The Local Government Board of Alicante has approved a new interpretative criterion concerning the municipal urban planning regulations, specifically the current General Urban Planning Plan (PGOU). This new guideline addresses activities related to the rental of luggage lockers and package services linked to last-mile logistics within commercial use.
Antonio Peral, the city’s Urban Planning councillor, explained, "This regulation allows for these activities to be located on the ground floors of residential buildings where commercial use is compatible, provided they are intended for direct public service and meet specific requirements.”
The criterion categorises luggage lockers and package services as tertiary-commercial use, given their nature of providing services directly to end-users, as long as they adhere to a series of stipulations. Consequently, these activities will not be classified as storage or logistics operations associated with industrial use, provided their operations are limited to the described services and do not involve functions typical of storage, classification, or distribution centres.
The objectives of establishing this criterion include:
- Providing legal security to operators of these activities and municipal services responsible for authorising and supervising their implementation.
- Standardising the interpretation of the General Plan to prevent contradictory decisions.
- Facilitating the development of these new economic activities by adapting the interpretation of planning to current realities.
- Preventing the establishment of incompatible storage or logistics activities disguised as small businesses.
- Ensuring adequate conditions for safety and accessibility.
Activities involving luggage lockers for tourists and package services linked to last-mile logistics represent service modalities that, due to their emergence and evolution, lack specific urban planning regulations within the PGOU. This necessitates the establishment of an interpretative criterion to determine their urban classification and ensure a uniform application of municipal regulations.
Urban Planning officials have conducted an analysis of the characteristics and operations of both activities to establish criteria that differentiate them from industrial storage uses and align them with the tertiary-commercial use regulated in Article 95 of the PGOU, as opposed to the industrial use outlined in Article 97.
Luggage lockers
Luggage lockers are defined as establishments intended for the temporary deposit and custody of suitcases, luggage, and other personal effects through individual lockers, which users access and utilise directly, typically via automated opening and payment systems. The lockers must be of reduced dimensions and exclusively designated for the temporary custody of luggage. The establishment must comply with current accessibility regulations and possess the required hygiene and sanitary facilities.
Package and courier services
The rise of e-commerce has facilitated the establishment of new package and courier services associated with last-mile logistics, aimed at easing the delivery and collection of packages for their final recipients. Package service establishments are small businesses designated for the receipt, temporary deposit, collection, and delivery of packages to their intended recipients. They encompass both automated locker installations and small package reception and delivery points, provided their activities are limited to offering these services to end-users without engaging in classification, preparation, or distribution operations typical of larger logistics facilities.
These establishments must have adequate spaces for user assistance, package reception, and temporary deposit, along with the necessary hygiene and sanitary facilities. They must also comply with current accessibility regulations. In both cases, these services may be offered as complementary activities in commercial establishments that designate a separate area for them. In such instances, the locker or package activity must remain ancillary to the primary activity, with the usable area allocated to it not exceeding that of the main activity.
Although classified as commercial activities from an urban planning perspective, they are recognised to present specific risks due to the accumulation of luggage and packages. Therefore, three risk levels—low, medium, and high—are established based on the area designated for storage, with corresponding fire protection requirements applied.
