Torreta Improvements & La Caracola

[Carl]

Signs of progress on the plan to improve the Torreta area of Torrevieja, and the charred La Caracola might get a new lease of life in a new location.

https://www.informacion.es/vega-baja/20 ... 66322.html

Google translate:

Green light given to the 9.6 million euro project to redevelop the villa area in Torrevieja from the "Un, dos, tres" game show

There is still a long administrative process to go through, and it's possible that the residents of Las Torretas won't see any results during the current municipal term. However, with the project's approval after six years of promises, the Torrevieja City Council has taken another step toward redeveloping this large residential area next to the Torrevieja salt lagoon. This area, which has suffered urban decay , is known —some claim without much basis— for housing the small terraced houses given away on the Spanish Television program "Un, dos, tres" in the 1980s. The planned budget is €9,656,250 , although the work, if authorized and subject to significant environmental constraints, would be carried out in phases.

Governing Board

The City Council's governing board approved this Friday the redevelopment project Agreement C-2 “Punta de la Víbora” of the General Plan, popularly known as Torreta III. It includes the creation of a green area next to the Torrevieja lagoon, the partial redevelopment of the residential area, and the possibility of salvaging the structure of the mud bath, the “seashell” designed by Toyo Ito, to relocate it outside the coastal public domain boundary, where it was illegally erected by the City Council in the early 2000s. The aim is to recover the unique and controversial structure, now unused and abandoned, as a viewpoint overlooking the pink lagoon. This last proposal requires the approval of the Directorate General of Coasts of the Ministry for Ecological Transition, to which the project will now be submitted, not only because of the proposed solution for the building; also because the green area is adjacent to the Lagunas Natural Park and the public maritime-terrestrial domain, which affects the entire area surrounding the salt flats of Torrevieja and La Mata.

The Coastal Authority considered the lagoons to be a hydraulic system directly dependent on seawater input and, therefore, included their shores when defining the coastline. It also requires a favorable report from the Generalitat's Directorate of Natural Environment Management. Furthermore, the entire area was designated in 2015 as a level four flood risk zone in the Generalitat's Territorial Action Plan against Flood Risk (PATRICOVA).

Three areas

According to documentation from Vielca , the engineering firm that has been developing the project, three main areas of intervention are planned. The first to be developed would be the "attractive and integrated" adaptation of a 127,000-square-meter green and amenity area . Of this, the park would occupy approximately 35,000 square meters, which the developer left undeveloped in the 1980s next to Punta de la Víbora on the pink lagoon. The proposed "solution" for integrating the Toyo Ito mud spa structure into the overall project is also being considered . Adjacent to this green area, a large undeveloped urban plot remains.

The second phase encompasses the renovation of approximately 50% of the existing roads within the development, providing basic infrastructure across an area of ​​40,000 m². This includes sidewalk and road paving improvements, as well as a complete overhaul of the urban services, including drinking water, sanitation, electricity, and street lighting. This phase would be addressed in the medium term, after the park is completed. However, it excludes one of the main demands of the residents: the redevelopment of the internal roads and services, which, four decades after the construction of the tourist neighborhood, are still registered in the name of the construction and sales company of the small townhouses, ManoliSA (MASA). Therefore, the City Council cannot take action, further complicated by the fact that most of the homes lack a homeowners' association to decide on these common areas and improve them with their own resources .

The preliminary studies also included—the City Council does not specify whether this is ultimately included in the approved project—the construction of five new roads. Two of them (860 and 470 linear meters long) were located next to the Torrevieja Lagoon Natural Park at Punta de la Víbora and are listed in the 1986 General Urban Development Plan (PGOU), when the area was not yet protected.

Election and personal promise

This redevelopment project is a promise made by the PP (People's Party) governing team since they regained local power in 2019, more than six years ago . It was a personal commitment from the mayor himself , Eduardo Dolón, who supported the protests of local residents when they demanded the works from the left-wing coalition government between 2015 and 2019, when the PP was the staunch opposition. The City Council indicates that this phase of the project will also include an additional proposal to "rehabilitate the building that was planned for the Mud Spa ," so that it can be repurposed for uses compatible with a future viewpoint overlooking the salt lagoon.

The spa, popularly known as "the turd," has been at the center of controversy since its construction in the mid-2000s. Dolón added that, apart from the building's exterior appearance after suffering three fires, the helical structure itself has not been damaged, and that technically it is possible to relocate it from public land to the new park.

[Bee]

When are they going to stop talking about it and actually do the work. There is still no progress on Masa being made to complete the infrastructure which is their responsibility and which the Ayuntamiento don't appear to be taking in charge in the latest announcements. Streets left unpaved, no street lighting, no stormwater runoff facility etc. It's a ridiculous and shameful situation for the residents to be left in.

Bee

[Carl]

When are they going to stop talking about it and actually do the work. There is still no progress on Masa being made to complete the infrastructure which is their responsibility and which the Ayuntamiento don't appear to be taking in charge in the latest announcements. Streets left unpaved, no street lighting, no stormwater runoff facility etc. It's a ridiculous and shameful situation for the residents to be left in.

Bee

I share your sentiments Bee.

Not sure I am 100% accurate on this, but from recollection the Ayuntamiento returned Masa's financial guarantee for the development which would effectively mean that the Ayuntamiento was satisfied that Masa had discharged all it obligations and completed all works.

I cannot imagine that Masa would want an unfinished development still linked to their name decades later, but equally I cannot see them agreeing to do any more work if what I have mentioned in the previous paragraph is correct.

You would assume that if there was an obligation for Masa to complete the outstanding works on the development, then the Ayuntamiento would have gone down the legal route through the courts years ago. The fact the Ayuntamiento appears not have taken that course of action may indicate where the fault lies, or perhaps there are skeletons in the cupboard in this sorry saga.