Benidorm will install new shaded areas in the city's playgrounds

Benidorm City Council, through the Department of Parks and Gardens, will increase the shaded areas in the city's children's parks to improve the enjoyment of the youngest users and their well-being when they use these facilities.

To this end, the council has awarded a contract that will allow the installation of these shaded areas in these areas throughout the municipal area. "It was something that users had been demanding on several occasions and we believe that it will improve the conditions of use of the parks, especially the swing areas where the youngest usually play" said councillor José Ramón González de Zárate, who added that "although we prefer that the shaded areas be thanks to natural vegetation and trees, there are times when this is not possible and that is why we are going to carry out these actions".

González de Zárate has specified that the work has already been done previously in several parks “and we will soon continue with the rest” so it is expected that the new shaded areas will be completely installed “throughout September and October”. The installation consists of metal columns anchored to the ground to which sail-shaped canvases are attached in charge of projecting shade.

The work in question has been made possible thanks to the recent budget modification to invest in issues necessary for the city, such as these shaded areas in children's parks”. In principle the installations will be located in the swing areas “because we want to give priority to the youngest, users between two and six years old, who can suffer the effects of the heat to a greater extent”. In total, about 200 square metres of shade will be installed, according to the councillor.

González de Zárate has emphasized that this intervention has been possible due to the budget modification approved in the plenary session and recalled that “the socialist group voted against it, against something that is a direct investment in the city”. The Councilor for Parks and Gardens has regretted that the attitude of the PSOE “does not represent the people of Benidorm because they consider that the worse things go for the city, the better for them”. “We, on the contrary, believe that the best thing is to have a city that is comfortable and friendly for everyone” he concluded.

The budget modification to which González de Zárate referred was approved in the ordinary plenary session in June and through it, the savings obtained in 2023, estimated at almost 10.8 million, were incorporated into the budget for this year. This money will be allocated to a greater extent to social spending and to boosting the local economy, as is the case of the #BenidormTeDaMás vouchers, which will have 1.7 million euros to complement the Provincial Council's subsidy of 645,174 euros. It will also be directed to necessary actions demanded by residents, such as the new shaded areas in children's parks.