to him as he is keen to find ways to bring the people back to the area.

Hi Jeff

May I ask what your involvement is in the local politics please as I am interested in getting involved and am looking for contacts

Jeff, pleased with your responses so far,On the question of music licenses could you find out,how many licenses have been applied for in the past say 12months and why they were rejected.Also the police could perhaps be a little more soft footed ,when going into bars and clubs by perhaps explaining to the manager the rules ,then take them outside and show the decibel count to them,at least we would then be on a level playing field,Because at the moment it seems the police are saying if we want you to to close for the night,we will do just that

Not surprised that their are only 2 music licences in the area. It was only a couple of years ago when the council and police had most bar owners petrified of what they were going to be asked to do next.
Something that should be remembered is that nearly all bars are Leasehold and not Freehold hence leaseholders are not normally in a position to carry out the endless requirements that they were told to do back a couple of years ago.
So we the public lost a lot of venues.

Obviously before I purchased my property on La Marina urbanisation I had thoroughly investigated the area, and one of the reasons I liked this area so very much was because the bars and restaurants were lively in the evening with some kind of entertainment a lot of the evenings. After all we are in Spain and I agree that if the sound is at a reasonable level and the artist finishes by midnight or 12.30 I think this perfectly acceptable..................

There seems to be a sensible system down in Torrevieja where bar owners or entertainment centres are fully aware of what decibels are allowed and they have been issued with or possible have purchased their own decibel counter s. We have often sat outside in the evening at the Emerald Isle listening to what ever act is own and observed the manager stealthily doing the rounds on the perimeter of the outside area using a small hand held decibel counter.
Do keep in mind that the Emerald Isle is slap bang in the middle of a very large Urbanisation but they are allowed to carry on the Spanish tradition of eating out under the stars while being entertained.
So please lets encourage things this end not discourage and threaten the possible lively hood of bars.

Hi I am from AJ's Bar in the grey area of the Urb. We have Karaoke a couple of nights a week even though we dont have a music licence. As has previously been mentioned, some time ago there were many rules as to what a bar would have to have done to qualify for a licence. Also we were told that we could carry out the works required and then still have the licence refused! They way things have been in recent times if you dont have something going on in the bar to attract customers you just wont get anyone in, so although we know we are doing wrong we have little choice. We would happily turn the music off at say 12 or whatever time we were told to. I know of places that have had music in the afternoon and the ploice have been there and stopped them. Having said that, on the few occasions that the police have stopped by our bar, they have actually been ok with us. They have never made us stop, only quieten down ( which is fair enough) I think very often it can be the bar owners ( or possible even customers) attitude to the police that can cause problems.
I would also like to say that if it were possible to get a licence we would happily do so, as long as we dont have to pay a riduclous amount for it, or carry out silly amounts of work to the bar in order to get one. We rent the bar like many others and this would not make financial sence for any of us.
The Urb needs to have music Karaoke, etc to entertain our locals who are our bread and butter, as well as the few touritsts that come here and its the only way to encourage more of them.
So here's hoping that Jeff will have some joy and be able to come to an arrangement with the police in the near future.