The plenary session approves the projects to link the N-332 with the industrial estate and the rehabilitation of the bullring

The plenary session of Benidorm City Council has today approved the construction projects for the connection of the N-332 road with the industrial estate and its connection with the avenue of the Valencian Community, as well as the rehabilitation of the bullring, included in the EDUSI (Sustainable and Integrative Urban Development Strategy).

Thus, unanimously, the green light has been given to the proposal to build the N-332 junction and its connection with the Comunitat Valenciana avenue, the roundabout required by the Ministry to be able to develop the industrial estate, which has been delayed in time to meet the requirements of the Ministry.

The works at this point will consist of the construction of a new junction on the N-332 with a roundabout at different levels and branches for all movements to and from the road. This link will give access to sector 3/1 of the General Urban Development Plan and the new road called 'Vial Discotecas'.

The spokesperson and councillor for Urban Planning, Lourdes Caselles, clarified that "the project is already adequate to all the requirements of the Ministry of Public Works because without this roundabout they will not let us develop the industrial sector" and has lamented that the Ministry itself "does not have taken charge of this work that corresponds to them because they are on their land”. “On the contrary, they have forced us to carry out numerous works, modifications, etc.” she has continued. She has assumed this, she has said, “that the joke amounts to 12 million euros, which rises to 19 with the construction of Vial Discotecas. It hurts a lot that the city has to pay for it and not the Ministry, which is the one that corresponds. But it has been a political decision that has forced us to pay for it ”she added.

On the other hand, with the vote of the local government, and the abstention of the opposition groups, the basic and execution project for the comprehensive rehabilitation of the bullring has been approved. The spokeswoman for the government team recalled that with this project the arena will be remodelled to expand its use as a cultural, youth, educational and social space, while a new building will be built to house the Central Library and action will be taken in the urban environment of the area.

The spokeswoman has stressed the cohesive nature of this project which, "in addition to increasing the cultural, educational and social spaces" of Benidorm, will allow "greater accessibility" and "the connection" of the neighbourhoods of Foietes-Colonia Madrid and Els Tolls -which "well deserve this investment"- and resolving the unevenness that exists concerning Parque de l'Aigüera and Austria and Alfonso Puchades streets,
Caselles explained that "the economic situation of the country, the impact of the pandemic on the economy and the episodes of war have produced a sharp increase in the cost of construction materials and their production and distribution, making it necessary to carry out the work in two phases. ”. The first phase is the structural rehabilitation of the Bullring and its urban environment and library, and the second is the rehabilitation of the square to house a large Youth Center with a marked social and multicultural character. The cost of the project stands at 13,734,302.31 euros, part of which will be financed through European funds.

In the same session and unanimously, the plenary session urged the Consell to "immediately comply with its regulations by providing all Samus with the necessary doctors to cover 24-hour care" and to convene "the necessary accreditation courses so that all physicians attached” to the service “have the required and necessary qualifications”. The proposal, signed by the Councilor for Health, Mónica Gómez, comes after it became known that on the first weekend of July “numerous units of the SAMU of the Valencian Community were operating without a doctor”; a situation that was criticized by "practically all the unions and those responsible for the Popular Party in Les Corts Valencianes".

Added to this situation, the proposal emphasizes, is the "significant collapse of public health", which "seriously harms citizens" and is due to the dismissal of 6,600 toilets from the so-called 'covid reinforcements'; the execution of the Replacement and Reinforcement Plan for health personnel for the summer, which mainly affects tourist destinations such as Benidorm; the "obvious" deficit of doctors "practically in all hospitals in the Valencian Community" and the lack of professionals in primary care and specialized areas.

The proposal also refers to the “dismantling of the SES (Health Emergency Service) and the CICU (Emergency Information and Coordination Center) of the provinces of Alicante and Castellón. Hence, it requests that "the procedures for the decentralization of the Alicante and Castellón SES be initiated and that the transfer of the CICU from Alicante to Valencia be immediately halted"; request that has been approved with the votes in favour of the local government and the Cs group and the opposition of the PSOE.

By majority, the petitions made by the commercial companies Rucalaf SL and FPO SA on June 23 against the plenary agreement of May 16 and in which they request compensation for assignment with reservation of use agreed in full in November 2004 have been inadmissible. The councillor of Urbanism, Lourdes Caselles, has indicated that based on the report of the Secretariat, it is possible to "admit" this request since it is the same line of petitions already rejected and also regarding the matter there is a sentence of a court of Alicante, that it was appealed by the merchants and that "a judicial resolution is pending in the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community".

By a large majority, the heading of the municipal inventory of assets on the declaration of new construction of the bus station that was made in 2007 has been updated, as well as noting the cancellation of the administrative concession of the same after mutually agreeing on the resolution of the contract. The mayor of General Heritage, Jaime Jesús Pérez, explained that "it is a necessary procedure" to update the annotations of the bus station in the municipal inventory.

In the session, the order of the Ministry of Territorial Policy, Public Works and Mobility that modifies the Catalog of the road system of the Valencian Community, in which the transfer of the section of the CV-753 road that connects Benidorm with El Albir requested by the Provincial Council of Alicante in favour of the City Council.

Extraordinary dispatches

The award of a loan with Caixabank, which had presented the best offer, for 19,020,960.19 euros to commit planned investments, has also been approved by the majority. The Councilor for the Treasury, Aida García, has defended the proposal by pointing out that "in the budget, it was already reflected that we were going to request loans to undertake investments" and has affirmed that the loan "comes at the right time when we have had favourable auditing".

García Mayor has indicated that the credit "will be incorporated into the 2023 budget to continue undertaking the planned works and actions." She has also clarified that "it is not a new loan, but the one that was requested in April and that is now awarded." At this point, she has opined that “investment also creates jobs and wealth and it should be remembered that many are investments committed to European funds that, of course, we are not going to throw away”. In addition, she has insisted that "it is endorsed by the technicians" and that "we will continue to provide services to citizens."

Also due to the urgent procedure, a budget modification worth 967,000 euros has gone ahead by the majority to undertake improvement works in some educational centres and for the payment of default interest for the expropriation of the land of El Moralet.

In the same session, a majority ratified a decree of June 30, in which the cleaning contract for municipal buildings and schools in Benidorm is extended for one year.
In the same way, with the vote in favour of the local government -against the PSOE and the abstention of the Cs-, a motion has been approved by the municipal group of the PP to demand that the Generalitat generate "protected housing" in Benidorm for people with functional diversity or with mental illness. The proposal signed by the spokespersons, Lourdes Caselles and Mónica Gómez, urges that the Valencian Entity for Housing and Land, dependent on the Generalitat, “be enabled” as protected “housing of those existing in buildings intended for permanent residence of the elderly and young” located in La Cala.

As recalled in the motion, the rental housing building for the elderly was delivered in May 2009; and in October 2012, those of young people. Since then and until today, "the Generalitat Valenciana has not returned to invest in social housing in our municipality in any type of mobility", despite being its exclusive competence and not delegated to the municipalities. Hence, the City Council demands this empowerment of sheltered housing "according to the different modalities provided for in the Law" and "depending on the degree of dependency and functional diversity" makes them "available to the Department of Equality and Inclusive Policies".