Orihuela Costa independence party challenges exclusion of district board proposal

The Party for the Independence of Orihuela Costa (PIOC) has challenged a decision to keep its alternative plan for the coast off the agenda of an extraordinary district board meeting. The plan calls for improvements to local services and identifies separation from Orihuela municipality as a long-term solution.

PIOC has filed an appeal with Orihuela City Council seeking the admission of a document it submitted on September 13 for debate by district boards X and XI. The extraordinary meeting was devoted to an assessment of the coast’s basic needs based on the 2024 annual report. Board officials ruled that PIOC’s proposal could not be debated at that session.

The party argues that the board secretariat had invited members by email on August 22 to submit alternative documents and specific proposals on the subject. It says its submission addressed the item already on the agenda and should therefore have been considered. In its appeal, PIOC alleges that excluding the document breached procedural rules and undermined its reasonable expectation that the guidance from the secretariat would be followed.

The dispute surfaced at a tense meeting at the Town Hall in Playa Flamenca. Residents mobilised by PIOC gathered outside, and around 50 entered the session. Party president Román Jiménez sought to introduce the alternative plan and called for Orihuela Costa to separate from the municipality, describing the current administration as ineffective.

Jiménez said the document had been submitted in the correct format and within the required time. He accused the board of approving a plan drawn from outdated district reports instead of debating more detailed proposals. Board president and coastal councillor Manuel Mestre intervened during the exchange and warned that Jiménez could be removed. Jiménez and the residents subsequently left, and the board approved the needs assessment.

The City Council disputes PIOC’s account of the procedure. Municipal sources say the document missed the deadline for inclusion in the extraordinary meeting and will be placed before the board at its next session. They maintain that neither its content nor the party’s right to argue for it was rejected.

“All residents can freely express their opinions and put forward as many proposals as they deem appropriate,” the council said, adding that submissions must follow the board’s rules and deadlines. It said a speaking turn could not be used to introduce a debate that had not been formally scheduled.

Beyond its call for separation, PIOC’s document sets out proposed improvements through to 2035. It argues that the approved assessment lists problems and individual measures without adequately accounting for population growth, the area’s geography or the funding needed to improve services.

Its priorities include water supply, sewerage and drainage; a third permanent school building; more secondary and vocational education; and a second health centre, initially operating from temporary units to speed up its opening. It also calls for stronger policing and emergency provision, more frequent waste collection, better maintenance and transport links, accessible public spaces, coastal and environmental improvements, and additional cultural and civic facilities.

PIOC wants each measure tied to a responsible authority, a budget, a funding source and a timetable. It proposes that the City Council respond to every action within 60 days, publish quarterly progress reports on spending and delivery, and establish a committee to monitor delays.

The party describes separation as the structural answer to the coast’s problems, while arguing that improvements to services cannot wait. Whether its full proposal will be debated now rests on its inclusion in the agenda for the next district board meeting.

Images courtesy PIOC

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