A 12-YEAR dispute over a closed 60-metre-long footpath on the Orihuela Costa has ended.

It means the previously busy Cabo Roig coastal walkway between Aquamarina and La Caleta will reopen in time for the summer.

An independent panel has ruled that Orihuela council will pay Bellavista residents just over €26,000 in compensation to reopen the path.

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In 2023, the property owners claimed €2 million in expropriation fees plus another €1 million for developer Cabo Roig SA over land assigned for a hotel.

Orihuela council offered €70,000 and the matter was sent to the Provincial Expropriation Jury to resolve.

The path was blocked off in December 2021 after a court gave Bellavista residents the right to close it.

It meant pedestrians had to make a two kilometre detour to get to the beach after six years of access.

The dispute had its roots dating back to 1990 when the Bellavista development was approved.

Orihuela council did not expropriate the full length of the path, leaving a 60-metre gap.

Residents built a barrier in 2013 to shut off access, but it was taken down two years later by the authority-using workers with sledgehammers to smash down the wall.

That was then challenged and eventually the council was forced to reinstall the barrier over four years ago.

In 2023, the Costas coastal authority ruled that the path should be reopened, leaving the vexed question of compensation to be resolved, which has now happened.

A TOILET lid and a fire extinguisher were some of the more unusual items left behind on TRAM d’Alacant services last year.

Other lost goods included bicycles, scooters, suitcases, crutches, canes, motorcycle helmets, ice coolers, a hair dryer, and even a builder’s construction shovel.

2,494 items were found in 2024- an average of seven per day- with the busiest month being October(442).

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Goods are stored by local tram stations for a month and then an extra four weeks at the lost property warehouse based at Luceros station.

If after that stage, nobody makes a claim, items go to the Alicante Policia Local or for recycling if they are in an obvious poor state.

Official documents like identity and health cards, driving licenses, and passports are passed over to the police immediately, so that they can be returned.

Bank and credit cards are destroyed immediately for security reasons.

Over 37% of lost goods were reclaimed in 2024- helped by customer service staff who do some detective work in tracking down owners.

Wallets and purses, keys, backpacks, documents, phones, glasses, folders, umbrellas and bags accounted for the bulk of items left behind on trams.

CONSTRUCTION of new properties in Alicante province have soared to their highest level since the property bubble burst in 2008.

Figures from Alicante’s Official College of Technical Architecture (COATA) have revealed 2,727 new builds in the first quarter of this year.

That’s a 53% increase on the same period last year.

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A quarter-to-quarter comparison showed a 49% rise on the last three months of 2024.

COATA president, Carlos Casas, told the Informacion newspaper: “The start of the year shows a remarkable intensity of activity, with figures that we have not seen since before the 2008 crisis.”

“This is a response to an economic environment that, despite the uncertainties, continues to be conducive to housing development and reflects a significant boost to the sector,” he added.

“Although such marked increases are not expected over the coming quarters, statistics indicate that the market is reacting to demand pressure by increasing the level of activity,” he continued.

Casas did issue a warning says that ‘we must be prudent and not take for granted that this rate of growth will be maintained’.

Inland areas plus Elche and Las Marinas have reached construction levels not seen for 17 years.

The most new builds continue to be recorded in the Vega Baja.

Broken down into municipalities, San Miguel de Salinas had the highest number of properties started this year at 275, followed closely by Mutxamel on 260.

Alicante follows with 258 homes, Villajoyosa on 257, Orihuela with 204, and Denia recording 200.

The average building cost per m2 stood at €559 during the first quarter of 2025, up by 2.9% on the 2024 annual figure.