Inventech responds

In the past, everything was called Activity License, but nowadays this has changed and they are classified differently according to their nature. There are usually three types of activities, ranging from less complicated to more complicated. The simplest activities that are processed would be the Harmless, the following would be those that are processed as Responsible Environmental Declaration and those that are made by Environmental License. The way in which your activity is classified as one or the other is the same throughout the Valencian Community and is set out in Law 6/2014, of 25 July, on Prevention, Quality and Environmental Control of Activities in the Valencian Community.. (https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2014-9626). Each municipality will have on its web page or electronic office with the specific procedures to be carried out in its City Hall. I recommend that the first thing you should do is to call your City Hall, ask for Urbanism and talk to the Activities technician. You tell him the address of the premises where you want to start your activity so that he can tell you if it is compatible or not. Then you will have to contact a technical engineer to process the rest of the DOCUMENTATION since you have to submit plans, a memory and a lot of other files.

In principle, a small store will be processed under the innocuous activity regime, so the necessary formalities for its legalization will be quite simple. Each municipality uses different templates and procedures, but in general it is necessary to fill in standard templates, make some small plans, a small report indicating schedules, IAE, workers, etc. Afterwards, everything must be registered through the electronic office by means of an electronic certificate or similar. You will have to talk to a technical engineer to study the corrective measures to be implemented but I advance you that it will be at least one fire extinguisher every 80 m2 approximately, ventilation and emergency lights.

A restaurant and a hotel are among the most “cumbersome” activities, since they involve a lot of bureaucracy and the minimum procedure for the activity will be the Responsible Declaration. In addition to the activity project, you will probably need to present an electrical and climate project and justify the Technical Building Code. Provide toilets and accessible route, ramp if there is a step at the entrance….. In any case, as always, the first thing to do is to request the urban compatibility report from the town hall so that they can tell you if you can set up your business there or not. Then, with the help of a technician, you will have to prepare the necessary documentation that will give security to you… and to future users! Although sometimes the regulations are uncomfortable, think that complying with them will protect you in the future in case of any mishap.

The industrial buildings are regulated by the RSCIE Royal Decree 2267/2004, of December 3, which approves the fire safety regulations in industrial establishments and it is very important to inform you well with a specialized engineer about a lot of things like the maximum area allowed for your type of building or sector, maximum allowable fire load, evacuation routes, fire systems required, fireproofing etc.. As an entrepreneur you need to understand this Royal Decree well because it is of vital importance to do things right from the beginning and then there will be no unpleasant surprises.

These centers need a special procedure with the Health Department as they have their own legislation and this requires very specific distributions and elements so, in addition to the procedures with the City Council, you will have to carry out the relevant procedures with the Health Department.

I think we all know the consequences of an electrical failure. It is essential that just as we all understand that structures must be calculated, installations must be understood as a structure of cables that each one will support certain intensities, so they must be correctly dimensioned and under the applicable regulations. Fires are dangerous, not only for investments but, above all and fundamentally, for people. The Spanish Association of Fire Protection Societies lists electrical fires as one of the main causes of fires in buildings. Let’s do things right!

We see many times that the municipalities request to have the legalization in industry of the climate installations since as soon as we go over 3kW we have to present a Technical Design Report or a project and the installer must issue a certificate of the installation. If the installer is not authorized, he will not be able to do it and therefore the thermal installation cannot be legalized and will have to be dismantled, so be careful with whom you hire! Cheap is expensive.