Alex Trelinski
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.
