For nearly a decade, the hospitality establishment at the Vitoria-Gasteiz bus station had been operating without a license for its outdoor seating area, a period almost as long as the terminal itself has been open in the Lakua neighborhood.

The municipal group Elkarrekin sought explanations on this "unpleasant surprise" during the Public Space committee meeting this past Wednesday. Councilor Beatriz Artolazabal confirmed the situation was true, attributing it to an administrative error that has now been rectified with appropriate measures, thus "regularizing" the status.

"Ten years ago, when the concession for this cafeteria was approved, it was understood that the license was automatically included in the tender documents, but we realized it was not," Artolazabal clarified.

After being notified, the bar submitted its application for a terrace license on February 20th to obtain the necessary municipal authorization for public space occupation with tables and chairs. The City Council processed the application on March 20th, and it was ready for collection by May 13th.

"It has been granted 15 outdoor seating spots for its operation. Therefore, we have corrected a situation that was incorrect. We have regularized this status so that it now has the license for outdoor seating," stated the Public Space councilor.

Óscar Fernández, a councilor from Elkarrekin, thanked the information provided following this "significant error." He expressed hope that "such incidents do not happen again, as they create a comparative disadvantage" for other hospitality businesses in the city. He also aims to prevent future "economic impact" on municipal coffers from lost revenue due to the uncollected fees, despite the public space being occupied.