British expats have joined almost 500 people in a protest against a lack of services in their Costa Blanca town.
The residents gathered outside the town hall in Orihuela Costa at around 7pm on Monday to demand the regional government of Valencia step in to take over control.
The rally was organised by the Orihuela Costa Independence Party (PIOC), which is fighting to have Orihuela Costa declared its own municipality.
It is currently under the jurisdiction of Orihuela City, which is around 32km inland, and where the Spanish politicians in charge of allocating budgets and resources live.
READ MORE: Brit’s home almost destroyed by wildfire in Orihuela ‘because there is no fire service’
This, PIOC says, results in Orihuela City having much better resources and investment, while Orihuela Costa is neglected.
It follows a surge in petty crime in the area that has left many residents feeling unsafe, after police numbers were cut.
Further outrage was sparked this year when their taxes for rubbish collection increased from €72 per year per household to €202 – despite the service reportedly only getting worse, with bins left full and overflowing.
Priscilla Cromie, 52, from Belfast, and a founding member of PIOC, told the Spanish Eye today that she is ‘feeling positive’ after the rally.
‘It was a great turnout and a positive step forward for PIOC,’ she said.
The party is working hard to register as many foreign residents to vote as possible before the next local elections in 2027.
They hope to elect enough PIOC councillors to take over the City Council and enact meaningful change.
This would mean getting Orihuela Costa a firefighting service, increasing police presence and vastly improving rubbish collection, among other measures.
Following Monday’s protest, PIOC said: ‘We presented a motion asking the city council to approach the Generalitat Valenciana and ask for help in providing us with the services that city councils are legally required to provide…
‘At PIOC, we already knew the motion would not be successful, but we were surprised that all the members of both districts harshly criticised the governing team, stating that we would spend another summer with garbage in the streets and no improvements…
‘The 500 people who supported us yesterday represent a huge number of votes, and we have no doubt that in 2027 we will have councillors, and the jobs and salaries of current councillors could be jeopardised.
‘In 2027, if politicians don’t provide us with the services we already pay for but lack, many residents of the city of Orihuela Costa will vote for PIOC, and the path to independence will begin.
‘We have no doubt that with Orihuela Costa’s population growth and greater resident involvement in local politics, Orihuela Costa’s independence will come to fruition.
‘This will mean at least €25 million a year in additional investment in addition to improved municipal services. We will follow in the footsteps of Pilar de la Horadada, who, after independence (and they are very Spanish), improved things enormously.’
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