Cambiemos Orihuela is once again requesting the recognition of Finca Langostina as an Asset of Local Relevance, in order to guarantee its protection and preservation.
The group has been lobbying the local givernment since 2020 to speed up the procedures to avoid irreparable damage to both the family and the heritage of Orihuela.
Last week the family who live in the Finca stopped work on the annexe of their house, chaining themselves to a digger belonging to the construction company. Cambiemos consider it tragic that the situation has come to these extremes as they attempt to defend their in view of the apparent passivity of the Ayuntamiento.
It was in 2020 that Cambiemos presented a motion to the municipal plenary to preserve buildings of traditional architecture in the municipality, with the aim of protecting, among others, the Finca Langostina, threatened by its inclusion in the PAU 25 and in the reparcelling of PAU 25.
This inclusion divided the property into two plots, granting one of them to a third party for the construction of housing. The Finca Langostina is a single dwelling which represents the traditional dry farming in Orihuela Costa before the arrival of the water transfer and the urbanisation process.
In the same year, the municipal archaeologist suggested initiating proceedings to declare the Finca as an Asset of Local Importance or, to modify the General Plan for Urban Development to include it as a CATALOGED ASSET with GENERAL INTEGRAL PROTECTION.
This commitment was made by the former PP councillor and councillor for Heritage Rafael Almagro but was never carried out.
It is regrettable that since then, the Orihuela Ayuntamiento has not implemented any mechanism for either of these two procedures, which has led to this extreme case. The inaction on the part of the Concejalías de Urbanismo and Patrimonio merely reflects, once again, their implicit support for uncontrolled urbanism and economic profit, rather than prioritising the safeguarding of our valuable cultural heritage.
We hope that the new municipal government will implement all the mechanisms at its disposal to ensure the protection of this house, which represents an outstanding example of traditional architecture.
This property is distinguished by its adaptation to the environment, using local materials in its construction. A characteristic that makes it sustainable with the environment, while preserving ancestral knowledge that is in danger of being lost.
These elements are not simply historical constructions, but also ethnographic treasures of cultural value, which we consider an obligation to preserve.
We trust that the new municipal government will take the necessary measures to safeguard this cultural heritage, recognising its importance for present and future generations.
