End to the Legal Battle Over a Coastal Walkway Section in Alicante Province, Sparking a 30-Year Dispute Between Residents and the Council

A 30-metre stretch of walkway has been the catalyst for a legal battle stretching back nearly a decade, though its origins date to 1995, in one of the most tourist-heavy spots along Alicante's provincial coast. A conflict that has pitted Orihuela's Town Hall against the Bellavista community in Cabo Roig.

Legal issues arose in 2016 when a judge recognised the private nature of the space, although the council's appeals, albeit slowly, have progressed until this August when the Orihuela municipality was able to reclaim the coveted piece of the seafront promenade. Beforehand, an expropriation had to be processed and finally, with judicial backing, access was opened to once again turn that section into a public leisure area.

The story began in 1995 when a community of residents erected a wall blocking the path between Aguamarina and La Caleta. Two decades later, in 2015, the Town Hall approved its demolition, but the residents filed a lawsuit against the decision and turned to the courts.

Finally, in 2016, the courts sided with the property owners and ruled that if the local entity wanted to make public use of that walkway section, it had to resort to expropriation of the land. The Town Hall delayed starting the procedures, and it wasn't until 2021 that the expropriation file was initiated, thus opening the second front of the battle.

In this second dispute over who would retain the walkway section, the protagonist was money. Neither party could agree on the real value of this land. On one hand, the Town Hall valued it at 69,113 euros, while the owners raised the figure to 3 million. Faced with this discrepancy, the parties were forced to return to the courts.

This financial tug-of-war was resolved by the Provincial Expropriation Jury, which appraised the plot's value at 26,180 euros in April of this year, 2025. According to municipal sources, one of the last moves by the Town Hall was depositing the cheque in the General Deposit Box. However, according to the same sources, the community refused to accept and cash the cheque.

It was last Tuesday, 19th August, when Town Hall workers tore down the door and hung a sign reading "Seafront Promenade. Public Access." Thus, it seems that, for now, the dispute over the 30 linear metres of the section has ended.

This back-and-forth between the administration and the community became a torment for the rest of the residents who, if they wanted to cross to La Caleta beach, had to take a nearly two-kilometre detour under the blazing sun. Their complaints began when the wall was installed, but it wasn't until 2023 that they lodged a complaint with the council.

On the other hand, politics has not stayed on the sidelines. Parties of all colours have accused each other of being ineffective and responsible for what was happening in that section of the walkway. A week ago, the PSOE accused the PP and Vox government of prolonging the residents' agony by not resorting to the courts over the community's rejection of the cheque.

To which the governing team responded that the opposition was showing signs of being irresponsible and ignorant of the forced expropriation laws, as, according to them, the phases of payment, consignment, and occupation had not yet been completed before seeking judicial assistance.

Finally, the public recovery of the space was made effective this week with judicial backing. Orihuela's mayor, Pepe Vegara, highlighted that "a long and complex procedure has been completed, followed with all legal guarantees, allowing Orihuela Costa to reclaim one of its most emblematic spaces."