September 18
Good afternoon,
In reference to your letter, a black day for Orihuela Costa…
As residents living in the area Orihuela Costa since October 2020 now, we would like to add some information to your article and the situation affecting us very badly since we moved from the UK to Spain last year.
Actually the whole situation living at Orihuela Costa has become a nightmare for us.
It is not the wonderful, shiny location as being presented in some magazines, and predominantly with Places in the Sun on UK TV.
Since we moved here during the months October, November, December in 2020, it was quiet as from the impact of Brexit, Coronavirus and travel restrictions.
But with spring 2021 it became very unpleasant to live here.
The reasons are these.
The urbanisation built style of housing areas like ours…Dream Hills in Los Altos causes overpacked residential areas; utter disrespect for rubbish disposal in the streets (actually illegal; loud and rude neighbours even at nights between 22.00 and 02.00 the next morning and no respect for neighbours who need their sleep; dogs barking day and night with many neighbours finding it okay when they have three dogs disturbing others night times; loud motor bikes without any exhaust mufflers using the night to drive like mad through the streets and no police ever; people coming out of pubs and driving totally drunk and never any police checks; constant building noise from refurbishing of very densely populated urbanisations; streets being blocked up day and night by too many cars – there is the existing residents plus thousands of visitors in the summer and autumn months; water pressure of the houses is so low that it is hardly possible to have a shower (water supply net is too weak); no spaces to park a car anywhere near the beaches – residents cannot go to the beach during May to October; the infrastructure has no trains, a very poor bus service.
In addition, the medical system cannot support the residents – appointments need to be made months in advance, and during the holiday seasons GP practices and all hospitals are totally overloaded with tourists.
Every attempt to make an appointment with the Orihuela Costa town hall is almost impossible and online bookings take months.
Rubbish dumping is shocking: some residents or local firms are dumping all sorts of junk onto the streets. Sometimes the pile becomes several metres high and remains for months along the streets including furniture, beds, mattresses, electric household rubbish, garden waste with complete trees and massive branches.
We have written over 100 complaints about some of our neighbours within the last six months.
The result is that the responsible administration of our urbanisation don’t like it – they prefer to quietly tolerate some neighbours dumping the rubbish everywhere and at any time for the sake of peace. This encourages the criminal activities of dumping stuff in the streets.
The police don’t want to know – they refused to take reports and file a ‘denuncia’.
The same with email or telephone. When reporting the issues, the police do not turn up ever.
The council have tried to some degree to clean up more often as a reactive measure for the time being, but there is no system or a defined process and no penalties for unruly neighbours even after reporting the house number or car registration plate.
The law for illegal littering is a joke – there is no one ever pursuing the law. If there is no consequences, there will not be any changes.
With more urbanisation and more of such people, life will become totally unbearable for existing residents and we are already thinking of selling and moving away from Orihuela Costa as soon as possible.
I hope this report will help to clarify the true life situation experience at Orihuela Costa – it is a miserable, dirty location which has nothing great to offer.
Kind regards,
Alfons Dhein
