Major Benidorm housing project gets green light after 20-year wait

Benidorm has taken a major step towards bringing one of its largest undeveloped residential areas back to life, potentially opening the door to almost 3,000 new homes in the Poniente area.

The city’s extraordinary plenary session approved unanimously the removal of Prometosa Construcciones as the urban development agent for the long-delayed PAU-1 Murtal sector.

The decision ends a process that has been stalled for more than two decades and could allow the huge development to move forward under new management.

Huge Benidorm housing development could finally move forward

The Murtal sector covers more than 900,000 square metres on the Poniente side of Benidorm, making it one of the city’s remaining major areas of undeveloped land.

Current planning provides for more than 2,900 homes, alongside other infrastructure and public spaces.

Its location is particularly significant because Benidorm has very limited urban development land remaining.

The reopening of the project therefore comes as the city faces continued pressure on its residential housing market and demand for homes from both residents and workers.

However, the latest decision does not mean that nearly 3,000 homes are about to go on sale.

There are still further planning and development stages to complete before construction can begin.

Why has the project taken so long?

The Murtal development has been caught up in legal and administrative problems for years.

Prometosa was originally appointed to develop the sector in 2003, but disagreements and subsequent legal proceedings repeatedly delayed progress.

The municipality eventually had to intervene in the preparation of the urbanisation project, while the reparcelling process was registered in 2019.

However, further difficulties followed over the payment of development costs.

One of the most significant developments came in 2023, when the Valencian High Court found that the urbanisation costs had increased by 118 per cent compared with the original figures from 2000.

That increase provided the legal basis for ending Prometosa’s role under the applicable urban planning legislation.

The council has stressed that the existing planning and reparcelling documents remain valid.

That means the latest decision is intended to remove the obstacle surrounding the developer rather than start the entire planning process from scratch.

Property owners could take over

The next stage could see the landowners themselves play a much bigger role.

According to the council, owners are already organising themselves to create an Agrupación de Interés Urbanístico, or Urban Development Interest Group.

One landowner is understood to control more than 60 per cent of the land, which would allow it to put itself forward as the new urban development agent if the necessary process is completed.

This could provide a route for the Murtal project to continue after years of inactivity.

The council itself has said it cannot directly take over management of the development.

What it could mean for Benidorm

The potential release of thousands of homes comes at a significant moment for Benidorm’s property market.

A recent report highlighted the difficulties faced by local workers trying to access housing, with rising purchase and rental costs adding pressure to the city’s residential market.

At the same time, Benidorm is already working on additional public housing. The Generalitat is currently preparing a nine-home building on Paseo de la Castellana for affordable rental, aimed at young people under 35 and single-parent families.

The Murtal development would be on a completely different scale.

If the new management arrangements are successfully completed, the project could become one of Benidorm’s largest future residential developments and create a substantial new supply of housing in an area of the city where development land is increasingly scarce.

For now, however, the key change is that a project which has remained stuck for more than 20 years has finally been given a potential route forward.