Putting an end to the poor condition of the railings on the Playa Flamenca promenade is one of the longest-standing demands of Orihuela Costa residents. The corrosive action of the sea has caused the cast iron pillars that support the stainless-steel rails to deteriorate to the point that they serve no purpose, other than portraying a terrible appearance of the coastline.
These railings have been deteriorating for many years due to the slow oxidation process caused by the sea, to the point where stretches of the railings approaching 1500 metres in length now need to be completely replaced.
At long last, we understand that the Orihuela Council has finally agreed an investment of 216,000 euros for the repair of the railings along the promenades of La Zenia and Playa Flamenca. The figure was revealed by the councillor for the Coast, Manuel Mestre (Vox), during the plenary session last Thursday.
Councillor Mestre said that, initially, up to three projects were commissioned because the existing budget allocation, from Municipal Land Heritage (PMS), was insufficient to address the entire project of 1,440 linear metres, 778 in the Playa Flamenca section and 373 in the La Zenia section.
He acknowledged that, given the lack of an initial budget, they did consider reducing the quality of the materials or initially only carrying out the section of railing that passes through Playa Flamenca. Now, however, the Council has supplemented the project with an extra 85,000 euros, which, he said, will enable the complete repair from Playa Flamenca to La Zenia.
The PSOE, councillor María García questioned whether the material finally chosen for the new railing posts (chrome nickel) was the most suitable to withstand the corrosive action of the sea stating that the residents, during district meetings, had proposed wood as an alternative.
In this regard, Mestre said that the municipal surveyors had estimated this resource as the most resistant and ruled out wood because, “despite being more beautiful and aesthetic, it requires annual maintenance and is less resistant.”
