The Administrative Law Section of the Elche Court of First Instance has annulled the decision to award the concession for operating sunbeds, parasols, and water sports facilities on Torrevieja’s beaches to the joint venture Actividades Torrevieja. The contract, which covers the seasons between 2025 and 2028, was set with an operating fee of around 1.2 million euro for the use of public beach space.
The ruling, signed by Judge Ricardo Barrio Martín, concludes that the contracting committee at Torrevieja City Council disregarded a technical report without providing sufficient justification. Municipal technicians had originally awarded the highest available score to an accessibility improvement proposal submitted by competing bidder Recreativos Acuáticos Horadada.
The court’s decision partially upholds the appeal filed by Recreativos Acuáticos Horadada against the City Council and the joint venture formed by Actividades Náuticas Torrevieja and Baliser Equipamientos de Playas. However, the judge did not award the contract directly to Recreativos Acuáticos Horadada, stating that the decision rests with the municipal authority. A claim by the company for 55,619 euro in lost profits was also dismissed.
The legal dispute focused on an accessibility improvement package valued at 109,918 euro including VAT, designed to facilitate bathing for people with reduced mobility. The proposal included an adapted pontoon with an access ramp, pontoon module, pilings, anchors, a ladder, a pergola, a lift, and other elements.
Initial documentation contained a discrepancy between the project budget, which listed two six-metre ramps priced at 8,510 euro each, and a plan showing only one. When requested to clarify, Recreativos Acuáticos Horadada explained that combining two modules created a 12-metre walkway. This extended depth was required to safely operate the lift, based on bathymetric data from the natural pools of Torrevieja.
In June, two municipal supervising technicians accepted the explanation, determining that the proposal did not represent a duplication or error. They awarded the firm the full 16 points available for accessibility improvements, taking its overall score to 88.37 points.
However, the municipal contracting committee—comprising department directors and the auditor—decided the clarification constituted an alteration of the original bid. They reduced the accessibility score to zero points, lowering the company’s total score to 72.37 points and leading to the award of the contract to the competing consortium.
The court rejected the committee’s reasoning, ruling that the documentation merely clarified the initial bid without changing the costs or modifying the proposal. While the committee is legally permitted to deviate from non-binding technical reports, the judge ruled that it failed to adequately justify doing so.
The court also highlighted that the winning consortium initially provided a seven-metre walkway before needing to source a longer structure after finding the first insufficient. The current company eventually placed the bathing platform into operation at one of the natural pools on 10 July.
As a result of the ruling, the City Council must return the procurement process to the stage prior to the June 2025 meeting of the Contracting Committee. The committee will be required to issue a new proposal that respects technical assessments or provides proper justification, treating the documentation submitted by Recreativos Acuáticos Horadada as a valid clarification rather than a bid modification.
The decision can be appealed to the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community. If an appeal is lodged, the current service provider may seek interim measures to maintain operations until a final judicial ruling is reached.
The Torrevieja City Council Procurement Board is chaired by the Director General of Procurement and includes the secretary to the Local Governing Board, the Director of the Legal Department, the authorized municipal auditor, another official, and the Director General of Finance.
