• The City Council will take this measure to the Plenary Session on 4 February to help hotel and restaurant owners in the face of the economic effects of Covid-19.

The Redován Town Council has announced the suspension of the payment of terrace installation fees for bars, restaurants and cafes in the municipality for the coming year 2021, which will be approved in the Municipal Plenary on 4 February. This measure was already adopted by the Council of Redovan last May and is now being extended to help, as far as possible, entrepreneurs in the sector. The councillor for the Treasury, Adrián Ballester, recalled that the hotel and catering industry has been severely affected throughout the year due to the pandemic, but that, “with the entry into force of the latest measures decreed by the Generalitat Valenciana, it is going to be even more affected, having to close its establishments”.

The suspension of the tax will come into force once the Plenary has provisionally approved it. It will come into effect from mid-March, and the owners of the premises will only have to pay the tax for the days they have set up a terrace from 1 January until that date, “without having to pay for the time during which the Generalitat has decreed the closure, and without having to pay anything else for the rest of the year 2021”, explained the councillor.

Last Wednesday saw the entry into force of new restrictions adopted by the Generalitat to curb the third wave of COVID-19 in the Valencian Community. These measures include the closure of hotel and catering establishments, except for those establishments that can offer take-away or pick-up service on the premises. These measures are completed with the closure at 18:00 hours of commercial premises and surfaces, except for those establishments dedicated to the essential commercial activity of food, hygiene, pharmacies, orthopaedics, opticians, hairdressers and sale of pet food.

“As a government team, we are obliged to support our shopkeepers and hotel and restaurant owners in everything we can, and after the last year, any help for this sector is not enough,” said Ballester. In this way, “from the Town Hall we continue working and considering proposals to be able to help them and make this situation as bearable as possible”, he added.

For its part, the municipal head of Trade and Markets, Maite Martinez, also stressed the importance of supporting local trade “as much as we can”, encouraging residents to consume, whenever possible, in shops and businesses in Redován. To do this, and as she has indicated, “it is necessary to comply with the indications and check in advance if the establishment offers a home delivery service to avoid crowds and the accumulation of people, try to be proactive and make purchases before 18:00 hours, and always complying with all health safety measures”.