The reduced rate parking fee for Nerja residents of €7 per month at the Los Huertos de Carabeo car park was due to start on July 1st, but this has been brought forward by the owners and it will now start today, Wednesday June 8th.
Residents will still need to provide a copy of the padrón (census) as proof of residency. The reduced rate also applies to vehicles loading and unloading in the car park.
Everyone else will have to pay the normal rates, either the per minute charge or a monthly fee of around €60.
Since the introduction of paid parking on the Los Huertos de Carabeo site, which had been free parking for the previous eleven years, use of the site has fallen dramatically and has frequently been virtually empty.
larna says:
A lady at the Foreiner”s Department advised me on the telephone yesterday that residents had to pay 7 euros for 2000 minutes from today. ( That works out at 156 euros per month!) She insisted that this was correct.
marco says:
Larna– I think she means 2000 minutes of parking for 7€ during the month…so unless you are going to leave your car there all the time you will be ok
Lynne Hanson says:
This is very confusing! Can somebody please clarify the parking fees at The Carabeo car park for residents?
The Captain says:
The rate is 7 euros per month (84 per year), price valid until the end of the year.
Kay says:
It seems that the charges for this car park are not to be commenced on 01 July, as reported, as they actually began 08 June.
On telephoning the Foreigner’s Department at the Town Hall for advice, they said that even those who had free parking permits before 08 June, “would now have to pay 7 euros for 2000 minutes”. This seemed very strange, and very, very, expensive, so confirmation was requested, and given.
On then querying the situation at the kiosk in the car park, the advice there is that those who own properties in Nerja, and reside here for 6 months, and have a Volante de Empadronamiento are no longer being allowed any preferential rates. So even though you may reside in the town for 6 months, spend money in the shops & restaurants for 6 months, pay all your rates and taxes in Nerja, you have to pay the tourist rates in the car park now. Unless you have a Spanish registration document for your car, which 6 month residents usually do not have. A British car registration document is not acceptable, of course. Finding a parking space in the streets is usually impossible now.
What with the lack of a sewage treatment plant set to continue for the next few years; the abolishing of the horses & traps and the musicians from the Balcon; the absence of the ‘Wally Trolley’; and various other steps that have been taken that are detrimental to visitors, and foreign property owners, there is a distinct feeling of foreigners not being welcome in Nerja any more. Businesses are already suffering. I know that several British property owners are no longer happy with the situation here.
It will be with great sadness if we are forced to pack up and leave, but driving to Nerja from UK is no longer an option.
Rachel says:
So, the Ayuntamiento class even those who you live a great deal of their lives in Nerja as tourists charging them the highest rates?
Sounds like a dirty trick on their part suddenly changing the rules and bringing in the requirement to prove ownership of a Spanish car, when last month proof of owning a property and having empadronamiento was perfectly acceptable for a special permit.
Certainly makes it look as though you are not accepted here.
The Captain says:
The ‘special arrangement’ of free parking for a while and promises of a ‘special rate’ were, of course, all made in the run-up to the election. Maybe it gained someone a few votes. Once the elections are over….As they say: How do you tell if politicians are not telling the truth? Their lips move.
Loading and unloading for coaches and lorries was also originally going to be free, but now the €7 rate applies to them as well.
Quite naturally, the car park is only ever about 10 to 15% occupied these days, whereas it used to be full.
Lynne Hanson says:
My husband got his ticket today for the month to park in the Carabeo car park ( valid until 11th July 2011). The cost was indeed €7/month. You need to take with you photocopies of your Padron and your car details – the piece of paper which has your name, car registration, make and model. We took the originals and had to go back home to photocopy them!
Lynne Hanson
Rachel says:
Can’t understand why they are making such a huge difference between those who live for 12 months of the year, and those who live here for 6 months of the year.
Could understand the latter not getting the same rate as fulltime residents, but they are certainly discouraging them from coming to Nerja aren’t they?
It would work out extremely expensive if they have to pay the full rates over 6 months when they are living nearby and can’t park anywhere else.
Would imagine that 6 month residents spend more in restaurants etc than locals too so they should be valued instead of driving them away. (Literally!)
Barry says:
We spend roughly one week a month in Nerja and are obviously non resident so will spend much less in the town in future becasue I hate paying for parking. The annoyance of cost is compounded by a “crap” payment system with the only machine at the exit and no easy spot to pause.
Nerja traders will most certainly suffer – when going out for supper we’ll certainly avoid Nerja and won’t pop down to the town during the day nearly as often (which would normally involve impulse purchases in shops and drinks in bars).
Re-elected mayor needs to think very hard about prosperity of Nerja and its electorate.
Barry