Amigos de los Humedales del Sur de Alicante (AHSA) has lodged an administrative appeal against the agreement for the early transfer of land at La Ceñuela intended to facilitate the expansion of Torrevieja University Hospital.
The environmental association is asking for the council agreement to be annulled and its implementation suspended while the appeal is considered, arguing that the development affects environmentally protected land.
Two environmental assessments under scrutiny
AHSA maintains that the entire plot falls within the Natural Resources Management Plan for Southern Alicante’s wetland system, specifically Agricultural Predominance Area B in the impact buffer zone.
The group cites an October 2021 report by the director responsible for Southern Alicante’s natural parks, which opposed new construction when a higher education centre was being considered for the same land.
The council’s response to earlier objections, which were rejected, refers to a June 2026 report from the Directorate-General for the Natural Environment and Animals that considers facilities use compatible on this plot.
The association disputes whether that document supersedes the earlier assessment and argues that a fresh statement explicitly changing it is needed from the parks director.
La Ceñuela’s role as a territorial corridor
The appeal also identifies the land as a territorial corridor within the regional green infrastructure network and the connection area covered by the coastal green infrastructure plan, Pativel.
AHSA links that role to maintaining continuity between the La Mata and Torrevieja lagoons and the protected marine area at Cabo Roig, through La Ceñuela and Lo Ferrís.
It also challenges the agreement’s approval before completion of amendment 116 to the General Plan and the S-29 sector’s detailed development plan, whose final approval is a condition for the agreement to take effect.
What the hospital expansion envisages
The proposal envisages an additional 30,000 square metres of built floor space, combining work within the existing hospital grounds with new buildings on an adjoining plot measuring 11,492 square metres.
It includes reorganising clinical departments, enlarging the operating theatre block and providing new delivery rooms, although it has not yet been developed into a preliminary design.
AHSA is requesting annulment and suspension of the agreement: this is not an already ordered suspension or a ruling declaring the hospital expansion unlawful.
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