Linea Directa 200 LEFT COL CAR INSURANCE

PROPERTY SEARCH

Date Published: 27/09/2023

Orihuela Costa green areas left running wild due to ongoing anti-fraud investigation

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

The Alicante coastal resort has raised more concerns over the state of the roads, rubbish collection and the lack of a pedestrian bridge

Orihuela Costa green areas left running wild due to ongoing anti-fraud investigation

The cooler weather usually heralds a flourish of outdoor activity in the Orihuela Costa as gardeners busy themselves pruning overgrown trees and weeding playgrounds that have been neglected during the scorching summer months. But this year, the public parks and green areas along Alicante’s southern coast will go untended until a fraud allegation surrounding the granting of contracts is resolved.

For locals, this situation will have uncomfortable echoes of the beach bar debacle, another contracting mess that meant the area’s beaches were left without any facilities whatsoever throughout the high season.

This time around, the problem is with some “alleged irregularities” detected in the tender process and while the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency is investigating, the new five-year maintenance contract, worth 10 million euros, won’t be issued.

Overgrown parks and playgrounds are the least of the troubles bothering residents of the Orihuela Costa, however, and earlier in the summer the Cabo Roig y Lomas Neighbourhood Association (AVCRL) met with councillor Manuel Mestre and demanded an urgent shock plan to tackle the many ongoing issues.

Among the main concerns are the state of the roads around Villamartín and the pruning of palm trees throughout the Costa, which hasn’t been carried out for two years. The group has also asked Orihuela Council to carry out long-needed repairs at La Caleta beach in Cabo Roig and to finally greenlight the pedestrian bridge over a lethal stretch of the AP7 near Lomas de Cabo Roig.

For its part, the council has agreed to reopen the Aguamarina cliff-top promenade, but prompt rubbish collection and street cleaning still leaves a lot to be desired.

The Association has complained about “the lack of specific dates and commitments by the Coast Council, despite its good intentions and interest, to immediately carry out the measures included in our proposed shock plan,” which the group believes would lead to “a change of image and things starting to work in Orihuela Costa”.

Also of interest: Long-awaited toilets already removed from packed Orihuela Costa beaches

Images: AVCRL

Linea Directa Bottom Article A-L CAR INSURANCE

Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox

Special offer: Subscribe now for 25% off (36.95 euros for 48 Bulletins)