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Date Published: 06/11/2024

Ghost of Christmas past: Orihuela Costa again left with festive budget scraps

The entire Orihuela Costa has been allocated just 21% of the total budget for Christmas lighting and events

With the festive season rapidly approaching, Orihuela Costa residents can’t help but feel like they've been left a lump of coal in their stockings. For years, the coastal community has suffered from neglect and a lack of infrastructure, and it seems this municipal government - a coalition of PP and Vox - is continuing the trend of short-changing the coast when it comes to festive funding.

Despite the token gestures of relocating Santa's village to the coast and installing a municipal Nativity scene in Playa Flamenca, locals are still feeling like they're getting the short end of the stick.

The Unidos por la Costa association is crying foul, pointing out the glaring disparity in funding between the coast and Orihuela City.

A whopping 79% of the Festivities Department's 793,672-euro budget for Christmas activities - a staggering 630,000 euros - is being lavished on the city centre, while the coast is left with a paltry 163,000, a mere 21% of the total.

“There is a huge disproportion,” the association argues, “when, due to its importance, surface area and population, Orihuela Costa deserves much more.

Sadly, this is nothing new. Following a wave of budget cuts in 2023, the Christmas activities along the coast left plenty to be desired. The highly-anticipated Santa Claus parade in particular was a huge disappointment, with cheap-looking floats and defective costumes.

And for several years now, the festive lighting in popular tourist areas like La Zenia and Cabo Roig has been underwhelming to say the least.

Now, it looks as though Christmas 2024 will be just as bad in Orihuela Costa. The numbers are stark. While the city centre is getting 245,400 euros for festive lighting, the coast is scraping by with a paltry 61,867 euros.

Moreover, Orihuela city's parade is budgeted at 154,940 euros, while the coast's is a fraction of that at 52,756 euros. And when it comes to street activities, the city is getting 134,310, while the coast gets a big fat zero.

Once we get over the Christmas period, 2025 doesn’t look much better as the coast has again been shafted in the annual budget, despite bringing in the lion’s share of the region’s income.

“At least half of the municipal budget's income comes from taxes paid by the residents of the coast,” Unidos por la Costa points out. Figures that “contrast very negatively with the low return to the coast in the form of minimally decent services and infrastructure.”

Frustrations are running high along the coast with virtually no improvements made even though the new government team has been in power for more than a year and a half.

One of the major issues is the inadequate rubbish collection, with broken-down trucks, overflowing bins and a lack of new ones, as well as the long-awaited eco-park, which is not expected to arrive until the middle of next year.

The Ramblas are also in a state of disrepair and Unidos por la Costa is urging the authorities to take urgent action to clean up the waters following a recent tragedy in Valencia.

Furthermore, the railings at Playa Flamenca and the promenade from Cala Capitán to Cala Bosque are in a state of ruin, which is particularly concerning given the area's high tourist population.

Additionally, the expansion of the local health centre has stalled, putting the project at risk of being lost.

Image: Freepik

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