A BITTER 12-year row over a blocked Orihuela Costa footpath has ended after it reopened last week- nearly four years after its second closure.
Orihuela mayor, Pepe Vegara, witnessed the removal of an iron gate in Cabo Roig that blocked access between Aquamarina and La Caleta.
The reopening followed a €26,000 compensation award to Bellavista residents who wanted a €3 million expropriation fee.
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Up to August 19, pedestrians had to make a 15-minute detour due the closure.
The problems had their roots back in 1990 when the Bellavista development was approved.
Orihuela council did not fully expropriate the route for the path- leaving a bizarre 60-metre gap.
Residents put up the gate in 2013, but it was removed by the council two years later, only for a court to order it back again in December 2021.
Last year, Spain’s coastal authority ruled the walkway must be reopened to the public – leaving the thorny issue of compensation on the table.
Initially Orihuela council offered just €70,000, which was turned down, and the dispute was solved by the Provincial Expropriation Jury, who came up with a lower figure.
Tomas Moreno, from the ‘Unidos por La Costa’ association thanked everybody for their work on ‘this complicated matter’.
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