The Torrevieja City Council has approved a new budget measure that will grant 450 euros for each birth or adoption, applicable to cases from 2024. The local governing board, led by the Partido Popular, has allocated 300,000 euros for the program, which is expected to cover up to 600 applications based on demographic statistics.
Although the detailed rules have not yet been finalized, the aid will be processed directly by the municipality to avoid delays, without requiring duplication checks from the regional government, even though the Generalitat offers a similar subsidy.
The initiative has been strongly promoted by Óscar Urtasun, Councillor for Social Services, who joined the local government in 2023 and has long been committed to family support policies. Urtasun previously served as president of the Alicante Association of Large Families (ASAFAN), and Torrevieja itself currently counts around 900 registered large families with general status and 70 with special status.
Far from suffering depopulation, Torrevieja has been one of the fastest-growing cities in Spain. According to the National Statistics Institute, it added more than 6,000 residents in 2024 alone, surpassing 94,800 officially, while the local census recorded over 106,000 residents at the start of 2025. The University Hospital of Torrevieja registered 1,057 births in 2024 among mothers in its catchment area, with about half of them residents of Torrevieja.
The city has a long tradition of broad subsidies, often designed with minimal requirements to reach as many people as possible. Past examples include the so-called “benefits” for pensioners, now more restricted, and free public transport for registered residents, which will soon end with the introduction of a new service.
While tighter regulations now limit some categories to prevent overlaps with regional or state aid, Torrevieja continues to invest heavily in local support. Academic achievement awards are available to students finishing secondary or vocational studies with high grades, often helping families who are ineligible for national scholarships due to income levels.
The municipality is also particularly generous with cultural, civic, and sports associations, distributing almost 2.5 million euros annually. Recently, 377,000 euros were awarded to 30 sports clubs, covering a wide variety of disciplines such as football, basketball, hockey, bowling, and paddle tennis. In this context, the new birth and adoption grant is part of a broader policy of social support that has become a hallmark of Torrevieja’s local government.
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