Benidorm launches the tender process for the hostel and camping of ​​Parc de la Séquia Mare, with the aim of opening it next autumn

Benidorm City Council, in an extraordinary session this Thursday, approved initiating the contracting process for the concession of the youth hostel, campsite, and bar/restaurant in Séquia Mare Park. The aim is to open this facility and leisure area by next autumn. The proposal, submitted to the plenary session by the councillors for Contracting and Youth, Aida García Mayor and Ana Soliveres, establishes that the Benidorm City Council will provide this service, competing with private initiatives and operating it through an indirect management contract for a period of ten years. This is due to the need to "have a specialised company with experience in organising this type of activity, with qualified personnel, and with the enthusiasm to develop a Youth Centre with great future potential."

García Mayor explained that this is the “first step towards the commissioning” of this infrastructure, which is expected to open in October. This is why it has been added to the agenda as a matter of urgency, once all the accompanying technical reports have been finalised. He also emphasised that the operation of the José Antonio Añón Ramón hostel and campsite is “a diverse activity, primarily aimed at the enjoyment of children and young people,” and that the City Council “intends to develop recreational and educational activities, ensuring a complete stay that includes overnight accommodation and meals” for visitors. Regarding the planned ten-year concession period, this duration was established “due to the significant financial and human investment required to put such a large-scale facility into operation from the outset, and we want it to function, and function well.”

She also argued that the campsite and youth hostel, along with the restoration of the area where the Parc de la Séquia Mare is located, “has breathed new life into a green space in Benidorm that, under previous administrations, was a dumping ground.” She further noted that its development, financed with European funds, “will allow residents to enjoy this space and these new services at virtually no cost to the people of Benidorm.”

The proposal includes a legal and economic feasibility study, which supports the future drafting of the tender specifications, according to the Councillor for Contracting. She also explained that these administrative specifications, which will govern the operation of this service, “are already at a very advanced stage of drafting by the technical staff,” allowing them to be submitted to the full council soon. The initiation of this procedure was approved with the support of the 16 councillors from the Popular Party and Vox, and with the abstention of the eight councillors from the Socialist group.

The council also approved the tender for the new cleaning contract for public buildings and schools in the town. The proposal passed with votes in favour from the People's Party and Vox, and votes against from the Socialist municipal group. The Councillor for Public Space, Francis Muñoz, explained that this new contract, with a budget of approximately €16 million for two years plus a two-year extension option, covers more than 70 municipal buildings and facilities. These include nearly 20 schools whose cleaning is the responsibility of the City Council; the five municipal social centres; the five administrative extensions; sports facilities; cultural buildings; public restrooms; the City Hall itself; and the El Torrejó municipal centre. Thus, “we have increased the number of centers and spaces covered by the cleaning contract by more than 20 compared to the previous one,” explained Muñoz, who added that, in addition to cleaning all these spaces and buildings, the contract also includes a basic maintenance service intended to “provide a rapid response to minor incidents that may arise in the day-to-day operations of these facilities and contribute to a better state of conservation of municipal buildings.”

On this point, it is worth noting that the tender specifications for the service also detail the minimum fleet of vehicles and machinery that the service, which currently employs approximately 140 people, must have. “We are going to have a high-quality contract, with maximum efficiency and effectiveness, for the municipal buildings,” said Muñoz, who also highlighted that the tender document arrives at the plenary session “with all the favorable reports from the municipal technicians,” guaranteeing that “it will be tendered with total transparency and security at the time of its award, so we expect that there will be many offers to have the best service.”

Industrial Estate

In urban planning matters, two issues related to the development of the PP 3/1 industrial estate were unanimously approved. The first was the resolution of the appeals filed against the decision to terminate Terra Village's status as the development agent for the sector. The second concerned the approval of the final settlement of the sector's development plan, which the owners must pay to the former developer, amounting to €4,940,342.68.

Regarding the first point, the spokesperson and Councillor for Urban Planning, Lourdes Caselles, recalled that the development of the PP 3/1 sector was awarded to Terra Village Land in 2002 and that in 2024, "the non-culpable termination procedure was initiated to remove its status as the development agent due to the increase in development costs." The councilwoman clarified that “the conditions established by law were met when urbanisation costs increase by more than 50%, as was the case here, reaching 80%.”

The objections presented were resolved by the full council, which declared the cancellation of the urban development program. Once this was approved, “appeals for reconsideration were filed by a company and an individual, which are the ones being resolved now.” The company requested the absolute nullity of the resolution agreement because the established deadline had passed. Caselles argued that “the technical experts indicate that the Public Sector Contracts Law applies, and that it establishes a deadline of eight months, not three as the company maintained.” The company also claimed financial liability on the part of the City Council, “but according to the technical reports, there is no liability, and therefore the request is dismissed.” Regarding the other appeal, "it was understood that there was a culpable resolution due to the time elapsed since the awarding of the contract, but the technicians affirm that the delay has not been due to causes attributable to the developer or the City Council, and it has also been dismissed."

However, the precautionary measure requested by the court, not to return the guarantee to the developer, has been adopted, "something we accept without any problem," Caselles concluded.

The next item, also related to sector PP 3/1, resulted in the unanimous approval of the final settlement with the developer, which, as mentioned before, has been set at 4.9 million euros. The Councilor for Urban Planning explained that "in light of measurements carried out by municipal technicians and some utility companies, the approval of certain certifications for works actually completed has resulted in the settlement being included." Similarly, the technicians also determined that "there are some items that cannot be passed on to the other owners and that correspond solely to the developer," and for this reason, some of the developer's claims have been dismissed.