In terms of housing construction, the province experienced a highly successful year in 2024, recording the second-highest figure in the past 15 years, trailing only the previous year, 2023. Consequently, the Official College of Technical Architecture of Alicante reported that 8,353 properties had been initiated by the year’s conclusion.

In spite of the favourable year, the figures for 2024 were 4.9% lower than those of 2023, which shattered all records from the previous decade. The Vega Baja region once again dominated construction in the province of Alicante, while other regions, including the interior and Elche, experienced substantial growth despite having the lowest volume of activity.

Regarding Las Marinas and Alicante, they demonstrate declines in comparison to 2023, despite maintaining positive results in comparison to the province as a whole. Once more, the coast is home to the most developments, while the inland region exhibits negligible figures.

Three main cities, Torrevieja (748), Alicante (695), and Orihuela (676), are the top three cities for housing starts in 2024, as indicated by the map from Datawrapper https://www.datawrapper.de/_/Tmysb/. It is followed by Elche and Dénia, which have initiated 593 and 495 properties, respectively. The list is concluded by the towns of Vega Baja, Marina Alta, and l’Alacantí.

The Elche region is distinguished by its expansion in comparison to the previous year. In the final quarter of 2024, 128 residences were initiated, a figure that surpasses all permits issued last year by 34% and is 111% higher than the same period in 2023.

The ten municipalities with the highest number of construction starts

Torrevieja: 748

Alicante: 695

Orihuela: 676

Dénia: 593

Elche: 495

San Miguel de Salina. 471

Pillar of the Horadada: 371

Mutxamel: 340

Calpe: 328

Guardamar del Segura: 293

However, it is important to emphasise the collapse of construction in the city of Alicante during the final three months of 2024. Despite the fact that 520 homes were initiated in 2023, the total number of homes initiated decreased from 1,099 in 2023 to 695 at the conclusion of the previous year, with only 87 homes initiated last year.

In 2024, Las Marinas initiated 2,191 residences, which represents a 5.8% decrease from 2023. The volume of activity in this region has remained consistent, with 990 residences being constructed in the second half of the year, a decrease from 974 in the same period in 2023. The fourth quarter’s year-over-year change was a mere 0.8%.

Despite being the province’s primary development area and the most dynamic, housing starts in the Vega Baja region have decreased by 13% compared to 2023. This decline is partially attributable to the second quarter, while the third and fourth quarters have maintained positive trends.

A young man who was a couple with a 12-year-old girl in San Vicente del Raspeig was absolved of sexually assaulting her in Alicante Juvenile Court No. 2. The man, who was 17 years old at the time of the reported incidents in 2023, was facing a request from the Prosecutor’s Office for nearly three years of confined confinement. He has since been acquitted.

The ruling has established that both parties engaged in sexual intercourse with vaginal penetration. However, it does not establish that the defendant, who was represented by attorney José Luis Sánchez Calvo, used “intimidation or violence” or that the interaction was “without consent,” as the victim did not disclose the alleged assault until one year had passed.

The ruling also notes that the young man was four and a half years older than the younger girl. Although the two exhibited a clear distinction in physical development, “there is no evidence that such a difference also existed in the psychological realm.”

The facts that were established in the ruling are dated back to September 2022. The minor was involved in a romantic relationship with a 12-year-old female. They engaged in sexual intercourse that involved vaginal penetration at one point while they were in her family residence. Conversely, the magistrate maintains that intimidation or violence were not employed during the incident.

According to the ruling issued by Juvenile Court No. 2 of Alicante, they terminated their relationship as a result of this purported abuse; however, they re-established it six months later and continued to engage in consensual sexual intercourse until the separation in October of the same year.

A complaint that was filed after the fact

In the same month, the girl and her mother visited the police station to report the purported abuse. She reported that her partner proposed having intercourse with her while they were alone at her partner’s parents’ home. She declined, requesting that he cease. However, the girl informed the officers that he persisted in his refusal to relinquish her and pursue another woman. He ultimately forcibly removed her trousers, and they engaged in sexual intercourse.

The ruling asserts that the minor informed her mother the day following the incident that she had engaged in sexual intercourse with her lover, but that she had not been coerced into doing so. The couple separated in October 2022, one month after the alleged maltreatment, as per the advice of her parents. The young man apologised to her parents six months later, and they consented to the resumption of their relationship.

According to the complainant, they engaged in “consensual” sexual relations during the eight-month duration of the second phase of this relationship, which concluded in October 2023. It concluded with four distinct versions of the narrative; however, the precise rationale for this ending remains uncertain.

The mother stated that they requested it after discovering that the initial relationship was coerced. In the interim, the man who was exonerated claimed that they parted ways due to the minor discovering that he was dating other women. The victim presented two alternatives: initially, she expressed her fatigue with the relationship; however, she later disclosed that she had forbidden her partner from recording the consensual sex out of concern for the potential virality of the images. The defendant’s phone did not contain any recordings, as indicated in the sentence, according to the Civil Guard.

The Emergency Information and Coordination Centre has reported that a traffic accident occurred on the N-332 highway, which passes through Orihuela Costa, on Sunday morning. The accident involved a vehicle and a bicycle. A 63-year-old male who sustained multiple injuries as a result of the collision was treated by an Emergency Medical Service (SAMU) unit that was dispatched to the location. Subsequently, the injured individual was transported to Torrevieja Hospital.