Benidorm reinforces social and infrastructure investments in the first 100 days of the government

Benidorm government has completed today its first 100 days in office after the takeover of the local corporation on June 17, following the municipal elections held on May 28. One hundred days in which the acquired commitments advanced by the city's mayor, Toni Pérez, have been maintained and intensified as soon as he was elected.

Those commitments had to do with the vocation to continue building “a welcoming, open, inclusive and supportive Benidorm” with a development that is based on actions based on “sustainability, innovation, accessibility, and governance” to advance “towards social, environmental and economic sustainability.” Hence, the mayor stressed today that the purpose is to “achieve accessibility at all levels” and government action is closely linked “to contact with citizens.”

In these first hundred days, the mayor indicated, the “reinforcement of social investments has continued with aid to the groups and entities that need it most, as well as the improvement and renewal of infrastructure necessary to have an increasingly better city. ”. For this reason, Pérez has described this first balance as “very positive and in complete harmony with the commitments made.”

Thus, in terms of aid, the granting of these has reached the main groups and entities in Benidorm. Among them, in these 100 days, they have been granted to vulnerable families, SMEs, and the self-employed and the funds for entrepreneurial projects have been doubled. Appropriations have also been allocated for expenses of business entities, for the purchase of school supplies, for music schools and students, for health entities and an amount has even been allocated for cooperation with developing countries. This aid chapter includes the million euros directed to the hotels that participated in the 2022 Imserso campaign.

Meanwhile, local infrastructure has continued with the same pace of improvement and renewal that had already begun years ago. About the Water Cycle, in these hundred days, an action has been initiated in Bernat de Sarrià to reduce the risk of flooding, accessibility has been improved and the infrastructure of Beniardá Avenue has been renewed, renovation works are being carried out on the pumping of wastewater on Severo Ochoa Avenue, new electric power generation motors have been installed in the WWTP and the rainwater drainage works in the Xixo and Foietes ravines have been completed.

The local public space has also experienced significant improvements and actions with the creation of a new green area in La Cala, the improvement of pedestrian accessibility on Murcia Street, maintenance and conservation actions for urban furniture, new charging points for electric vehicles (Severo Ochoa) or emblematic actions such as the commissioning of the new Levante catenary.

Equally notable are the actions that have been carried out to reduce electricity consumption and in favor of the use of renewable energies. Among them, the completion of the installation of photovoltaic panels in eight schools, in the Palau d'Esports and the Guillermo Amor sports city stands out, the latter thanks to the achievement of European funds.

Precisely, good management when it comes to obtaining money from the European Union has allowed, among other actions, to begin work on the Mediation Center, to have approved the renovation of the public space between Maravall and Jaime I streets, the acquisition of seven flats for social housing or the next actions to reinforce fires in the El Moralet area.

But, without a doubt, the most successful management in this sense has been the achievement of three million euros of Next Generation funds for the execution of a macro renaturalization project called 'Green and Water: Rooting Benidorm in its Natural Environment'. A project that includes more than 15 actions to increase green surfaces, protect the entire forest mass, and permeate the urban edge with orchard and crop areas. In short, the mayor explained, “a renaturalization project to continue making Benidorm a more resilient city against the effects of climate change.” The one from Benidorm was one of the 19 proposals selected nationally from among the 64 presented.

On the other hand, the contract for the Bus Station has also been awarded after years of litigation and the drafting of the new contract for parks and gardens and the contract for cleaning municipal buildings has begun.

Benidorm, likewise, will continue to be a reference in Europe thanks to its commitment to intelligence. For this reason, the city will be part of the European network of smart cities and will incorporate a flow monitoring system on the beaches that will make it possible to know the degree of occupancy of the beaches every day of the year. The project, which is already in the first phase of implementation, has operated during July and August on a stretch of just over 1.5 kilometers of Poniente beach.

Other areas in which notable action has been taken in these hundred days are those of Mobility and Road Cleaning with initiatives such as the reopening of the underground containers of Carrascos or campaigns to clean rural roads and cliffs, as well as other extraordinary cleaning of neighborhoods during the summer or a washing plan with reused water from private pools. In terms of Mobility, the implementation of a map of the time spent on pedestrian or bicycle trips, an intelligent parking system for bicycles, or the improvement of mobility at the confluence of Europa Avenue with Jaén Street stands out. Furthermore, in this sense, Armada Española Avenue has been reopened after the completion of the hydraulic infrastructure renovation works.
Finally, the government team has undertaken other actions that cover other areas such as the completion of 96 niches in San Jaime cemetery, the installation of new artificial grass in the field attached to Guillermo Amor stadium, the celebration of the 'Exemplary Neighbor award, the accessibility and security of the surroundings of the Ermita de la Virgen del Mar have been improved and the 'castellum' of Tossal de La Cala has been declared a Site of Cultural Interest.

Similarly, in other areas the local government has promoted the carrying out of training actions organized by the AMPAs, has renewed the lighting in the Horta area, and has managed to renew the 'Q' and 'S' flags of the ICTE for the beaches of the city, as well as innovative exhibitions, conferences, photographic exhibitions and shows included in the cultural programming.