We demand answers from the mayor and a working group for Alicante’s southern neighbourhoods

27 October 2026

Our concerns are still going unanswered

Squares with barriers to access, derelict plots infested with pests, dangerous conditions on Avenida de Elche and the lack of progress on the Harineras flour mills all affect daily life in our neighbourhoods. We refuse to let these problems pile up without answers or solutions.

On 26 October 2026 we filed submission E2026163877, addressed to the mayor of Alicante, Luis Barcala, and the members of the Local Government Board. We spoke out against eight years of neglect in Gran Vía Sur, Parque del Mar, Benalúa Sur, Harineras and the surrounding coastal and railway areas. We demand answers to the outstanding submissions and a working group bringing together technical staff, elected officials, the mayor and neighbourhood representatives.

On 27 October we made this appeal public in a video summarising our submissions and priority concerns. We demand dignity, commitments and solutions for the southern neighbourhoods.

130 submissions and only 15 replies in our records

Our report lists 130 submissions to Alicante City Council and 15 written replies. That leaves 115 submissions with no reply on record, or 88.46% of the total. The video rounds that figure to 88%.

The figures show how many submissions have gone unanswered. We need both a reply to each submission and a solution to the problem it raises.

The submission and its statistical annex also track 57 priority issues. Of these, 39 remain unresolved, 11 are partially resolved and 7 have been resolved. They account for 68.42%, 19.30% and 12.28% respectively. The video describes the share of unresolved issues as ‘nearly 70%’.

The submissions are the documents we filed. The issues group the problems so that we can track their resolution. These figures come from the report filed with the submission and shared in the video. The live catalogue is updated separately.

On the Our neighbourhood concerns website, we bring together the submissions we file and the issues we raise. It includes the documents for each case and up-to-date information on replies and progress towards resolution.

A working group with the mayor to agree actions and deadlines

The submission makes three requests. We ask for the submission and its annexes to be accepted, for the mayor and the Local Government Board to end their neglect of the south and give an individual, reasoned reply to each of the 115 submissions, and for the mayor to urgently convene and chair a working group of technical staff and elected officials.

We ask the councillors responsible for urban planning, infrastructure, mobility and the environment to join our neighbourhood representatives in setting a timetable with commitments and binding deadlines. The meeting should help coordinate follow-up on the 57 issues and make progress on those that remain wholly or partly unresolved.

The issues we are bringing to the table

The submission sets out five groups of concerns.

• Accessibility in Benalúa Sur. We have raised concerns about stairways with no ramps or accessible routes in the squares around Quintiliano, Catedrático Soler and Avenida de Elche. We question the condition in which the City Council accepted those squares.
• Derelict urban plots. We call for action on rubble, overgrowth and pests in Benalúa Sur and Polígono IV, using the municipal powers for property upkeep, the register of vacant plots and compulsory development that we set out in the submission.
• Railway land and heritage. We ask for progress on transferring disused railway land next to Parque del Mar for green space and a dog park, and for action on the deterioration of the historic shed next to Casa Mediterráneo.
• Harineras and public facilities. We demand progress on developing the area and providing the facilities our neighbourhoods need, given the deterioration we have documented at the industrial site.
• Safety and access to the coast. We call for effective traffic calming on Avenida de Elche, safe pedestrian crossings and the removal of barriers to Parque del Mar and the waterfront.

We are speaking out against the unequal treatment of our neighbourhoods compared with other parts of Alicante, including Playa de San Juan, PAU 5 and Cabo de las Huertas. We refuse to let the southern neighbourhoods keep waiting while shortcomings in maintenance, safety and public facilities become permanent problems.

A submission backed by three annexes

The submission includes a statistical annex with screenshots of the figures, a legal annex setting out our arguments on administrative replies, neighbourhood participation, good administration and municipal responsibilities, and a 19-page photographic annex containing 36 photographs and images.

The photographic report covers access, upkeep and lighting in Parque del Mar, ADIF land and the Harineras flour mills, inaccessible squares, the sinkhole on Nadadora Carmen Soto, streets without name signs, derelict plots and ruined homes. It also documents the lack of shade canopies over the play equipment in Joan Fuster park, the plot designated for educational use at CEIP Benalúa, the shortage of trees and shade, the unfinished Banda de Música Los Claveles square and the land set aside for public facilities in Gran Vía Sur.

The three annexes support our case on accessibility, safety, upkeep, participation and public facilities. We demand direct talks and concrete commitments to address these concerns.

You can read the registered submission and its statistical, legal and photographic annexes in the case file on Our neighbourhood concerns.

Our video

We demand replies to the outstanding submissions and a working group that can move things forward with concrete commitments. We will keep pressing for the attention and services our southern neighbourhoods deserve.

Media coverage

• Alicante Plaza reported on 27 October on our appeal to the mayor and the Local Government Board. It details the departments we want represented in the working group and notes that the submission includes statistical, legal and photographic annexes.
• Diario de Alicante reported on our complaint about municipal neglect that same day, including the number of submissions and issues and our demand for a timetable for action. Both articles report the figures we provided as a neighbourhood association.