Costa Blanca

Elche gets six homes to use in case of social emergencies

The Local Government Board gave the go-ahead to buy six homes owned by SAREB so that they can be fixed up as part of a scheme to build more public housing that is paid for by the State Plan for Access to Housing 2022–2025, also known as the ADHA Plan.

Celia Lastra, Councillor for Social Action, said that in February 2024, the Local Government Board agreed to ask for a subsidy to buy these six homes owned by SAREB. This was because the council wanted to buy these properties to increase the number of public housing units and put them on a rental or transfer of use regime with a maximum rent or transfer price for use, especially for vulnerable groups.

With the help of the 342,500 euro grant, these 6 homes in various parts of the town were bought. “This purchase increases the number of public housing units in Elche and, most importantly, we will have more housing options under a social rental regime and/or transfer of use for emergency housing,” Lastra said. These homes are meant to help families who are housing insecure and can’t afford to rent at market rates because of their income.

The meeting also agreed to the free transfer of the “Hort de Malena” palm grove, which is in the middle of the city, next to the Tower on the road to the Mills, and surrounded by public gardens.

As stated by Inma Mora, the City Council’s goal is to restore and raise the value of the traditional homes and buildings in the “Hort de Malena” palm grove so that people can learn about and share the historical and cultural values that these buildings and homes represent, as well as the palm grove itself and its water systems. There will be no changes to the deal for 10 years.

It has also been cleared to build the Maestro José Toro social centre in Torrellano, which will be situated between the streets of Libertad, Alcudia, Astronautas, and Violeta. As part of this project, a new 1,900-square-meter space will be built to serve more than 7,000 people from the Torrellano, Santa Ana, Balsares, Saladas, and Jubalcoy areas.

The new cultural and social centre will have two floors. The first floor will have a big hall that can fit 466 people, 350 on the ground floor and 166 in the amphitheatre.

The Torrellano social centre project has been approved by the Local Government Board.

The reading room/library and the amphitheatre for the assembly hall will be on the first floor, along with the association offices and music school. The OMAC, cafeteria, and assembly hall will be on the ground floor.

The Civil Aviation report has now been given to the City Council. This is something that the municipal company Pimesa needs in order to be able to put out the bids for the building contract next week.

The Governing Board did agree to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility’s request for direct aid for passenger transport. This will lower the prices of transport passes and multi-trip tickets for urban public transport services for the first half of 2025, from January 1 to June 30. They also agreed to make a deal with the service concessionaire to carry out the aid. With these direct helps, the price is cut in half, and the City Council pays for an extra 20%.

As one of the things that wasn’t on the list, the contract for the adaptation works at the central interchange of Doctor Caro and Alfredo Llopis streets has been extended for two more months, until April 11.

InvoLUCRA SL, the winning bidder, said, “They have proposed this extension because, once the urban bus shelter had been moved and the second section of Calle Alfredo Llopis had been torn down, services were found to be in use that were not reflected in the plans that were available for the preparation of the project.” This meant that the foundations and slabs of the two pergolas in that section had to be moved around to fit the available space. This caused the project to be delayed, and the stormwater network had to be moved to a new well that had to be built in the middle of the street.

The project has an investment of about 900,000 euros and is partly paid for by European Next Generation funds.

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Related Topics:2025 Council Elche Emergency Housing Local Market Mobility People Public Social

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Costa Blanca

Arrested for violating restraining order and threatening the police

A man was taken into custody by the Meliana Local Police on Monday morning, March 24th, for violating a restraining order after being informed that a couple was having a heated quarrel outside a town’s restaurant. The officers showed up right away, and after stopping the taxi he was attempting to take to get out, they were able to confirm that the man had a restraining order against the victim for a crime of abuse from Benidorm’s Court of Instruction No. 3 when they asked for background information.

With the help of Tavernes Blanques members of the Guardia Civil, the officers went ahead and arrested him. Even threatening to kill the police in action, the detainee put up a fierce fight. He has already been taken before the courts and the relevant police procedures have been completed.

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Costa Blanca

This weekend ComarCON will take place in Torrevieja

This coming weekend, on Saturday, April 29th, and Sunday, April 30th, the Torrevieja Sports Palace will host the annual ComarCON’25 event. With free entrance and countless hours of pleasure, it provides a vast array of alternative leisure activities for people of all ages.

The La Comarca Youth Association organises ComarCON, an alternative entertainment festival, every year. Contests, workshops, exhibitions, talks, tournaments, free play, and much more can be found in the form of anime, manga, tabletop and live role-playing, video games, TCGs, wargames, board games, cosplay, artists, soft combat, K-Pop, and much more.

This session will include a performance by “The Lantern Man,” the ants from the TV series “El Hormiguero,” and Sheila, McGonacat, JennRoyal, SheronZ, SaencSa, and José Meco, who are all from the University of Alicante in Torrevieja. The finest cosplay will get prizes from Green Stuff World, which are worth 200 euros plus materials.

It all started on May 25th, 2013, when a modest gathering was planned. With about 7,000 attendees at its most recent edition, it has developed over the years into one of Spain’s biggest free alternative leisure events. Over 120 thrilling activities are available for attendees to partake in over the course of the weekend. On Saturday, beginning at 10:00 a.m., attendees can learn about things like:

Play role-playing games and go on amazing adventures in made-up worlds. Are you a crafty wizard or a valiant warrior? You have a choice!

Workshops: Acquire new abilities, such as character development and art.

Talks: Listen to professionals in the field of alternative entertainment discuss their experiences and expertise.

Soft Combat: Try your skills in friendly foam sword duelling.

View more than 300 board games in the Giant Game Library.

There is something for everyone, including both contemporary and vintage titles. ComarCON is a community, not just an event. Share your love of games and creativity by coming by yourself or with others.

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Costa Blanca

Cold water to fight the heat on Benidorm’s streets

Three places across the municipality now have chilled drinking water fountains installed by Benidorm City Council. The City Council and Hidraqua, the city’s Integrated Water Cycle concessionaire, are working together on this project as part of a trial project. “Facilitate the availability of tap water to residents and tourists in highly frequented public spaces,” Mayor Toni Pérez said yesterday, Monday 24th March, when describing the project’s objectives.

Together with José Ramón González de Zárate, the councillor for water cycle, local government representatives, and business representatives, the mayor paid a visit to the first of these installed fountains. Since last year, the service has been offered in Alicante, and on Monday, three further fountains were unveiled at l’Alfàs del Pi.

Two more fountains will be placed this week in Séquia Mare Park and Plaza del Torrejó, which is opposite to the Tourist Office. The first fountain in Benidorm is situated on Avenida Armada Española at its intersection with Avenida Racharell. Connected to the municipal drinking water supply network, the three chilled drinking water fountains are designed to provide households with water.

Toni Pérez pointed out that the campaign “promotes the consumption of tap water as a safe and healthy option and, at the same time, reduces the generation of plastic waste associated with single-use water bottles.” The mayor further underlined that doing so “reduces the environmental impact and contributes to building a more sustainable future.”

The pumps in question include a cooling system to give users cold water, and they are directly fed from the municipal drinking water network. They have a drain exit to remove extra water and an electrical connection to run the cooling system. Additionally, they are constructed from materials that are resistant to weather and vandalism and are created to be accessible to those with limited mobility.