The Ramón de Campoamor Civic Centre in Orihuela Costa, closed for the past five years due to serious structural damage, may soon see new life. Vox, which oversees the Coastal and department, plans to propose a €295,000 budget amendment this month to fund a full-scale renovation of the building. The Centre was shut down after its structural flaws rendered it unsafe for public use.
Originally built in 2011 for 650,159.29 euros by Mettas SL, the Centre was a vital hub for local cultural, leisure, and educational activities. It also housed a library, featuring a special section dedicated to poet Ramón de Campoamor, whose name the building officially adopted in 2017 to mark the bicentenary of his birth. For a coastal area with few cultural facilities and a strong network of community associations, the Centre represented a crucial resource.
On January 9 of 2021, council surveyor detected subsidence in the exterior grounds, but it was not until December that users were finally evicted.
The council architect had called for urgent action but six months later nothing had been done. Although the guarantee had expired, a provision in the law saw Emilio Bascuñana’s executive open a denuncia in February 2021 insisting that Mettas correct the defects, but with no success.
Now overgrown with weeds, the site has fallen into disrepair, and in recent months has even become informal shelter for a homeless person. The building has remained closed since 2020, suffering from extensive structural issues including: a sinking perimeter sidewalk, water intrusion through retaining wall gaps, severe interior wall cracks, warped tiled walls, misaligned doors, and damage to both the façade and basement.
These conditions were documented during an inspection in March 2024 by Councillor Anabel García and the architect tasked with drafting the repair project. García labelled its reopening a top priority, though the necessary works must still go through a public bidding process.
Separately, a new civic Centre is also being planned for the area. Back in January 2022, the City Council allocated €76,201 to draft the technical plans for a €2.5 million multipurpose facility.
The proposed location is on Calle Madreperla in La Zenia, near the shopping Centre. The 12,298-square-meter plot would include 6,000 square meters of developed area, a green space buffer zone, and a 1,000-square-meter surface parking lot.
A standout feature of the proposed new facility is a 2,500-square-meter outdoor auditorium with a covered stage and a seating capacity for 2,000 people—ideal for large events in the area’s favourable climate. The main building would include 980 square meters on the ground floor and a 400-square-meter basement, housing multipurpose rooms, a gym, changing rooms, administrative offices, and a 400-seat indoor auditorium.
In the meantime, the focus is back on restoring the Ramón de Campoamor Centre, a long-neglected but essential space for Orihuela Costa’s civic and cultural life.
