ORIHUELA’S GREAT SUCCESS. (PART IV — THE DATA)
This is no longer about perception.
This is no longer about “isolated complaints.”
And it is no longer just frustrated residents posting photographs on social media.
👉 This is now about numbers.
👉 Contracts.
👉 Spending.
👉 Taxes.
👉 Accountability.
Because while residents across Orihuela Costa continue reporting deteriorating services, rising neglect, broken infrastructure and inconsistent maintenance, the financial figures tell a very different story.
Orihuela’s municipal cleaning and waste contract is valued at:
▪️ €20,749,368 over 5 years
▪️ Approximately €4,149,873 per year
That contract is intended to cover:
▪️ Waste collection
▪️ Street cleaning
▪️ Maintenance of public buildings and facilities
So the question is no longer whether resources exist.
👉 Clearly, they do.
At the same time, Orihuela Costa itself has changed dramatically.
This is no longer a small seasonal urbanisation surviving on summer tourism alone.
Today the coast has:
▪️ Between 35,000 and 40,000 permanent residents
▪️ A population that rises to more than 150,000 during peak periods
That places Orihuela Costa firmly within the scale and pressure of a medium-sized city.
Yet despite this reality, residents across multiple areas continue reporting exactly the same problems:
▪️ Broken or missing bins
▪️ Overflowing rubbish points
▪️ Inconsistent or unclear collection schedules
▪️ Overgrown public spaces
▪️ Pavements deteriorating
▪️ Road repairs failing within weeks
▪️ Basic maintenance repeatedly delayed
Meanwhile residents are also reporting major increases in waste taxes — in some cases allegedly tripled.
And this is where the frustration becomes impossible to ignore.
Because when taxes rise, expectations rise with them.
👉 Higher contributions should lead to higher standards.
Instead, many residents believe they are experiencing the exact opposite:
👉 Higher costs
👉 Lower reliability
👉 Lower confidence
👉 Lower standards
Recent financial figures raise further uncomfortable questions.
Nearly €90,000 was reportedly returned from a regional grant intended for mental health programmes.
At the same time, administrative issues linked to European ERDF funding have reportedly created risks of repayments potentially exceeding €1 million.
These issues may not directly relate to bins, roads or weeds.
But they do create a wider public concern:
👉 If funding is being returned, delayed, lost or placed at risk elsewhere, confidence in overall financial management inevitably begins to erode.
And this is where the political narrative begins collapsing under its own contradictions.
Because visible investment clearly exists in some locations.
Figures include:
▪️ €440,000 in façade restoration grants within Orihuela city centre
▪️ €294,000 linked to the rehabilitation tender for the Centro Cívico Ramón de Campoamor
Meanwhile, across large parts of Orihuela Costa, residents continue documenting decline themselves — daily.
Not through political slogans.
Not through ideology.
But through photographs, videos and lived experience.
And perhaps the most revealing indicator of all is behavioural.
Residents are now:
▪️ Cleaning areas themselves
▪️ Sharing evidence across communities
▪️ Adjusting routines around unreliable services
▪️ Losing confidence that complaints will lead to action
That is no longer ordinary civic engagement.
👉 It is a response to a service gap.
Because when over €4 million per year is allocated…
When a population of up to 150,000 depends on those services…
And when taxes continue rising…
Residents are entitled to ask:
👉 Where is the disconnect between spending and delivery?
This is no longer anecdotal.
👉 It is evidenced.
Funding exists.
Demand exists.
Revenue is increasing.
Yet many residents believe the outcome remains unchanged:
