Step forward for giant housing estate
The development has been described as a ‘town within a town’
THE VAST housing estate planned for the last large area of land set aside for development in Torrevieja has moved a step closer to fruition.
The council’s ruling committee (JGL) has put the latest modifications to the scheme to construct 7,500 properties at La Hoya on public display.
This means that members of the public and associations have 20 days to register suggestions and objections to plans which have been on the table for more than 20 years.
The vast urbanisation will be constructed on 1.8 million square metres of land between El Chaparral, La Mata-Torrevieja natural park, Quirón hospital, Jardín del Mar and the CV-905 dual carriageway.
The area is currently the domain of dog walkers, cyclists, rabbits and wild herbs – and includes shallow flood ravines which channel water during downpours towards the salt lakes.
It has also been a focal point for fly tipping over the years, with tonnes of rubbish buried at the site.
Residents who live nearby and ecologists have opposed the scheme, lamenting the disappearance of another green space in Torrevieja and highlighting the additional pressure that it will put on nearby La Mata-Torrevieja natural park.
Changes to the plans
Council spokesman Federico Alarcón explained that via this latest procedure they will ask the promoters to ‘modify’ several aspects of the scheme, at the behest of council planning experts.
The builders will have to present an updated traffic study ‘due to the size of the development and its direct connections with two of the busiest roads in the Valencia region – the N-332 and the CV905’.
They will also have to update the access points – building a larger bridge over the N332 below the international auditorium, as well as a roundabout giving access to the CV905 dual carriageway.
The waste water network for the housing estate has to comply with the criteria and design outlined by the town’s water board, Agamed.
They will also have to provide detailed plans of a flood water evacuation system, taking into account the storm tank that has to be constructed in the area.
The council also wants to see a new estimation of the costs for all the infrastructure that will have to be installed, including the reform of La Masía farmhouse which stands at the southern end of La Hoya.
The history
The saga of La Hoya began back in 2002 when the development project was provisionally passed by a Partido Popularrun town hall presided over by ex-mayor Pedro Hernández Mateo.
It was to be carried out by a ‘temporary union of companies’ – the make-up of which has changed considerably over the last two decades.
The scheme had been ‘definitively approved’ and published in the official bulletin of Alicante on March 13, 2014.
However, the passing of a natural resources plan (PORN) for La Mata-Torrevieja park ensured that modifications had to be made, which were approved at the end of 2021.
These included a large buffer zone between the park fence and the properties.
The plans show that this area measures some 335,462 m2, which cannot be built on and would have to be a ‘green’ area.
The development has been described as a ‘town within a town’, in which nearly 20,000 people could live if all the properties are occupied.
Current PP mayor Eduardo Dolón highlighted back in 2021 that the development will see a new ‘boulevard’ constructed which will link the southern end of La Mata with the Habaneras commercial area – and reduce congestion on other busy roads in the municipality.
He added that 1,573 of the 7,490 properties constructed would be ‘official protection homes’ (VPO), which are offered to low income families for low rents.
Spokesman for the Sueña Torrevieja party, Pablo Samper said the vast development would ‘bring consequences for the future of Torrevieja in the coming decades’.
“Is our town really ready for this?” he asked.
Residents living in nearby El Chaparral and La Siesta lamented the noise pollution that will come from the construction process – and the increased human pressure on the natural park.