AMBITIOUS GREEN EU GRANT BID

JAVEA council has applied for a €5.6m grant to reduce visitor saturation and improve facilities at popular tourist spots.

It hopes the EU Tourism Sustainability money will help to bring in capacity restrictions for the Els Orguens and Llop Mari caves.

A phone app will allow visitors to view in real time access availability and to make reservations.

Javea also wants EU cash to pay for the traffic controls it deploys every summer on access roads to the popular beaches of Granadella and Barraca.

The biggest spend would be on €2.5 million of improvements to busy Avenida Mediterraneo to convert it into a coastal path that would be safer for pedestrians.

Javea council also wants the EU to fund the €1.4 million conversion of the Cap de Sant Antoni lighthouse into an environmental and marine visitor centre.

A further €1.6 million would go towards energy-efficient lighting and installing information boards to raise awareness of the natural environment.

On the outside, its 12 slender pillars represent an allegory of the 12 apostles. Inside, its cement and red pine wood interior is said to represent a fishing boat, with the light penetrat - ing through the skylights in the form of jets, sliding down the pillars and giving the building its boat keel shape.

It is a must visit from 9am to 8pm all year round.