The Fuengirola Association of Bars to meet in September.

EX-PAT bar owners on the Costa del Sol are set to meet on September 7 to discuss a strategy to deal with what they consider to be unfair treatment by Local Police and Town Halls.

The Fuengirola Association of Bars has been created by Mick and Pamela Hilton, who run a bar in Los Boliches. 

Many foreign bar owners find themselves facing complaints for noise, placement of A-boards, terrace space, and other problems, but claim that their Spanish neighbours do not face the same hounding. They feel discriminated against, as if the mayor, Esperanza Oña, wants to “make Fuengirola an exclusively Spanish town and get the Brits out”.

The Fuengirola Bar Association has joined forces with Keep Music Live, another group which is campaigning for live music to be allowed in bars as local entertainers are finding it increasingly difficult to find venues to play due to the pressure of noise legislation. Although the association has been created in Fuengirola, it is open to people from all the Spanish Costas, as other branches are planned in the future.

The next meeting will be at Moo Moos Bar on September 7 at 1pm. Suppliers, Spanish bar owners, entertainers and affected individuals from all over Spain are invited.

Fuengirola Town Hall was contacted was not available for comment.

Find out more about the problems bar owners are facing on Facebook, Keep Music Alive and Fuengirola Association of Bars, as well as on the website www.fuengirolaassociationofbars.org, e-mail: barownersinspain@gmail.com or phone 610 370 210.

By Jennifer Leighfield