Orihuela’s full council will debate approval of the initial version of the plan for its Agrifood Industry, Renewable Energy and Logistics Business Park on Thursday 29 October, covering around 2.2 million square metres.
The proposal will reach the meeting alongside its strategic environmental and territorial study, as part of a planning process that still has further public consultation and environmental assessment stages ahead.
The site lies north of the urban centre, beside the La Matanza road and parallel to the A-7 motorway, on land currently used mainly for citrus growing.
The proposed planning framework would convert that area into land for industrial and tertiary uses linked to agrifood businesses, renewable energy and logistics.
Access to the file and public representations
Planning councillor Matías Ruiz has explained that, if the council supports the documentation, a 45-day public consultation period will open so that residents and interested organisations can examine the file and submit representations.
The documents will be available through the municipal electronic office once that stage of the procedure opens.
At the same time, the council will request 28 sectoral reports from public administrations and utility companies to take the planning and environmental procedures forward.
Issues addressed in the studies include flood risk, traffic and fire prevention, alongside consultations concerning infrastructure and utility provision.
Regional environmental assessment comes later
Once public consultation has ended and the reports have been received, technical staff will prepare the final plan proposal and the strategic environmental and territorial assessment file.
Both will then go to the competent regional authority for assessment and, if appropriate, the issuing of a Strategic Environmental Declaration; Thursday’s vote does not amount to that final decision.
A planning history stretching back to 2013
Planning work began in 2013, but that procedure lapsed in 2018, before the file was revived in 2020 with the draft plan and initial strategic document.
The environmental scoping document issued in November 2022 provides the reference framework for the version now being submitted for consideration by the full council.
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