AN ALICANTE area council is having to spend €4.3 million after a green area was not created above a new underground car park two decades ago.
The Valencian Supreme Court in 2005 ruled against the Partido Popular-run Alcoy City Council for not having enough topsoil to support trees on the square above the Plaza de La Constitucion car park.
An appeal failed two years later and a green area was then created at the square- known as La Rosaleda- but the car park roof and foundations have deteriorated over the years due to the soil’s weight.
Work has already started on the square and car park, which will be shut from March 1 for eight months.
All of the slab tiling will be moved and a new garden will be created on the top of the parking lot.
The project will also see the statue of Saint George moved to a spot closer to Avenida Alameda Camilo Sesto.
Alcoy’s Urban Planning councillor, Vanessa Molto, said: “We will be removing an illegality that was denounced by environmentalists and was caused by those who governed at the time- the Partido Popular.”
“This will cost everybody in Alcoy over €4 million to rectify a project which did not meet the correct requirements,” she added.
13 years after the court appeal was lost, Alcoy council- now led by the socialist PSOE party- got round to drafting and tendering a project which took until late 2022.
The tender for an original cost of €2.4 million was then abandoned as the price did not match rising costs which had virtually doubled due to the economic crisis.
