“Less housing and more services” and “Orihuela wants karts” are the two slogans that will be prominently displayed on Monday morning outside the Orihuela Town Hall as a planned demonstration calls for a halt to the demolition of the go-kart track, vehicle repair shop, the bar and café that have been operating with full authorisation on the Orihuela Costa, adjacent to the N-332 since 1977.
The authority was updated and validated in 2002 with a change of ownership by the Orihuela City Council itself but now the popular facility is being closed with a forced expropriation reparcelling project, with the land included in an urban plan that only contemplates the construction of new properties next to the road and in front of the sector affected by the planned urbanization of Cala La Mosca.
The buildings that were next to the leisure area, the old Sarmiento Restaurant, have already been demolished by the developer.
When contacted by the Spanish press the Town Planning councillor and deputy mayor, José Aix (Cs), failed to respond to a request for an explanation as to why his department has not responded for 9 months to the requirements to provide the reparcelling file.
Neither would the Orihuela Council appear to hold any record of an agreement to this subdivision, according to the proprietor of the Go Kart Track, nor are there reports from the Segura Hydrographic Confederation on the availability of water or reports from any other administrative bodies such as the Costas.
