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The patchwork of unofficial car parks surrounding Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport is finally facing a long-overdue shake-up after years of complaints, legal grey areas and dozens of fields turning into makeshift car parks.

 

What started as a handful of unofficial parking options about 20 years ago has ballooned into something much bigger, and much messier.

 

Today, there are around 100 separate car parks scattered across the rural land adjacent to Alicante Airport, covering more than one million square metres. That’s roughly the size of 140 football pitches, all operating in a space where, technically, this kind of activity isn’t supposed to happen at all.

 

For nearby residents, it’s been a slow-burn problem that’s gradually got worse. Noise, traffic, cars being left in odd places and even drainage issues have all been linked to these sites. Some operators run relatively organised shuttle services to and from the airport. Others are far more basic, little more than a fenced field and a container to take payments. In some cases, cars have reportedly been left on roadsides or outside people’s homes in the L’Altet area.

 

The root of the problem is a lack of clear rules. Many of these businesses originally opened with temporary licences that have long since expired. Since then, they’ve been operating in a kind of legal limbo, not fully authorised, but not properly shut down either.

 

Now, the City Council, led by mayor Pablo Ruz, is stepping in to sort it out once and for all. The plan is to rewrite the city’s main planning document, the PGOU, to specifically deal with airport parking on rural land.

 

The idea isn’t to wipe them all out. Instead, it’s about drawing a line and putting proper rules in place. Some of these car parks could be allowed to stay, but only if they meet strict conditions. Others won’t make the cut. And crucially, no new ones will be allowed to open until the new system is in place.

 

Similar to how solar farms are being handled in the area, the council wants to introduce a number of stipulations such as minimum plot sizes, proper spacing from homes and roads, and measures to reduce the visual and environmental impact, like planting vegetation screens around the car parks.

 

The council has already started inspecting the existing sites and passing information to the Agencia Valenciana de Protección del Territorio, which deals with planning enforcement. The next step is a public consultation, where residents, businesses and other stakeholders will be able to have their say before anything is finalised.

 

If everything goes to plan, the new rules could be fully approved within a year.

 

Image: Google Maps