Benidorm approves new park and garden maintenance contract "to consolidate a more sustainable model"

Benidorm City Council plenary session today unanimously approved the new contract for the maintenance of gardening and cleaning of green areas in the municipality of Benidorm. This contract has been awarded for the next five years to Actúa, Servicios y Medio Ambiente S.L., the previous successful bidder and the company that received the highest rating from the technicians, ahead of Gestión Ambiental Urbana SLU.

The Councilor for Parks and Gardens, José Ramón González de Zárate, explained that the contract includes "the maintenance of the green areas of the municipality, such as urban parks, landscaped areas, street trees, floral structures, public schools, planters, various green spaces, peri-urban parks, temporary gardening work, sports areas, and other areas designated as green spaces, including the two municipal cemeteries."

He also highlighted that one of the significant aspects of the new contract is "the incorporation of the maintenance of El Moralet Park, which represents an increase of 74.44 hectares to the existing area of parks and gardens in the municipality." This brings the total area covered by the contract to 1,738,718.59 square meters, compared to just under 830,000 square meters in the previous contract.

The budget for the new Parks and Gardens contract amounts to €10,567,319.60 for the next five years, bringing the annual cost to €2,113,463.92. The councillor stated that with today's step, "we have completed a great deal of work and effort for the good of the city" and expressed confidence that "this contract will improve the green areas, trees, landscaping, and shaded areas. In other words, we will contribute to a more friendly and comfortable city."

González de Zárate admitted that "it's probably not the ideal contract," but asserted that "it's the cheapest for parks and gardens in all of Spain." In this regard, he went on to emphasise that "we have taken a firm step toward consolidating a more sustainable model, a comprehensive strategy that responds to and reflects our commitment to the future of our environment and quality of life." The PP councillor insisted that, at present, green areas "are no longer mere decorative elements but essential infrastructure."

He also noted that the city has experienced "a significant increase in green areas in recent years, with many new parks and more than 9,000 trees in public spaces. These are realities." "But this is not the end," he added, because "we are carrying out many more projects with important green areas."

The new contract will require a "much more ambitious" technical and operational response, something contemplated in the new contract, "with more human and material resources and prioritising energy efficiency criteria." “With the new contract, we are moving from traditional gardening to sustainable gardening thanks to the rational use of resources, the reduction of the carbon footprint, the promotion of regenerative techniques, and the restoration of degraded areas. In short, sustainability is not an option; it is a priority,” she concluded.

With the unanimous vote of the entire Corporation, the plenary session accepted the donation of part of the legacy of the priest and researcher Luis Duart i Alabarta by his niece and heir, María de los Desamparados Biosca Mora, known locally as Amparito, through whom he arrived in Benidorm seven decades ago. The Councillor for Historical and Cultural Heritage, Ana Pellicer, recalled the importance of the figure of the man who was the parish priest in Benidorm from October 1950 until his death on January 3, 1983, as his pastoral work was always accompanied by extensive study and research on the archaeology and local and ecclesiastical history of Benidorm. He also explained that his niece, who inherited this material since Duart's death, is donating it to the City Council "with the hope that it will be incorporated into our city's historical heritage and, through it, to leave a record of the pastoral work, research, and love of archaeology that accompanied Don Luis Duart throughout his life."

Among the donated pieces are three Roman-era amphorae from the Tossal de la Cala site, which have been catalogued, establishing their origin, depending on the case, between the last third of the 2nd century BC and the first two-thirds of the 2nd century BC. They were made in the production workshops in the Strait of Gibraltar and the area of influence of the city of Tarraco; 16 manuscripts of historical works prepared by the parish priest and historian; 71 personal photographs; typewritten cards on different study subjects (History, Botany, Religion, Medicine, etc.); press and magazine clippings with articles related to his professional and historical activity; 30 magazines specializing in numismatics; 192 books on historical and religious topics; and eight handwritten notebooks. All of this, as has already been done with the amphorae, "will now also be catalogued and inventoried by qualified personnel, to be incorporated into the Municipal Archive's documentary collection and the Benidorm museum collection," the councillor explained.

Furthermore, Pellicer emphasised that, from now on, "all the material will be available to researchers, allowing these collections to be known and valued, thereby bringing our historical and cultural heritage closer to the people of Benidorm and all those who visit the city." He also recalled that this Monday, July 28th, is International Archaeology Day, and that exactly one year ago, the Don Luis Duart i Alabarta room at the Boca del Calvari Museum was named after him, and the passageway in El Castell was inaugurated in his name, thus fulfilling two motions from 2010 and 2013.

Finally, as did the two spokespersons for the other municipal groups and Mayor Toni Pérez himself, he publicly thanked Amparito, who was present at the plenary session, for making this donation so that "this legacy may become the heritage of all Benidorm residents."

During the plenary session, two motions submitted by the Councillor for Citizen Security, Jesús Carrobles, were also unanimously approved to initiate the process of granting distinctions and decorations by the Generalitat Valenciana (Generalitat Valenciana) to two officers of the Benidorm Local Police Force. The first of these was to request public congratulations for Officer Ramón Agüero Veitch for his intervention on April 25 of this year, when "thanks to his knowledge of English, patience, and attitude, after more than an hour of conversation and gestures to gain his trust, he managed to prevent a British citizen determined to commit suicide from doing so," the councilor explained.

The award of the Police Merit Cross with Blue Badge has also been requested for local police officer Juan Carlos Costa Gómez, "for outstanding achievement and perseverance in the performance of his duties, constituting exemplary conduct; having served more than 10 years as a Local Police Officer and having received two individual Public Commendations," Carrobles stated. The councillor congratulated both officers for their conduct and behaviour in the provision of their services.

In terms of urban planning, the plenary session approved, with the vote in favour of the entire City Council, an urban development agreement with a reservation of use, signed on February 17, 2025, between the Benidorm City Council and the representative of the Cortés Roig Charitable Foundation. Specifically, as explained by the Councillor for Urban Planning, Lourdes Caselles, this involves the transfer to the City Council of a 90.87 square meter plot designated as a public road, to execute the project for the layout of a new roundabout between Avenida del Doctor Severo Ochoa and Camino de los Torreros. The councillor explained that this is the last pending procedure for the execution of this project.

Two other items that have also been approved are an out-of-court recognition of credits and the omission of the auditing function for invoices corresponding to previous years, amounting to €203,052.14, as well as the approval of invoices under plenary jurisdiction in which the auditing function has been omitted, amounting to €541,162.40, as explained by the Councilor for Finance, Aída García Mayor. Both points, as the councillor explained, have been "duly informed by the technicians of the corresponding areas and have their approval," while also indicating that these are "invoices from suppliers and for basic services provided to the public, duly informed and with prices adjusted to the services provided." In this case, both motions were approved with the PP councillors voting in favour, the PSOE voting against, and Vox abstaining.

The proposal by the Councillor for Urban Planning, Lourdes Caselles, to approve the project to modify the N-332 highway interchange and its connection with Avenida Comunitat Valenciana, known as the Discotecas Road, was unanimously approved. The modification to the project entails an additional cost of €2,421,997.70, as well as an extension of the deadline for completion of the works, which has been set at 343 days. According to Caselles, the modification is due to "various non-substantial circumstances," including requirements from the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ) and the Valencian Regional Government Railways (FGV). Specifically, an underpass will be required, along with improvements to the sewage and drinking water network. The project, with the approved modification, will total €18,587,744.36 and is expected to be completed in July 2026.

Caselles clarified that the contract modification does not exceed 15% of the initial budget, "and that it has the approval of the Ministry of Public Works," and added that these are "supra-municipal demands and requirements, from organisations that always come to Benidorm to demand more."

In economic matters, a budget modification worth €2,154,854.98 was also approved today by a majority vote for expenses with earmarked funding, which are those financed with specific revenues. "From this treasury surplus, two modifications have been made this year to incorporate part of the surplus into the current year and provide credit for projects such as the third phase of the Levante catenary, the drafting of the Paseo de Colón slope project, new niches in the cemetery, the price revision of Infiesto Street, the renaturalization of Els Tolls, etc." The Councilor for Finance, Aida García Mayor, stated that the treasury surplus "can only be used to finance investments, and all the investments that will be made with this money are significant."

She was also informed of the reports from the municipal legal department regarding the filing of an appeal for protection before the Constitutional Court against the ruling of June 5 of the APR-7 ruling.