Courthouse deal sealed
THE COURTHOUSE ( Palacio de Justicia) in Orihuela has been bought from the town hall by the regional government for € 4.76 million.
The contract was signed on Wednesday by the regional councillors for the treasury, Vicent Soler and justice, Gabriela Bravo and mayor Emilio Bascuñana.
The deal will provide ‘ dignified facilities’ for the judiciary in the 21 municipalities within its jurisdiction, as well as settling a dispute left by previous regional governments since 2005, said Sr Soler.
The council paid to build this courthouse, which opened in 2006, but the regional government did not refund the construction expenses or give back the old courthouse.
Both parties reached an agreement in November 2017, since when the regional government has paid € 150,000 in rent but has now exercised its option to buy and will pay the rest in four instalments by 2023.
It also included returning the old courthouse and another disused building to the town hall, which will use them to
hold municipal training activities, as well as the house that Civil War poet Miguel Hernández used to live in.
The town hall will now work on the procedure to cede two adjacent plots of land to the regional government so that it can build an extension to the courthouse, explained Sra Bravo. The existing building in the Plaza de Santa Lucía is too
small to fit in the 12 local courts and offices required for other services, such as the public prosecution service, which are spread out around the area.
“We need all the judicial bodies and services to be under one roof,” she said.
Dénia shortage
Lack of space at Denia court has forced part of its oper
ations to move to an extra site in an office it was renting out whilst awaiting a complete new building.
The ground floors of numbers 20 to 24 inclusive on Calle Pedreguer will now house the victim support centre, several forensic units, the legal counselling and psychology service, and gender violence court.