Vall de Gallinera calls for affordable housing to stem population drain

AFFORDABLE homes are urgently needed in the Vall de Gallinera to halt the population exodus, the council warns.

The rural village, split into eight residential clusters up to six kilometres apart along a valley of the same name, is losing residents hand over fist as working-aged adults move to towns with job opportunities, and those who have or want to have children head for areas with schools close by.

And one of the main reasons for leaving the valley is that first-time buyers and renters cannot afford property there.

Mayor Toni Pardo says prices in the village are prohibitive – roughly between €65,000 and €200,000 - and the average family cannot afford this.

At the lower end of this scale, homes need so much renovation work to make them habitable that they need the same amounts spending on them again.

Rental properties are thin on the ground and the few that exist are 'very pricey', Pardo says.

The council owns a building which could be renovated and turned into flats to let to families moving into the village in their first year, but would not help first-time buyers, the mayor argues.

He has urged the provincial and regional governments to offer grants to young people in the valley trying to leave home.

“For people to want to move here and stay, we need three basic pillars: homes, jobs and connections,” Pardo insists.

“Without affordable homes or good connections, there will be no chance of anyone investing in creating jobs.”

The provincial government, or Diputación de Alicante, recently announced a cash injection of €13 million in 23 villages to combat the rural exodus, four of which are in the Marina Alta – the Vall d'Ebo, Vall d'Alcalà, Vall de Gallinera and Castell de Castells.

But the funds are mainly for improving roads, waterworks and similar infrastructure, and the Diputación has employed companies outside the village rather than local workers.