Maria Josep Ripoll reviews the state of the General Plan, port access and housing in Dénia

The councillor for Territory in Dénia, Maria Josep Ripoll, has explained in an interview the state of the main urban planning, mobility and housing projects promoted by the Town Hall. According to Ripoll, the Town Hall maintains conversations with the Regional Ministry to unblock the Northern Ring Road and improve port access, two regional infrastructures which, she claims, are not connected to each other. The councillor argues that this connection should be a public investment and stated: "we want to prevent port access from conditioning the model of the city of the future".

On the new General Plan, definitively approved by the Regional Ministry following a favourable report, Ripoll says she has no concern about the legal challenges brought against the document. The councillor maintains that property developers have been talking about urban chaos and million-euro court rulings since 2015, "and only they think about it". The General Plan is designed to last between 20 and 30 years, and Ripoll explained: "I don't have a magic wand, but we have to find the formula so that this General Plan, which has to live for 20 or 30 years, can adapt to the constant changes in our world without needing to start from scratch." According to the councillor, detailed planning is progressing in parallel by zones: La Xara and Jesús Pobre, which are more advanced, will be approved soon, while Las Marines and Montgó will come in a second phase.

Ripoll notes that the Paris Pedrera neighbourhood centre and the classroom building of the future university campus, financed with Next Generation funds, will progress before the end of the term of office. So far, the only work executed linked to the future university campus is the rehabilitation of Torrecremada, according to the councillor. She has also indicated that reurbanisation works have been carried out on streets in Las Rocas (San Pascual and part of San Sebastián) and on Elche Street, financed by the Planifica plan of the Alicante Provincial Council. In Las Pocetas, she added, the children's playground next to the beach bar is being renovated and next year a new water park will be installed.

On the matter of housing, Ripoll indicates that the new state decrees would allow the application of local measures such as extending tenancies or raising the property tax on empty or tourist properties, although she acknowledges that she has not yet studied them thoroughly. The Town Hall, according to the councillor, is drafting a public housing project for the site of the old railway workers' houses. When asked about the 46 homes that the Casa 47 programme—which recovers empty properties from Sareb funds for affordable rental—announces in Dénia, compared to the 66 allocated in Pedreguer, a smaller municipality, Ripoll replied: "What matters is not the number of houses, but the model."