The bipartite government of the Elche City Council expects to activate the return to work "shortly" on a renovation that was halted due to non-compliance by the awarded contractor. Residents of the Sagrada Familia neighborhood have criticized the lack of direct information and the accumulated delays.
The Councilor for Public Spaces, José Claudio Guilabert, has assured that the project is now underway again and that the municipal forecast is for the expediente to pass through the governing board "shortly" so that the works can restart next month. The resumption comes after a lengthy administrative process that included the termination of the previous contract, the imposition of penalties on the company, and a new tender to complete the pending work, which represents around 80%.
Meanwhile, residents of the area have expressed their discontent over the accumulated delay and the lack of direct communication with the neighborhood association to schedule the return to work. According to their reports, this situation has prevented them from planning matters such as the festival grounds planned for the August celebrations.
Guilabert maintains that the City Council has already overcome the main phases of the necessary procedure to unblock an action that was suspended at the beginning of the year. The councilor recalls that the halt was not due to a municipal decision, but to the non-compliance of the initially awarded company, which did not execute the work within the foreseen deadlines.
The councilor regrets the inconvenience caused to the residents and defends that the local government had to follow all legal steps before being able to re-contract the work. The process has included processing the contract termination, applying the corresponding penalty, and opening a new tender process.
The new expediente aims to complete the renovation of the Nieves Berenguer Garden, an intervention affecting 26 planters along approximately 440 meters, which was proposed as key to improving the urban image, healthiness, and coexistence in a busy area of the neighborhood.
The renovation, which should have been completed by November 1, 2025, fell far short of that goal. The first contract, awarded on June 19, 2025, to Cauce Infraestructuras SL for 170,753.80 euros, with an initial period of two months, only reached 17% completion by January 12.
The situation has generated discontent in the neighborhood, where residents have been living for months with unfinished work. Residents and members of the neighborhood association complain about the lack of sufficient information regarding the specific date for resuming work and the planned organization to reconcile the renovation with neighborhood life, especially concerning the festival grounds for August.
From the City Council, Guilabert responds that a meeting was held with residents to explain the problem with the previous contractor and the legal steps to follow. He insists that the Administration could not immediately restart the work without first resolving the contract, settling the executed part, and re-tendering the pending work.
The government team had already reported in January that the work was practically paralyzed. In April, the governing board formalized the contract termination, with a settlement of 37,285 euros and the seizure of the definitive guarantee, which exceeded 7,000 euros.
The municipal spokesperson, Inma Mora, pointed out then a "serious breach" not only in deadlines but also in the organization and planning of the work. The City Council argued that the internal staffing problems alleged by the contractor did not justify the halt.
The new contract to complete the renovation started with a base tender budget of 160,425.97 euros and an execution period of three months. The governing board activated the procedure in April to re-contract the works through a simplified open process.
The project includes the renovation of planters with structural problems, restoration of benches, repainting of luminaires, planting of new trees, and replacement of species. The planters will feature a cement base with printed gravel, painted green, a surface that is easier to clean.
The renovation was presented as the first investment of this magnitude in the neighborhood in over 15 years. The restart planned for July aims to close a period of blockage that has deteriorated the neighborhood's perception of the work.
