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Date Published: 23/07/2025

Potholes, weeds and broken bins: Orihuela Costa residents fed up with neglect

Locals say the coast is treated like a cash cow with crumbs in return, as police confirm dozens of accidents caused by crumbling roads

Orihuela Costa residents say they’ve had enough. While Orihuela city receives the lion’s share of municipal attention, the coast continues to deteriorate, with broken street signs, dangerous potholes, overflowing bins and overgrown green areas becoming part of daily life.

A newly released police report confirms what locals have been warning about for years - neglect is now a public safety issue.

According to a six-month report by the Orihuela Local Police, 31 accidents were caused by the dismal state of the coast roads between January and June. In most cases, vehicles were damaged after hitting potholes or sinkholes. One accident left the occupants of an electric scooter injured after they hit a pothole and fell on Calle Acuario.

The worst affected area is the Villamartín–Los Dolses road, which registered five separate incidents. Other trouble spots include Lomas de Cabo Roig, La Florida, Playa Flamenca and Aguamarina.

The report was submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office after Unidos por la Costa, a residents' association, filed a complaint under Article 385 of the Penal Code. The article covers failures to restore road safety when there is a legal obligation to do so.

The complaint stated that in the coastal districts 10 and 11, “maintenance of municipal roads has been non-existent,” causing “accidents and material and human damage.” It argued that the city council’s behaviour has been, at the very least, negligent.

The report included a study that identified more than 160 potholes in just 14 selected areas. It estimates that there may be over 500 potholes across the 700 streets and avenues that make up Orihuela Costa.

The complaint also outlined how repeated written requests for urgent road repairs were sent to the Mayor’s Office and the Infrastructure Department, without receiving any response. The Prosecutor’s Office has now closed the case, stating that while negligence was evident, there was no clear sign of malicious intent, meaning it does not qualify as a criminal offence under Spanish law.

Locals see this as yet another example of a long-standing problem. While the coast brings in a significant share of Orihuela’s tourism and property revenue, many feel it receives far too little in return. Street signs are vandalised and unreadable. Bins are broken and rubbish piles up beside them. Green areas are overrun with weeds. Potholes reappear every few weeks, even after temporary patch jobs.

Some improvement work has been carried out in Torrezenia, where resurfacing of several streets was funded by the 2024 municipal budget, following a project that was first promised in 2019.

But many residents have criticised the work, saying only a small part of Torrezenia was actually resurfaced. Streets in worse condition, such as Avenida Orihuela and Carlos Torres, were left untouched, along with main roads like calles Ciprés and Limonero. Some even accused the council of redirecting funds promised for Torrezenia to neighbouring areas.

Meanwhile, the €1 million road resurfacing contract for the wider coast is still pending, and two additional projects under the Diputación’s Planifica Plan are yet to be finalised.

In other news: Whale of a sight: More than 100 giants glide past the Costa Blanca

Images: Unidos por la Costa

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