The municipal plenary session of the Orihuela Town Council for the month of November will be held for the first time in history in the town hall offices on the coast.
This decision has been taken in the context of relentless complaints from citizens, associations such as Unidos por la Costa, parents' associations and the Partido Independencia Orihuela Costa (PIOC), who are demanding equal attention and investment in both the urban centre and the coastal areas of the municipality.
For this reason, the latter have called for a protest on the esplanade in front of the Town Hall on the coast, just at the start of the penultimate plenary meeting of the year, scheduled for next Thursday, 27 November, at 9:15 a.m.
The municipal plenary session of the Orihuela Town Council for the month of November will be held for the first time in history in the premises
PIOC appeals to the weariness of residents to achieve widespread attendance at its appeal with the aim of publicly exposing the neglect, disparity of treatment and lack of institutional consideration suffered by Orihuela Costa.
Neighbourhood demands
Among their main demands, the residents highlight the following aspects:
- ‘We contribute more than 60 million euros annually, yet we only receive less than 30 million for public services and investments.’
- "Meanwhile, in Orihuela city, in a period of just two years, more than 15 million has been spent on more than a dozen museums, cultural centres, two symphony orchestras, a conservatory, a dance academy, and more than a hundred cultural events per year; including the acquisition and restoration of buildings, subsidies, festivities, etc., in Orihuela Costa, despite having an equivalent population, there has been no investment whatsoever and we do not have any of the resources that Orihuela city benefits from."
- ‘We pay a waste collection tax that is among the highest in Spain, but the urban sanitation service is notoriously inadequate. More than a thousand citizens have requested a rebate in writing, and the council has not responded to any of them, despite their legal obligation to do so.’
The inhabitants of the Costa emphasise that they experience marginalisation in the administrative sphere and declare: ‘The citizens of Orihuela Costa continue to be subject to the authority of a council located 35 kilometres away, which ignores us and treats us as second-class residents. If we contribute the same taxes, we demand equal services.’
Demands from parents of students
FOCA (Families of Orihuela Costa in Action) has sent us the most urgent needs so that children and young people on our coast can study and grow up in a healthy environment:
- another school and another brick-and-mortar secondary school (this is our top priority as the current ones are overwhelmed),
- a sports hall,
- a library
Our coast needs to be self-managed
It is abundantly clear that it makes no sense to continue to be governed by those who, from a distance, are unaware of the real needs of our coast and who, for so many years, have shown a lack of concern for providing solutions. We will continue to call on our residents to unite and fight for our rights.
