A ruling issued at the end of July dismissed one of six lawsuits filed by hospitality business owners against the regulation, approved in November 2025, which shortens operating hours for pubs and cafes and reduces the permitted area for outdoor seating. This judicial decision upholds the restrictions and encourages the governing team of the Popular Party (PP) to proceed with implementing a second ZAS in the vicinity of Castaños street.
The Association of Leisure and Restoration Venues of Alicante (Alroa) had requested the cancellation of the new ZAS's processing in June, citing over 15 months of proceedings without progress. The deputy mayor and environment councilor, Manuel Villar, acknowledged that there is no specific deadline for its activation but indicated an attempt to launch it before the current term ends next May. He explained that the approval had been postponed to gauge the response to the Old Town ZAS challenges, seeking certainty in doing things correctly.
The ruling from late July is the first to analyze the application of the Old Town ZAS in response to six central grounds of a lawsuit. This lawsuit challenged the approval by the Governing Board, an improper provisional procedure, the lack of individual notification to those affected, a defense deficit due to lack of access to reports, procedural defects (such as the absence of prior negotiations or noise maps), and the arbitrariness of the measures.
However, the judge of the Contentious-Administrative Section of the Alicante Court of Instance did not analyze these issues. She concluded the lawsuit's inadmissibility on two technical-procedural grounds: the first judicial instance is not competent to rule on a general norm, which should be resolved before the High Court of Justice of Valencia (TSJCV), and the appellant lacks active standing to file the appeal, as they did not prove they represented the business affected by the ZAS restrictions.
The Old Town ZAS remains in effect, consolidating restrictions for establishments in Plaza Quijano and the streets Virgen de Belén, San Agustín, and Montengon. Meanwhile, the neighborhood association Laderas del Benacantil is pushing for effective compliance with the measures and the implementation of others, such as double doors in establishments.
