Alhama de Murcia’s long-delayed park project is now in full swing

Work to remodel La Cubana park is now well underway, after it was held-up for two years by the previous council

Mayor Rosa Sánchez visited the ongoing work at the park this week

A project to remodel La Cubana park in Alhama de Murcia is progressing on schedule and due to be finished in summer 2026, Mayor Rosa Sánchez announced this week.

After being delayed for two years, work got underway in July and will involve completely transforming the more than 30,000 square metre space, with gardens, children’s areas, recreational areas and a large, open-air auditorium for over 3,000 people.

Currently, workers are finishing off the connection of drainage networks and systems so that the park will become part the municipal storm drain network, she explained.

This will be followed by levelling the ground and then more visible aspects of the project can begin.

The perimeter will be completely fenced-off at the end of this month so that work can continue on the old children’s traffic park, the auditorium and the play area, noted the mayor.

Nevertheless, access will remain open to the Virgen del Rosario care home and the senior citizens’ recreational centre, she assured.

Since the park’s closing will coincide with the October Fair, several activities and associations have had to be relocated in places such as the fairground, Calle de la Feria, the atrium of the church or Calle Paraguay, “which this year is going to host the day and the evening fair together”.

A space has been reserved so that the charity Cáritas’s traditional buñuelos (like deep fried doughnuts) stall can remain, said Sánchez.

Costs and financing

The decision to halt the project, which was taken by the previous council in July 2023 with the support of the Partido Popular, Alhama @ Una and Vox parties, is proving costly for the Town Hall, according to the mayor.

The company that the original contract was awarded to is demanding about €240,000 in compensation, in addition to compensating the team that drew up the project and other expenses resulting from the decision.

Sánchez criticised the “imprudence” of halting a project that had already been awarded and was underway.

“The project, with an initial budget of €3 million, had a state subsidy which was returned by the previous local government,” she noted.

However, the current council has applied for European financing which could cover up to 60% of the cost, and the first decisions on these funds are expected towards the end of this year, she confirmed.

Alternative car parks

The mayor also announced that the car park opposite “Los Bartolos” restaurant will remain open during this phase of the work and, in order to provide provisional parking spaces while the park is being remodelled, the Town Hall has also rented vacant plots of land nearby, including ones on Calle Fuente del Ral, Calle Gines Díaz Sánchez and Avenida de España.

“We are giving a strategic project back to Alhama de Murcia, one that should never have been halted,” Sánchez added.

“La Cubana park is going to be a green lung and a cultural and social meeting space for all residents.”

For more local information in English relating to Alhama de Murcia, including news and forthcoming events, go to Alhama Today.

Image: Ayuntamiento de Alhama de Murcia