Prosecutors have requested information from Elche Town Council about unauthorised vehicle storage sites around Alicante-Elche airport following a complaint by the Asociación de Vecinos Vial Aeropuerto de Elche residents’ association.
The request forms part of an investigation into possible planning and environmental irregularities on land used for parking, storing and looking after cars close to the airport terminal.
The prosecution service is seeking a register of the sites, their locations, the cadastral references of the plots, details of land ownership and their classification under the municipal development plan.
Residents’ complaint over the use of rural land
The association, chaired by Juan José Mateo Rocamora, has spent years challenging the expansion of these activities around the airport, particularly in the Elche districts of Torrellano and El Altet.
Its submission, signed on 15 September, calls for an examination of the administrative status of the plots and a review of authorisations granted in previous years.
Residents maintain that some rural land has been transformed to accommodate car parks and want checks on whether the area occupied and the activities carried out match the conditions originally authorised.
Their concerns include work to prepare the land and its possible effects on soil permeability and drainage, alongside other potential environmental impacts associated with the concentration of vehicles.
The national Environment and Urban Planning Unit referred the file to prosecutors in Elche after identifying possible criminal offences, which will need to be clarified through the investigation.
Municipal inspections and individual assessments
The council has said it is cooperating with prosecutors and points out that it had already started procedures to address residents’ complaints and bring order to these activities.
As background, municipal documents gathered by the association record more than 110 identified vehicle storage sites and around 81 inspections reported in June, carried out by Local Police and municipal technical staff.
The residents’ submission stresses that the installations have different legal circumstances and that each case needs individual examination, including the validity of historic licences and any subsequent extensions.
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