Last Thursday, Councillors at the Orihuela Plenary Meeting responded to questions submitted by the Asociación de vecinos Cabo Roig y Lomas-Orihuela Costa, (AVCRL) in respect of the current positions on the planned Eco Park in Lomas de Cabo Roig and the provision of a second Centro Salud, or extension to the present medical centre.
U-TURN OVER LOCATION OF ECO PARK
In a response from the Councillor for Urban Solid Waste Collection and Street Cleaning it was announced that the planned ecopark will not now be installed on Plot Q1 in Lomas de Cabo Roig where it was initially planned to be sited.
The councillor said that they are now studying alternative plots, with better road communication for users and in an area with fewer residential properties and other buildings.
Although it was planned to be operational by the end of 2023, there were delays with the transfer of the land to the Regional Waste Consortium. That delay now seems to have worked in favour of AVCRL and the Lomas de Cabo Roig Residents in that the council has finally seen sense to relocate the plot following objections from residents.
It was stated that there is no indication, as yet, of where the new location will be, although the councillor said there would be an announcement shortly.
QUESTIONS REMAIN OVER PROVISION OF SECOND HEALTH CENTRE
In response to the question submitted about the Orihuela Costa Centro Salud the answer was much more evasive, although the councillor did acknowledge that the Orihuela Costa Health Centre is a priority for this government team and that no option to improve the service at the Health Centre has been ruled out.
She said that the consumption of water on the coast triples during the summer, hence a large increase in the number of coastal residents and users of the centre during that period, which is why we continue to support a second Centro Salud, where a better service can be provided to the residents of the coast.
She added that “the administration is not as fast as we would like it to be. That is why I cannot give you a concrete date, but we continue to work to demonstrate that Orihuela Costa deserves an extension of the health service and to demonstrate that the health needs are much greater than the data might suggest.
The main concerning factor is that while the Orihuela Council opts for a second health centre, the Valencian Generalitat has budgeted 5.4 million euro for the extension of the current centre, which could be lost if it is not used.
