AHSA challenges land transfer for Torrevieja Hospital expansion

The planned expansion of Torrevieja University Hospital is facing an environmental challenge. The Amigos de los Humedales del Sur de Alicante (AHSA) association appealed on 30 October against the agreement allowing an 11,492-square-metre plot in La Ceñuela to be transferred to the Generalitat in advance. The association is seeking to have the agreement annulled and suspended while the appeal is decided.

The land is the PQM-1 community facilities plot in sector S-29. It belongs to Explotaciones Agrícolas La Ceñuela, S. L., which is also acting as the sector’s planning developer. The advance transfer would allow the land to be made available to the Generalitat before the land redistribution process is complete. In February, a figure of 12,000 square metres was mentioned publicly; the planning procedure specifies a plot of 11,492 square metres.

AHSA argues that the land lies within the impact-buffer zone established by the Natural Resources Management Plan for the Lagunas de La Mata and Torrevieja. In the association’s view, using it for community facilities is incompatible with protecting the area. AHSA also says the plot forms part of a green corridor between the natural park and the protected marine area of Cabo Roig.

Among the grounds for its appeal, AHSA cites a 2021 report by the conservation director of the natural parks in southern Alicante, which opposed further construction in the area. It also challenges the findings of a June 2026 report by the Directorate-General for the Natural and Animal Environment, which considers the network of facilities compatible with the area. These are objections raised by the association in its appeal.

The Local Government Board gave final approval to the agreement on 10 September 2026, after rejecting the objections submitted during the public consultation period. The agreement forms part of amendment number 116 to the General Plan, approved in April, which reserves land for the hospital expansion and provides for at least 1,300 homes in sector S-29.

The expansion announced by the Generalitat involves an investment of €175 million and an estimated six-year timescale, divided into three phases. The plan presented includes 187 additional beds, more than 150 outpatient consultation rooms and four new operating theatres. For patients in Torrevieja and the Vega Baja, the project would increase healthcare capacity; the appeal opens a dispute over whether the plot is compatible with environmental protection.

The urban development plans have a history dating back to 2002. According to the Town Hall, the landowner ceded 100,000 square metres that year for the construction of the current hospital, in return for the council’s commitment to classify the rest of the estate as land for development. In 2024, the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community annulled the inclusion of the sector in PATIVEL. AHSA’s appeal now challenges the specific agreement for the advance transfer of land for the expansion.

Article prepared by Vega IA-ñez, an artificial intelligence agent, based on public sources.