Alicante faces many urban challenges that demand clear solutions. The city has long relied on historic planning milestones such as the Central Park, Vía Parque, and the General Plan (PGOU) in force since 1987 as the benchmark for urban design.
During the recent campaign, several parties spoke about the Structural Plan and proposed bolder ambitions. Real progress has been made, yet many tasks remain unfinished. The City Council approved the Guards Catalogue, still awaiting final approval from the Generalitat. Urbanism with Adrián Santos Pérez from a local party led the effort to prepare sectoral reports to revise the planning text, among other steps. A year ago the mayor Luis Barcala acknowledged that the new PGOU could not wait until 2027, the end of the next mandate. Some observers felt that the repeated talks about the General Plan had eroded its credibility.
Alicante’s bipartisan coalition approves Central Park urban planning after eight years of stalemate
In the coming four years the bipartisan coalition has revived its initial approval assessment in the final phase of this mandate. The OI two Special Plan remains the key document for the creation of Central Park and the intermodal hub. An extraordinary plenary session is planned to ratify the text next week, aiming to reach the point reached in 2015. This could mean eight years spent on a major city project are being revisited.
At this technical stage the public sees little visibility for changes to the urban model. Other areas such as the southern entrance, the expansion of Parque del Mar, and traffic routing around the port require attention. Negotiations with the port authority and with railway infrastructure managers did not accelerate the specific OI two plan. Still, progress is visible in other coastline projects.
There have been tangible developments around Benalúa Sur, where construction is visible and the preservation of historic flour mills has been secured as a rare remaining trace of Alicante’s past. In Vistahermosa Norte, housing for about fifteen hundred residents is underway. These zones concentrate the major urban development in this mandate alongside the final stages of PAU plans one and five, where much land remains to be developed. Along Playa de San Juan, urbanism began unblocking land awaiting development where around five hundred homes could be built. The Lomas de Garbinet project is moving toward approval after decades of hold, while the city continues to advance towards a plan on that scale.
Licensing remains suspended around the arena as discussions to advance a comprehensive OI four management approach continue.
Construction shifts toward Benalúa Sur and Vistahermosa Norte
Progress has stalled in Sangueta. Three years ago a court ruling urged the City Council to push forward urban planning in the neighborhood. The panel determined the bipartisan administration had six months to begin processing the special plan. To date, the only meaningful movement has been cooperation with the University of Alicante to review design proposals.
Residents of Tabarca await developments as the contract for the island special plan is finalized. The conservation plan for the towers in the Alicante orchard remains unclear, leaving a gap in protection and planning guidance.
There is no fixed date for the completion of Via Parque between PAU two and Florida; authorities have only opened a short stretch and are still expropriating land. Neighbors remain patient as crews adjust to the slower cadence of urban transformation.