Benidorm News Headlines
Benidorm Local News Headlines - Keep up to date with details of local and national news stories relating to Benidorm and the surrounding area. Click on the links to read the full stories.
Benidorm Local News Headlines 2023
Travel Information
Advance notice that the carretera N332 between Altea and Calpe, in the area of the Mascarat tunnels is to be closed completely for around a week. The closures will be from the 14th to 24th of May (extended), between kilometres 164+700 and 165+500, for tunnel improvement works costing 1.2 million euros. The only alternative for drivers travelling to Calpe and beyond during that period, will be to use the autopista. (Motorway)
21st May - Fire in Benidorm - A house fire was reported at around 05.15 this morning on Calle Esperanto, 5 fire crews were in attendance and the fire extinguished. Several residents were evacuated and treated for smoke inhalation. No further updates are available at this time.
16th May - Fire in Benidorm - At 15:43, the Provincial Firefighters Consortium received notification about a fire on the waste land at Partida Armanello, very close to the Repsol station and the discos. The fire affected quite a few abandoned buildings, and rubbish left in that area, the plume of smoke can be seen from all over Benidorm, a fire also took place in the same area yesterday (see below).
Over 50 people were evacuated from the immediate area, as a precaution. The Benidorm City Council made use of the municipal sports centre to accommodate people.
Planes and helicopters, along with ground crews of firefighters are presently working on the scene to control the massive blaze.
More than 15 firemen from Benidorm and Benissa are on the scene, to get the fire under control.
No injuries have been reported, and the fire was officially classed as under control at 20.45.
15th May - Benidorm Firefighters were activated in the Armanello at around 14:30, when a fire broke out in a vehicle, Department quickly had the fire under control.
12th May - Ambitious plans have been unveiled by Benidorm town hall to construct a lift, to take people from the base of the headland that is situated at the end of Poniente beach, to the top, near the site of the ruins of a small Roman "fort" situated there.
The Roman ruins are becoming quite an attraction for the town, but access is currently limited due to their situation, 72.25 metres above sea level. The construction of a lift has an estimate of 3 million euros, and funding options and technical issues are due to be discussed at the town hall meeting of next Monday.
Benidorm Local News Headlines
12th May - The Valencian department of tourism choose Benidorm yesterday to unveil the new laws that apply to bars and restaurants across our region. (Which obviously includes Benidorm)
The scheme indicates with one, two or three "forks", the category of the establishment, in the same way as the hotel star system. The requirements include a progressive training program for staff, and practical requirements regarding offers of food and drink available on menus in at least Spanish, Valenciano and English languages.
Bars and restaurants have been given a period of one year to adapt to the new laws/requirements
28th April - A 54 year old tourist has been rescued unconscious from a hotel swimming pool in Benidorm, he was discovered floating motionless at 23.30 Wednesday night, emergency services were called to the hotel on Calle Gerona.
By pure coincidence, there were health service workers present at the hotel, and they were able to carry out CPR until a paramedic ambulance arrived. After extensive work the man recovered a pulse and his breathing, he was later transferred to the hospital at La Vilajoyosa.
He is now said to be stable, and his life not in danger. No word is given of name nor nationality.
24th April - Benidorm National police have detained a gang of eight juveniles that were responsible for a mini crimewave, stealing electric scooters from places such as outside sports centres in the town. The gang had set themselves up with various defined duties, such as lookouts etc, and used cutters to remove locks before stealing them. They would then sell them through a second hand shop in the town.
The police have recovered five scooters of the eight that were stolen, and the youngsters now face prosecution, through the juvenile court in the town.
23rd April - Benidorm town hall has released details of it "accounts" for 2022- The show that the town had a "surplus" of 13.1 million euros, which they now plan to use to boost social aid and spending, and to boost the local economy. The actual debt of the town hall is of 31 million euros, mainly in loans from banks, which is to finance major projects around the town. This figure is drastically below the debt levels of a decade or so ago, when the town hall was well over 100 million euros in debt.
18th April - About 15:45pm this Tuesday, part of the concrete structure at the Rosamar Hotel collapsed.
As a precautionary measure, the Park-based Provincial Firefighters in Benidorm were called to the scene along with Local and National Police, health technicians and several ambulances.
Fire Service confirmed that only material damage had been sustained, and no one was injured.
17th April - A total of 32 people have been detained in two seperate police operations carried out in Benidorm, El Albir, La Nucía, Almoradí, Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Alicante, Castellón, France and Sweden.
The operations were in connection with the growing and export of marijuana and its derivatives. Around three quarters of a ton of cannabis, and 1,490 marijuna plants were confiscated in the raids.
The drugs were grown in properties and industrial units in Benidorm, La Nucía, El Albir and Almoradí, and although the arrested were of various nationalities, the organisation itself is stated to be "Swedish run".
17th April - National police of Benidorm were called to an address in the town over the weekend, after complaints from a woman that her ex partner was acting in a violent manner. Police detained the man and removed him to the police station, where for some time he refused their efforts to formally identify him.
The reasons for this eventually became clear, as it was discovered that the Lithuanian national was in fact wanted on an international arrest warrant for drug trafficking, economic and financial crimes, with a 15 year jail sentence pending. He will be sent to Madrid for extradition.
17th April - After 20 years in "legal limbo" the first of seven hotels that were built with sizes that exceeded the original size on the plans in the early 2000´s, is to be allowed to legalise the excess constructed areas. The first hotel to sort its legal situation is the Hotel Deloix, which has to pay the town hall 371,000€ in compensation for the overbuild.
Other hotels with similar overbuilds are the Madeira, Victoria, Flamingo Oasis, Meliá Benidorm, Levante Club and Mediterráneo....Some of these six on seeing this favourable resolution have already now approached the town hall with regard to their own situations.
Benidorm Local News Headlines - 16th April - Lidl finally comes to Benidorm
The supermarket chain Lidl continues its expansion in the Valencian Community, this time, with its first store in Benidorm. The company is already present in Finestrat, La Nucía and l'Alfàs del Pi.
The company have now received the go-ahead for the demolition of the two shops (Dia and the 'El Corte Chino) located in the Rincón de Loix, on Doctor Severo Ochoa Avenue.
Sadly no deadlines have been announced for the new supermarket, but municipal technical reports give them a period of three months to finish the demolition.
9th April - British man arrested in Benidorm
4th April - New planned developments on the Poniente side of Benidorm. This area will see three new massive tower blocks, one of 24 floors, one of 30 floors, and one of a massive 40 floors in height! A total of 400 properties are involved.
The company behind the project is "TM Grupo Inmobiliario", who were behind the stunning Sunset Cliffs development.
Benidorm Local News Headlines
3rd April - From today and until 26th September two monumental 7 meter high sculptures 'Silvia' and 'Maria' by artist Jaume Plensa can be found at El Castell de Benidorm (Plaza de Santa Ana).
These magnificent sculptures are owned by the Hortensia Herraro Foundation and have been temporarily lent to Benidorm Town Hall.
1st April - Doorman stabbed in Benidorm - The incident occurred at around 23.00, Thursday night in the "British Area"
The two men involved were a 36 year old British man and the victim a 42 year old from Romania. The argument broke out when the 42 year old doorman removed the British man from a well known bar, the British man then turned on the doorman with a knife.
The 36-year-old Briton was later arrested by the National Police after receiving medical assistance, the doorman needed further treatment and was taken to the ICU at General Hospital of Alicante.
No further updates are available at this time.
30th March - Road accident in Benidorm - 25-year-old British man hit by a motorcycle
30th March - A 64 year old man has died after falling from a height of 15 meters whilst working in a hotel in Benidorm.
The Emergency Information and Coordination Centre (CICU) reported that the 64-year-old man suffered the fatal accident at around 13:30, sadly when the SAMU unit arrived at the scene, the medical team were only able to confirm the man's death.
No further information is available at this time.
R.I.P
29th March - A big boost to the possibility of work starting on Benidorm´s planned new commercial centre. The project has been paralysed for years, as the central government ministry of public works would not agree to the plans for the access to the centre. Latest news is that the block has been lifted, and agreement has been reached that new roundabouts can be constructed on the N332 road, near to the old discos, which will enable access. The town hall has to pick up the bill however, which wil be 16,165,746.66 euros! The new commercial centre will create an estimated 2000 new direct jobs.
29th March - The drawing up of plans to connect the main rail station in Alicante (The RENFE high speed one) with the coastal tram line at the Luceros stop, will be approved at the Valencian government meeting on Friday. This means that passengers arriving at the main Alicante station on the high speed train (or conventional), will have quick and easy access to the tram that services resorts all along the coast, as far up as Denia. Works are expected to start in 2024, with completion by 2027.
19th March - Benidorm town hall is looking at renovation plans for its famous Levante beach- Pictured is one of the proposals, which include areas of dunes, with special grasses to help prevent erosion.
Other ideas include things such as swimming lanes! Away from the beach, around the area called the Parque de la Séquia Mare, which is between the top of the Avenida Europa and the old discos, there are plans to construct a camping and "multi-adventure" park.
17th March - Pictured. The 63 year old UK national (Scottish) on his arrival in handcuffs at the provincial court in Alicante yesterday. He had been in custody for 11 months and six days, after being caught coming down from the Sierra Gelada natural park at Benidorm on June 22nd 2022, after intentionally setting three fires.
The public prosecutor had asked four years jail, but he was sentenced to three. As he had spent almost a year behind bars, the judge decided that he should be expelled out of Spain for ten years instead of returning to jail. He also has to pay a 7,200€ fine, but also the 12,000€ cost of putting out the fire.
Benidorm Local News Headlines
March 17th - The new Aula del Mar building, which is going to be a new educational and cultural space, situated in the prestigious seafront location on Levante beach will be completed within the next 2 months.
With a total investment of more than € 2,950,000, once open visitors will be able to find out about the seafaring history of Benidorm
14th March - Next time you are walking out along the Poniente beach, you may notice this sail like structure, actually called "The White Candle" in the middle of a blue painted roundabout. It was inaugurated, in a very solemn ceremony, led by the Mayor of Benidorm Toni Pérez, with the accompanying presence of a large group of people carrying flowers.
The structure is to commemorate the deaths of the 200 residents of Benidorm, who lost their lives in the Covid pandemic. The date chosen for the ceremony was no coincidence, it was three years since the declaration of the state of alarm in Spain.
6th March - Benidorm town hall is to press ahead with plans to construct its own desalination plant, which would provide up to three cubic hectometres per year of fresh water, to have available in possible times of drought.
There already exists infrastructure which could be used to supply clean sea water to the future plant, which has a possible site earmarked in Juan Pablo II Avenue.
This investment amounts to six million euros, which the town hall would have to finance, due to the current lack of commitment of other authorities.
1st March - National police of Alicante have detained the mother of a 17 month old toddler, after the child was taken to hospital under the effects of THC, the principal active agent of cannabis.
The police allege that the mother intentionally gave her child these sweets, which are copies of well known brands, but actually have THC as an active ingredient.
Be aware - There are lots of these about, in different types, its a good idea for foreign parents who come on holiday, to be aware of the differences between these type of sweets, and the harmless ones.
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20th February - Starbucks will be opening its first establishment in BENIDORM. It will be located located on the ground floor of the Ensanada building just in front of the Plaza de la Hispanidad, (popularly known as Triangular).
Licences still have to be granted but the new coffee shop will hopefully be open some time this June.
19th February - Selomar Hotel Updates - The Selomar Hotel will be given a new name the Barceló Benidorm Beach.
3rd February - LOCAL NEWS - 3rd February 2023 UNLICENCED ATMs
Benidorm town hall has finally started action, against the companies that operate the multitude of what they say are unlicenced ATM machines around the town.
The town hall has identified 196 machines, owned and run by 3 companies, which charge high commissions and give lower rates, especially to non Eurozone country customers. Read more HERE
2nd February -Benidorm may have its 4th McDonald's
Plans have been submitted to Benidorm Council for another McDonald's in the Rincon de Loix, if all goes well it will be situated on Avenida Severo Ochoa, number 48. Building is estimated to take 18 months, once licences etc have been granted.
Benidorm Local News Headlines
Local Earthquakes registered in January
20th January - Specialist Guardia Civil from a unit in Calpe and the Guardia Civil, have carried out four simultaneous raids on shops in Benidorm, and confiscated 1,913 items of counterfeit branded clothing and accessories, said to be low quality copies of original goods, mainly sporting shirts etc.
The goods if real have a value of around 200,000€.
Representatives of the "Real" products have worked with the Guardia Civil in the raids, The Civil Guard found in one of the shops a double bottom behind the counter, where the merchandise packaged and ordered by brands and models was located.
Four people of Chinese and Indian nationality aged between 46 and 55 are now under investigation, for crimes against industrial property.
19th January - Benidorm adds five new containers for the "Caps for a new life" campaign.
The new containers are located in La Cala (Calle Secretario Juan Baldoví), Rincón de Loix (Calle Juan Fuster Zaragoza), Els Tolls (Avenida Bélgica), Colonia Madrid (Centro Social Llorca Linares), Centro (Calle Maravall with Plaza Neptuno). The original container is located just in front of the town hall on Avenida de l'Aigüera.
This project is aimed at collecting plastic caps for recycling, and helps minors in need of assistance for diseases not covered by ordinary health systems".
The SEUR Foundation launched the initiative "Plugs for a new life" in 2011 and since then the campaign has made it possible for almost 200 beneficiary children from all over Spain to receive medical or orthopaedic treatments thanks to a collection that exceeds 1.3 million euros.
6th January - Work finally gets underway for Benidorm's brand new health centre (Centro de Salud).
The area has now been fenced off and the current car park will be closed in the next few days (a new car park is available just a few meters away)
The new building, has a budget of 4.3 million euros, and will replace the current auxiliary office on Avenida Juan Fuster Zaragoza, it will have an area of 2,507 square meters with ground floor and two upper floors, It will also house a medical transport area, based on basic life support and ambulances that will be located on the ground floor, the new salud will also provide nineteen family medicine practitioners and nursing consultations, triage, paediatrics, women's care and more.
Building is estimated to take 23 months.
Benidorm Local News Headlines 2022
21st December - Plans have been unveiled by Benidorm town hall to install 20 new cameras along the beaches of Poniente and Mal pas in the town. Most of them are to be installed along the Poniente, with just the one at the access to the little cove of Mal Pas.
The images will be accessible to the public in real time, so they can judge how busy that particular section is for example! (The images will also be sent to the control centre of the municipal police).
The town hall has also announced plans to extend the free WiFi network too, with three new "repeater"points, one at Avenida Armada Española and two at the Paseo de Colón.
The project has got the funding and approval, and should be completed in 6 months maximum, in time for the high season next year!
25th November - SPANISH TOURIST TAX Read more here
The vote on the introduction of a tourist tax for our region, has been definitively approved on Thursday, after 7 years of debate, by the Valencian government. This will see a fee charged per night, at a rate depending on the type and standard of accommodation. Two things are important to know...Firstly that the scheme comes into operation in 2024, and not next year...Secondly that the charge is VOLUNTARY.....Meaning that town halls can choose to apply it or not. The town hall of Benidorm for example has stated that it WON'T be applied on accommodation in the town.
24th November - The Spanish government has confirmed that the current laws and measures restricting rent rises to 2%, will be extended until the end of 2023. Rents on properties currently cannot by law be increased by more than this amount, in an attempt to protect hard pressed families from rises in the cost of living.
Benidorm Local News Headlines
Have you heard of an App called "Too good to go"? It's an App which connects hotels and restaurants that have good food left over, with people that want to buy it on a "Take away" basis, at a special reduced price, avoiding the situation where the food would just be wasted/binned.
It's a system that has been running in Spain for four years, but it has now arrived in Benidorm, with the first big business to get involved being the Magic Costa Blanca hotel chain. The first of their establishments to sign up is the Villa del Mar Hotel, with the others due to follow shortly.
24th October Bus Turistico has been suspended
The town hall of Benidorm has finally put a stop to the business which has been running the "tourist bus" around the town for almost 20 years, without paying the town hall or ratepayers for the business authorisation to do so.
A similar business, the one that was running the "tourist train", was paying 182,000€ a year to carry out its business activities, the company that ran the bus pictured, only paid into public funds the sum of 6,000€ a year, for the use of three bus stops to pick up and unload passengers.
There were also concerns over the exhaust fumes from the 22-year-old diesel vehicle being used.
There will now be an opportunity for tenders from companies that want to run the service.
28th September - Woman stabbed to death in Benidorm by her husband who then allegedly committed suicide.
28th September - A campaign to collect old plastic bottle tops which are then sent for recycling has been running in the province of Alicante for some time. The money raised from this bottle cap collection is used exclusively to help local sick children, who´s special needs may not be covered by social security-based care.
Many have asked in the past..."Where can we take our plastic tops to help"? Benidorm town hall has responded, and this heart shaped container is for exclusive use to deposit your bottle tops. This container is located on the Avenida de l'Aigüera (the road that runs up alongside the town hall, Benidorm Old Town).
The charity behind this fund-raising scheme is the Fundación SEUR, who recently gave a cheque to an 8-year-old called Leo from Benidorm, who was able to use the money for aquatic therapy sessions, to help with his Hirschsprung condition, which is associated with his Downs syndrome
Benidorm Local News Headlines
19th September - Port Benidorm Hotel. Benidorm City Council has issued favourable reports to approve the Interior Reform Plan (PRI) on the Port Benidorm Hotel. These new reforms include the construction of a totally new tower attached to the current building
Port Benidorm plans to have a four-star plus category. To do this, it needs to increase the size of the rooms to 12.5 square meters. A new tower is planned which will create 119 new rooms, giving the hotel a total of 400 rooms.
September 1st - 6 new pieces of art called ·"My Secret Garden" by Belgium sculptor. Arne Quinze have now been installed on the Paseo de Poniente. The 6 large, very colourful aluminium sculptures represent different aspects of evolution and will be in place until May 2023.
The sculptures can be seen in the section of the Paseo de Poniente (closest to La Cala), from the intersection of Armada Española and Vicente Llorca Alós avenues to reach Puerto Rico Avenue, where the great sculpture of the swans of the Taiwanese artist Hung Yi is located".
At the moment sculptures of three internationally recognized artists such as Hung Yi, Juan Mejica and Arne Quinze coexist on the Paseo de Poniente".
Few cities in the world can boast of having such a concentration of first-class art in less than a kilometre.
Benidorm Local News Headlines
26th August - Scooter misuse in Benidorm - 300 disciplinary proceedings issued.
25th August - Tragic accident as British woman dies on her way to the Cross
24th August - Hotel Robberies, 2 people detained.
In a joint operation carried out by Benidorm National police and the Guardia Civil, they detained the two-person criminal gang that were responsible for the wave of robberies from hotel rooms in the town over the past few weeks. The couple, male and female of Algerian nationality, dressed in swimwear to blend in with real tourists before entering hotels and found quiet passageways where they could force open hotel doors. Once inside they took anything of value, sometimes even ripping out the entire locked safe. On some occasions they even used the victim's own suitcase to carry the loot out of the hotel!
Despite the leader of the gang using eight different identities, the police tracked them down and arrested them as they were about to commit yet another robbery in central Benidorm. The investigation continues but it is thought they have been the perpetrators of around 55 robberies.
According to the complaints filed by the victims, the thieves, who were traveling in a rental car with French license plates, stole about 9,000 euros in cash, bank cards with which they made purchases in shops, jewellery and mobile phones. They are also accused of belonging to a criminal group, falsifying documents and fraud.
6th June - Magic Villa de Benidorm Hotel, Updates
The hotel chain Magic Costa Blanca has presented an interior reform plan (PRI) to be able to expand and reform the facilities of the Villa de Benidorm hotel. In order to carry out this project, the company and the City Council will sign an agreement in which Magic Costa Blanca undertakes to pay 650,486 euros to the municipal land heritage.
The Villa de Benidorm, which has remained closed since November 2019, the current hotel has 120 rooms and a three-star category.
The new plans see an expansion on room sizes which would raise the hotels Star category to a 4* superior, extra floors are planned, raising the building from its current 7 floors to 12, this will add an additional 62 rooms, giving the hotel a total of 182 rooms, all common spaces will also be refurbed.
Spanish Hotel Star Ratings Explained HERE
13th May - Plaza de Toros de Benidorm (Benidorm Bull Ring)
Plans have been unveiled for the total upgrading of Benidorm´s old bullfighting ring and its surroundings. Plans for the ten mllion euro project are currently on display to the public at the town hall until May 18th.
The plans include the turning of the surroundings into a multifunctional social type facility, with new services such as a library, study rooms, youth centre, multi-social-use centre - which will function as a hotel of associations - meeting hall, youth information centre, exhibition hall etc. These plans also include the creation of a stage in the and renovation of the stands in the bull square. The whole building and surrounding areas have been in a state of deterioration for years.
The costs of 10 million Euros are being shared between the Town Hall of Benidorm and FEDUSI funds
Benidorm Local News Headlines
6th May - New Hotel for 2023
The current Magic Fenicia hotel will be transformed into a 4* plus hotel to be named the Villa España belonging to the chain Magic Costa Blanca Hotels & Resorts, this will be a unique hotel.
The space occupied by ‘Magic Fenicia’ will be completely reformed and expanded, work that will place ‘Villa España’ on the front line of Poniente beach (next to Paseo Colón, and the city's marina).
The 4* plus hotel will have 316 rooms and suites. Each floor of the hotel will be dedicated to an autonomous community and each room will bear the name of a town. In addition, in all of the rooms will be different objects, physical and virtual, representative of the culture, history and heritage of Spanish municipalities (images, audio visual material, decorative elements, figures etc)
OLDER NEWS HEADLINES
60 arrested in Valencia for defrauding 20 million euros in a Fake inheritance scam
Fake news or hoaxes on social media can be classed as a crime in Spain
Be careful what you write on Social Media in Spain
Illegal Property Rentals – More Inspections in the future.
Police clamp down on the sale of Pornographic products
Britons die after taking Spanish painkiller Nolotil
