The controversy that marred the presentation of the official book of Holy Week in Orihuela at La Lonja, back in March, due to the lift being sealed off since February to access the auditorium, generating shock and complaints among the attendees, especially among people with reduced mobility and wheelchair users who could not access the venue without even having been previously warned by the organisers of the event, was just the tip of the iceberg of a larger problem: the general condition of the 35 municipal lifts, in some cases essential for accessibility in public buildings and even some beaches. Now, the City Council has put out to tender the contract to bring them up to standard, with a budget of 88,810 euro and a duration of six months. This tender—it should be clarified—is necessary to correct the deficiencies detected—most of them classified as serious—which fall outside the scope of the maintenance service awarded in 2023. It is being released now, despite the fact that it was flagged in the regulatory inspections carried out by the control body between June and September 2025.
One year after the inspection certificates, the document itself establishes the urgency of intervening, since “in most cases they are safety elements required by current regulations, both for maintenance workers and for the users of the lifts themselves.” However, it is also indicated that a six-month correction period was established – now exceeded – or they would be taken out of service after a second inspection. “This situation affects 22 of the 35 lifts that serve municipal buildings, and all or some of these lifts may be left without service,” the administration itself acknowledges. Furthermore, it is indicated that it is necessary to adapt them to comply with the Safety Increase in Existing Elevators (ISAE), according to the new regulations, for which there is a period of one year.
The breakdowns and defects are numerous
The contract specifications themselves provide a detailed overview of the condition of each lift. Of the 35, only six have a satisfactory result and are free of defects: the Museum of the City Walls, the Museum of the Reconquista, the Miguel Hernández Birthplace, the former courthouse (a building renovated just over a year ago), the La Aparecida Civic Centre, and the San Bartolomé Multipurpose Centre. It should be noted that the latter three do not require any intervention, while the first three need only minor repairs. Six others are out of service and therefore not included in the contract. Instead, they will require individual studies for their reactivation. One of these is the shuttle located in the Miraver building, providing access to Barranco Rubio beach. To replace this service, the City Council has just put out to tender a minivan with daily trips between 10:00 and 15:00 – it remains to be seen whether it will be operational in time for August. The shuttles at the Teatro Circo, the Local Police station on Calle Miguel Hernández, the Palmeral Interpretation Centre, the Coastal Emergency Centre, and the one at Punta Prima, which provides access to the beach via a steep set of stairs, are in the same situation.
Punta Prima Beach
This last case is especially striking, among other things, because of the summer season and because since it opened in 2010 it has accumulated years of breakdowns, stringing together several summers in which it spends more time out of service than operational – officially, it should operate between 15th June and 15th September. Unlike the other six, this one is included in the contract, although it won’t be operational this summer either. Its specifications indicate that it has been out of service since July 26th of last year, when the machine’s pit flooded due to weather conditions. A technical report issued in August already warned that its operation would require repairs costing 8,293 euro. However, it wasn’t until last April that another report was released estimating the timeframe for replacing it with a new one, something that was included in the 2024 budget but has not yet been put out to tender. This assessment was carried out “given the need expressed by the Coastal Council for the lift to be put into operation in order to provide accessibility to the beach it serves as soon as possible, and especially during the summer period.” The technician notes that the lift, due to its location outdoors on the beachfront and the surrounding saline environment, has suffered numerous breakdowns and is currently awaiting repair. In this regard, he determines that, given the unknown status of the tender process for purchasing a more suitable lift, the minimum timeframe for having a new one is five months from the date the contract is awarded, assuming no unforeseen circumstances arise. Thus, he concludes that the only way to have it operational this summer would be to carry out the repairs, which are currently being put out to tender, and which will also not be completed in time.
Defects Of the other 35 devices, only three receive a favourable report, although with minor defects: the second lift in Barranco Rubio, the one at the Rincón de Bonanza school and the one at the María Moliner municipal library. Another building, the Greco building (on Calle Marqués de Arneva), requires complete modernisation or replacement, while 19 others received an unfavourable rating due to serious defects. These include the Town Hall in the coastal area and in the city, Casa Cassinello, the Miguel Hernández Foundation, the civic centres in the coastal area and Molins, the three centres in La Lonja, the Water Palace, the Poeta del Pueblo building, the Carmen Conde multipurpose building, and the schools Los Dolses, Fernando Loaces, Hurchillo, Miguel Hernández, Virgen de Monserrate, and Playas de Orihuela, as well as the Antonio Sequeros special education centre.
