Orihuela reclassifies land for sports use to build more houses

The evolution of urban planning in the Las Filipinas area of Orihuela Costa has taken a crucial step forward after the Territorial Planning Commission, which is the body responsible for giving final approval to partial plans and changes to them, gave the green light to the Specific Modification of the Partial Plan for sector O-1.

The ruling, which was accepted by consensus and made public on Tuesday in the Official Gazette of the Province, ratifies the alteration of the original purpose of three private sub-plots. These plots, according to the 1995 urban plan, had been reserved for a sports area, but their construction never materialised and they had been effectively unused for years.

It was the developer itself, Santa Cruz Urbana SL, that formally requested the modification of the land use. Its main argument was that keeping the land for sports use was financially unviable and that its state of disuse was deteriorating the environment.

Transfers and Social Housing

This revision will now allow for the construction of up to 45 homes on an area of 9,059.67 square metres. It also includes 1,244.36 square metres of road network, 565 square metres of green space and 436 square metres of multi-purpose facilities.

It also provides for the transfer to the City Council of 5% of the extra profit arising from the change in land use, and allocates 10% of the increase in residential buildable area resulting from the modification to the creation of public social housin

Procedure

This agreement also falls within the framework of the extension of the Strategic Environmental and Territorial Report (IATE). The City Council extended its validity until November 2026 in order to prevent the expiry of the previous environmental assessment, an essential requirement for completing the management process.

By resolution of the Councillor for Urban Planning, Matías Ruiz, the project was submitted for public participation in May 2024 and February this year, with no objections received.

The file includes a vast collection of positive sectoral opinions issued by various public entities since 2018. These include those from Cultural Heritage, Health, Educational Infrastructure, Land Use Planning and the Segura Hydrographic Confederation, which assured that the area is not at risk of flooding.

Similarly, the Regional Government certifies that the municipal management complies with the LOTUP and that the information provided by the City Council is considered exhaustive and suitable for authorising the modification of the plan.

With its publication in the BOP, the resolution comes into force immediately and makes it possible to begin the urban planning administration work for the subsequent definition and implementation of the execution unit.

An administrative appeal may be lodged against this resolution before the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community within two months, although at the moment there is no record of formal opposition to the change of use.

The final approval thus concludes an essential process to unblock the development of an area that remained without a clear purpose for three decades and can now be fully integrated into the residential fabric of Orihuela Costa.

Demanda de Servicios

Protestas de los residentes frente a la falta de infraestructuras y un abandono arraigado durante décadas en los que el gigantesco desarrollo inmobiliario no ha venido acompañado de los servicios necesarias.

Orihuela Costa covers a large area and having an industrial estate would be a great benefit to its residents, providing local industries and services. Unfortunately, officials from the Orihuela Town Council's urban planning department have informed us that there is no land left to locate it. Everything confirms that too many houses have been built, but the necessary services have not been provided.

Need for Infrastructure on the Coast

Amidst a large number of properties for tourist-residential use, there are areas on the coast of Orihuela that should have had public facilities for private use for quite some time.

Technicians already allocated plots for both public and private services in the 1990 General Urban Development Plan (PGOU), fulfilling the mission of public service and general benefit inherent to urban administration.

Many of the public facilities, which include extensive green areas, have not yet been built, while most of the private facilitie, such as health centres and sports complexes, have not been developed.

Apart from roads and landscaped areas, the most significant facilities for residents have been established through tertiary services, commerce and restaurants. Without going any further, the area is home to one of the largest shopping centres in the province.

However, public facilities such as the Town Hall, the Emergency Centre, the two primary schools, the secondary school and the only health centre in Orihuela Costa are concentrated in a few plots.