Land sale flop

ONLY one of the council’s plots of land in Orihuela Costa that it put up for auction has proved to be of interest to construction companies.

The procedure was supposed to generate € 21 million from the sale of three areas of public land.

Two building companies have submitted bids for the cheapest plot, at El Garbanzuelo, which will bring in just over half a million euros for the council’s coffers.

No offers have been made for the land at La Cuerda near Lomas de Don Juan or at Las Colinas Golf in the

Sierra Escalona.

The local authority had already unsuccessfully tried to sell the same land in an auction at the beginning of the year.

For the second auction process, which was started during the summer, they refused to drop the prices.

According to the auction documents, the plot at El Garbanzuelo beside the water deposit at Calle Lago Sanabria was for sale for € 608,438.

The second area at La Cuerda, between Calle Limonero and Calle Cabo de Gata, was offered for € 4.6 million.

The most expensive plot at Las Colinas golf had a price tag of € 15.8 million.

It is not clear whether the council will launch a third auction process for the remaining two areas.

The decision to sell more public land in Orihuela Costa to build holiday homes had angered residents’ associations and local political parties. They highlighted that the coast is already full of new and secondhand homes for sale and new building schemes are being given the goahead every month.

Despite this, local services have not been improved, they noted, and there is a severe shortage of cultural and health facilities.