The Orihuela plenary meeting will take place for the first time in its history at the Playa Flamenca Town Hall in Orihuela Costa.
The November session will be held next Thursday 27th November at 9:15 a.m. at the municipal facilities in Playa Flamenca. At the same time, the Party for the Independence of Orihuela Costa (PIOC) has called for a demonstration at the same time to ‘denounce the neglect, inequality and lack of institutional consideration suffered by the Costa’.
The organisers point out that, although the coast contributes more than €60 million annually, it receives barely €30 million in services and investment. In contrast, they highlight that in the city of Orihuela, more than £15 million has been invested in just two years in multiple museums, cultural centres, orchestras, conservatories, dance schools and numerous cultural activities, in addition to the purchase and renovation of properties and subsidies. The protesters claim: ‘In Orihuela Costa, with a comparable population, nothing has been invested and we do not enjoy the benefits that the city enjoys.’
They insist that ‘if we pay the same taxes, we demand the same services’, and complain that they pay ‘one of the highest waste collection taxes in Spain, but the cleaning service is clearly insufficient’. They also point out that the council has not responded to written requests for a reduction in the tax submitted by more than a thousand residents, despite its legal obligation to do so. Information points will therefore be set up to collect signatures and send them to Europe in order to request a reduction in the tax.
They conclude that ‘the residents of Orihuela Costa continue to be under the authority of a council 35 kilometres away that belittles us and classifies us as third-class citizens without rights’.
The previous protest took place in May, coinciding with the meetings of the X and XI district councils of Orihuela Costa, which were convened after a five-month delay and were well attended.
United for the Coast Association
On the other hand, the United for the Coast association, a leader in neighbourhood activism with more than a thousand members and almost 12,000 followers on Facebook, is attending the event with a change in its leadership.
Tomás Moreno, the former president who led the organisation for more than five years, announced his retirement before the election of the new board, arguing that it was time for a generational change so that the association could continue to grow and channel citizens' demands.
The new president, María José Sánchez Crespo, a former member of the board and of the association since its inception, demands not only political gestures, but concrete investments and results.
Its objective is to invest in proportion to what is collected. It is essential to solve problems in cleaning, waste management, maintenance of infrastructure, parks, beaches, and educational centres.
She points out that the coast is no longer just a holiday destination; there is a stable population that requires services. With almost 30,000 registered residents and an estimated 60,000 regular residents, there is a huge need for improvement in basic services such as schools and public health centres.
Ahead of the municipal elections in May 2027, the new president will focus on facilitating registration and promoting strategic voting. Although the association claims to be apolitical, it has announced that it will support a coastal party that guarantees the representation of the interests of the coast and puts an end to decades of neglect.
