The City Council will invest 4.4 million euros in the reinforcement of machinery and personnel for the maintenance and conservation of green areas and beaches.

The city has 57% more public green space than a decade ago and double the national average of green space per capita.

The Estepona City Council will invest more than 4.4 million euros in the reinforcement of means, both material and human, for the service of maintenance and conservation of green areas and beaches. This is reflected in the new contract signed for the next four years, which has taken into account the significant increase in green spaces, parks and gardens that has experienced the city.

Today, Estepona has 781,000 square meters of public green space, whose maintenance and conservation is responsible for the City Council, in addition to the ornamental planters scattered throughout the streets. This figure represents an increase of up to 57% over the target area of care recorded a decade ago. In addition, the city doubles the national average of green areas per inhabitant by reaching 11.64 square meters compared to the national average of 4.5 square meters.

For the maintenance of green areas, and with the aim of their optimal conservation, it has been determined the reinforcement of the staff of operating personnel, which will increase from the current 135 people to 154 by hiring 3 pruners officers, 2 drivers officers, as well as 14 assistant gardeners, for six months, to meet the seasonal tasks that require greater staffing (reinforcement in mowing, gardening and west sectors, center, south, parks and suburbs).

The reinforcement and improvement will be equally important in the machinery used in the conservation of these green areas. There are currently 162 units. Of these, a total of 73 will be replaced by more modern and efficient means, to which 26 new ones will be added. Among the new acquisitions are 1 bio-shredder, 1 spraying truck, 20 hedge trimmers, 20 brush cutters, 2 pressure washers, 5 motor hoes, 14 chain saws, 5 pruners, 10 mowers and 21 blowers, mainly. Thus, the service will have 188 machines at its disposal.

The fleet of vehicles for the conservation and maintenance of green areas will also be reinforced. The new investment will be of 27 units and will provide the service with 4 new open box tipping trucks; 11 closed vans for transporting plant elements with rear lifting hatch, transport of personnel and tools; 3 trucks with pruning platform basket with a maximum height of 27 meters; 1 crane truck; 1 tanker truck; 2 multitask vehicles and, specifically for the maintenance of the historic center, 3 small electric trucks equipped with 800-liter tank. Also, and

specifically for monitoring and improving the efficiency of irrigation, 2 multipurpose electric motorcycles will be incorporated, reaching 11% of the investment in electric vehicles.

Thus, the total amount of investment in vehicles and machinery to be made in the conservation of green areas will reach 1,581,364 million euros.

The deputy mayor of the External Control area, Blas Ruzafa, explains that the City Council has established the need to provide the conservation services with investments that complement those made in previous years, so that the means available are updated according to the reality in which the city finds itself in terms of the significant increase in green spaces.

When defining the new needs of the service, the development of urban planning in the municipality has been taken into account, with works for the improvement of green areas, regeneration and planting of new parks; the remodeling and pedestrianization of streets with ornamental works in the historic center, extensions in the services of ornamental fountains, children’s areas, street furniture and irrigation networks; as well as the increase in the number of users of the beaches of the coast.

Reinforcement on beaches

Regarding the conservation of beaches, the current staff of beach workers will be reinforced with 2 more officers and 2 more assistants for six months of the year. Investments in machinery and vehicles for the conservation of the coastline will be carried out in the first months of this year, so that they will be fully operational for the beginning of the bathing season. Specifically, 3 tractors, 1 truck crane, 1 medium sieving beach cleaning machine, 1 leveling trail implement, 1 multilink trailer, 2 reed collectors, 2 buggies for cleaning and maintenance of the coastal path, 1 electric generator, 3 blowers, 3 pressure washers and 5 brush cutters will be acquired. These last four elements are also included in the activities of clearing and cleaning of the coastal path.

The total amount of investments in vehicles and machinery in the conservation of beaches will be 650,466 euros.

Consequently, the City Council of Estepona will make a total investment of 4,417.421 million euros between vehicles, machinery and an increase in the number of operating personnel over the next four years

All these measures will help the city of Estepona to maintain and improve quality standards with investments aimed at sustainability, making rational use of existing means and resources and favoring the establishment of a healthier environment.