The plenary session unanimously approves granting the 'European Recognition' to Enrique Ballester Chofre

The Benidorm City Council plenary session unanimously approved the "European Recognition" to businessman Enrique Ballester Chofre. This recognition is given by the City Council to individuals, institutions, or organisations distinguished for their contribution to continental cohesion, coinciding with Europe Day, commemorated on May 9. The recognition, presented to the plenary session by the Board of Spokespersons at the proposal of Mayor Toni Pérez, defines Ballester as "an example of integration and service to the community."

Born on May 8, 1943, in Algiers, French Algeria, where his family had settled years earlier after completing a migration process common at the time, Enrique Ballester is "a Benidorm native born there, to parents from here." His childhood and adolescence were spent in Algiers, where he lived until the end of June 1962, amid the country's decolonisation process following the War of Independence. The Ballester Chofre family, like a million other Europeans, left Algeria for Marseille, and from there to Paris, where Enrique enrolled at the Business School.

In 1965, he moved to Benidorm, joining the real estate business his father had started shortly before, in the wake of the city's tourism and urban development. Together, he would build several iconic developments and buildings from the second half of the 1960s, such as the Ensenada, Rincón Español, Odeman, Ílice, Copacabana, and Flecha complexes. He later diversified his professional activity, expanding into other business sectors such as the automotive, nautical, restaurant, and leisure industries, creating more than a hundred jobs in Benidorm.

On a personal level, Enrique Ballester Chofre has raised and watched his family grow in the city, instilling in his four children and four grandchildren his love for Benidorm that he has demonstrated since making the municipality his home 60 years ago. During this time, he has always stood out for his altruistic nature and commitment to social causes, highlighting his involvement with the Doble Amor Center and the promotion of actions of interest and community impact through the Rotary Club, an organization of which he was founding president in 1994 and which he led again from 2014 to 2015. He is also involved in Benidorm's social and festive life, serving as mayor on several occasions and as president of the Festival Commission in 1987.

However, the proposal agreed upon by the Board of Spokespersons and ratified by the plenary session states that "since arriving in the city six decades ago, Enrique Ballester Chofre has made Benidorm his home, his home, being a true example of integration and service to the community," reasons that make him worthy of this 'Europe 2025 Distinction'. The presentation of this recognition will take place at the institutional event commemorating Europe Day, which the Benidorm City Council will celebrate on May 9.

The plenary session also unanimously approved the Participatory Budget Self-Regulation code for 2026, previously approved by the Neighbourhood Council. Councillor Ana Pellicer emphasised that it is "a great tool for highlighting participatory democracy." Each year, the participatory budget seeks to adapt municipal investments to the demands of residents, "which are then evaluated by experts to determine their feasibility," she said.

Pellicer indicated that since 2015, thanks to the investments proposed by the participatory budget, it has been possible to "improve accessibility, have a new pedestrian walkway, accessible sidewalks, the Western pedestrian walkway, the removal of elements that hindered pedestrian mobility, an exit to Villajoyosa Avenue, lowered intersections, parks for adults and children have been created and remodeled, as well as bio-healthy elements, new public spaces in Finca Barrina, the renovation of lighting and urban elements, a large children's play area and 'agility' area for pets has been opened on Marina Baixa Avenue, and many more actions."

At the meeting, the continuation of the service contract for the operation and maintenance of the Benidorm WWTP's sanitation and treatment system with the company Aquambiente Servicios para el Sector del Agua SAU was approved with the favourable vote of all groups in the City Council. The Councillor for Water Cycle, José Ramón González de Zárate, described continuity as "fundamental" because it is "a priority for the treatment plant and an essential service for the city." The councillor clarified that after the new specifications are available, the contract will return to the plenary session for approval.

Also unanimously approved was a proposal submitted to the plenary session by the Councillor for Mobility, Francis Muñoz, to transform an ordinary conventional taxi license into an adapted taxi license for people with reduced mobility. The councilor emphasized that "the current number of adapted vehicles is insufficient to meet the existing demand of both residents and tourists visiting our city" and that the transformation of ordinary taxi licenses into vehicles adapted for people with reduced mobility is "an initiative that provides multiple social and economic benefits, as it promotes inclusion, improves the quality of life of people with disabilities, and strengthens the social responsibility of the transportation sector." Francis Muñoz advocated "promoting policies and programs that facilitate and encourage this transformation" and encouraged more drivers of this taxi service to join the movement.

In this ordinary session for the month of April, the plenary session also approved the tendering of the new municipal contract for the maintenance of parks and gardens, with a base tender budget of €10,578,956.43 and an expected contract duration of five years. The councilor for the area, José Ramón González de Zárate, pointed out that one of the most significant aspects of the new contract is the incorporation of maintenance of the El Moralet urban park, which represents an increase of 74.44 hectares to the existing area of ​​parks and gardens in the municipality. The total area subject to the contract is 1,738,718.59 square meters, compared to just under 830,000 square meters included in the previous contract. This area includes urban parks, garden areas, street trees, planters, floral structures, public schools, street green spaces, temporary gardening work, peri-urban parks, landscaping of all sports areas, and other municipal areas equipped and designated as green spaces, including the two municipal cemeteries. The Councilor for Parks and Gardens stated that in recent years, "we have tried to make the city more friendly, planting a plant, a tree, wherever we could," doubling the city's green area in eight years. He also noted that the tender for this service "was drawn up by the University of Alicante, improves the quality of the current service, and gives us room to make the city increasingly friendly, more welcoming, and more comfortable."

González de Zárate noted that the work carried out in environmental matters in recent years has brought Benidorm national and international recognition, and he maintained that this tender "will continue to maintain the quality of the service." The proposal was approved with the favourable votes of the 16 councillors from the Popular Party group and the Vox councillor, compared to the abstentions of the seven Socialist councillors.

Rejection of Planned Judicial Cuts in Benidorm Courts

Another point that was passed with the support of the 16 PP councilors and a Vox councilor, and the dissenting vote of the PSOE, is the motion presented by the Popular Party municipal group to "demand that the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice, and Parliamentary Relations reverse the initiative to abolish a Benidorm Court of First Instance and convert it into a Violence Against Women Section and strengthen this section with the appointment of a new judge for Benidorm, without any abolition of positions." Deputy spokesperson Mónica Gómez argued that this is "a request made by the local government of Benidorm in defense of the interests of the citizens of Benidorm, because what is at stake is the safety of our city and the provision of good services in the justice system."

Gómez recalled that judges, judicial officers, prosecutors, and everyone working in the justice system in our city are against the abolition of this Investigation Court and that all these groups "have written to the Ministry and asked the City Council and the 25 councilors of this Corporation to support them in this demand," because "it is inconceivable that Benidorm would go from having five to three Investigation Courts in recent years, a direct detriment to citizens and victims of crime, who will experience slower and more delayed justice if this measure is implemented."

Furthermore, several matters were reported to the plenary session, such as the settlement of the General Budget for the 2024 financial year; the Supreme Court's Order of inadmissibility for processing of appeal number 7167/204 and the Decree of the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community declaring final judgment no. 343 dated May 23, 2024, issued in appeal no. 237/2022. APR7; of the intervention report of April 16, 2025, which has as its subject "Evaluation of compliance with the objectives of Budgetary Stability, the Spending Rule, Financial Sustainability and commercial debt in the terms of Organic Law 2/2012, of April 27, on Budgetary Stability and budgetary sustainability, given the Liquidation of the General Budget for the year 2024 of the City Council; and of Decree No. 1372/2025, dated April 3, 2025, on the Extension of the delegation in matters of Payments to be justified, published in the BOP No. 76 of April 23, 2025.