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| This sector currently employs 2,500 workers in the municipality, spread over hundreds of premises | The Murcia City Council will provide facilities to the owners of leisure venues so that they can redirect their activity temporarily by changing the relevant licenses to cafeterias.This measure will positively result in the maintenance of the 2,500 jobs that currently depend on this sector in the Murcian municipality.

The hospitality businesses have been among those that have been most affected by the coronavirus crisis and the Government Team tries to alleviate these consequences with the agreement reached with professionals in the sector.The conversion of leisure venues into cafeterias will also prevent the bankruptcy of dozens of businesses and will effectively help the self-employed and small entrepreneurs to maintain their activity and generate income again.Consensus with the employerThe Councilor for Sustainable Development and Huerta, Antonio Navarro, has held a working meeting with representatives of the Regional Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Entrepreneurs (Hostemur) in order to seek formulas to support the sector.In this way, it has been agreed that businesses that request it can change their activity license to cafeterias through a responsible declaration.The owners of the leisure venues will be able to redirect their line of business and continue working as cafeterias, complying with all the recommendations transferred by the health authorities to prevent the appearance of new coronavirus infections, such as the capacity and schedule limitations set.

by the orders of the Ministry of Health, the mandatory use of the mask and hydroalcoholic gel and the distribution of the tables respecting social distancing.These license changes that are approved will be temporary and the premises will retain their original permits as leisure places in the future, when the health authorities allow this type of activity to resume.The mayor Antonio Navarro has indicated that "what we are going to promote from the Government Team is that the owners of nightlife venues who wish to can request a change of license to develop their activity as cafeterias and, in this way, redirect temporarily their job so they can generate income.

"Alternative to keep jobsThe Murcian Consistory has opted for this alternative so that the hundreds of families that depend on the entertainment venues in the municipality do not see their activity interrupted abruptly and without the possibility of continuing to work.The closure of these leisure venues was decreed in mid-August by the Ministry of Health after the meeting held with the different departments of the branch within the Interterritorial Health Council.The objective of the measure agreed between the City Council and Hostemur seeks that the economic activity in the municipality is diminished as little as possible and seeks to promote the dynamization of employment and the economy to contribute to the maintenance and generation of both wealth and jobs.The change of license that the City Council will promote joins other measures of economic support that the Government Team has adopted since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, such as the expansion of the spaces that can be occupied by the terraces of the establishments and the changes introduced in the calendar of municipal collection in order to provide more room for maneuver to the entrepreneurs of the municipality.Modification of tax ordinancesIn addition, the Government Team designed a modification of the tax ordinances that directly benefited 4,325 merchants, hoteliers and small businessmen.

In this way, the tax for special use of land for public use with tables and chairs and the tax for special use or private use of public roads with weekly markets were not settled during the period of non-occupation, which had an economic impact estimated 175,000 euros (for tables and chairs) and 133,340 euros (for weekly markets).In addition, 50% of the applicable rates for the second half of the year were reduced in both rates.

This implied an estimated economic impact of 516,250 euros (for tables and chairs) and 200,010 euros (for weekly markets).The reduction in the rate of the table and chair rate benefited 675 taxpayers and the weekly markets to 2,100 licensees.Likewise, the premises affected by the cessation of activity as a result of the declaration of the state of alarm could benefit from the minimum fee of 29.96 euros for garbage collection.

The application was agreed for a two-month period, time equivalent to the effective closing period.

The estimated economic impact of these measures is 335,434 euros.

Source: Ayuntamiento de Murcia