The Popular Party (PP) begins the drafting of the catalogue of protected assets and spaces in Benidorm, nine years late

The Socialist Group on the Benidorm City Council has denounced that, nine years late, the local government, led by the People's Party (PP), is taking the first steps to begin drafting the catalogue of protected assets and spaces through a public consultation inviting citizens to contribute ideas and suggestions.

The deputy spokesperson, Sergi Castillo, recalled that on February 29, 2016, when Toni Pérez was mayor, the municipal plenary session unanimously approved a motion proposing this work. "Finally, compliance is being achieved not only with what was agreed upon by the plenary session but also, and more importantly, with what is stipulated in Valencian heritage protection legislation. The mayor should explain why protecting our heritage has taken so long," he stated. He also noted that the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) asked the governing team, almost a year ago, to begin drafting this document to protect the city's architectural heritage. Furthermore, the Ombudsman questioned the City Council about this issue following a complaint from a resident.

The councillor explained that this catalogue must include all existing territorial elements in a municipality that benefit from protection derived from cultural heritage, natural heritage, and landscape legislation, as well as the instruments provided in said legislation for their specification and development. In addition, the catalogue may contain other elements that, while not enjoying the specific protection defined by current legislation, are deemed to be worthy of consideration due to their local interest or the territorial and urban planning impact.

Castillo lamented the "absolute neglect and lack of management by Toni Pérez, who for nine years has shown himself incapable of preserving assets with significant heritage value, whether from an architectural, historical, typological, or urban planning perspective, or of designing special protection plans through the declaration of Assets of Cultural Interest or Assets of Local Significance." Finally, he denounced the fact that "the government is run so that large-scale developers and speculators can make money, and there is no regard for the history and values ​​of the town, which must be preserved."