The project for the renovation of the Altea promenade started on 24 May 2021 and will be completed in December 2022. This reform is part of the second phase of what is known as the Regeneration of the Seafront, with the aim of recovering the landscape and ecological value of the promenade, while improving the accessibility and aesthetics of the area. The improvements include the widening of the pavements, the renovation of the paving, the installation of new play areas for children and improved lighting, among others.
The budget for the refurbishment of the promenade in Altea amounts to 4,086,148 €, more than half of which has been provided by Altea Town Council. The renovation work was carried out by the concessionaire Torrescámara, the winner of the public tender.
A park where you can once again enjoy the Altea coastline
The new promenade of Altea is a park of 4,700 square meters with several recreational areas. It has a modern design, highlighting the white colour of the pavement, the multipurpose design seats made of concrete and the rounded shapes. It has undoubtedly become one of the best places to stroll and enjoy the natural beauty of the coast of Alicante.
Throughout the new promenade, more than 200 new trees and shrubs of different native species have been planted. Among these new trees are medlars, lemon trees, orange trees, tamarinds, pomegranates and poplars, which will provide a wide variety of scents, colours and also large areas of shade when these trees are larger.
This new promenade is not only designed for strolling. The space also has multiple rest areas, chairs and concrete seats. For the little ones, a large children's playground with rubber flooring, slides and swings has been installed where they can play in complete safety, as the promenade is completely pedestrianised and bicycles are not allowed to travel at speeds of more than 10 km per hour along the designated cycle lane. It is not uncommon to find young people skateboarding on the rounded shapes of the promenade's infrastructure.
At the end of the promenade, at its northern end, there is an open space where traditionally the craft stalls are set up and which will now also be used to host different social and cultural events, such as open-air concerts or conferences.
The former car park of the Altea promenade
The second phase of work on the Frente Litoral began with the closure of the beach car park. The Association of Hoteliers and Businessmen of Altea Hospal opposed the disappearance of this car park, which had 175 parking spaces for vehicles and which, according to them, would seriously harm all coastal establishments.
The remodelling of the promenade also included the removal of the closed terraces of the restaurants located there. Despite all the complaints from neighbours and restaurateurs, it is enough to take a walk around the area to see that both tourists and locals are grateful to have an open and pedestrianised space like the new Altea promenade, with the tables on the terraces full. This is great news for everyone.
The creation of a new beach in Altea: El Bol
Among the novelties of the renovation of Altea's promenade is the creation of a new beach, which is located between the beaches of L'Espigó and La Roda. By popular vote, the new beach will be called El Bol. The name won with 1,304 votes compared to 881 votes for the other proposal, El Sardinal. If you are familiar with the province of Alicante, this name will surely ring a bell as there are many other beaches with this name, such as the Arenal-Bol beach in Calpe. The meaning of this toponym is "the place on the beach where the fishing nets are spread out".
The beach is 400 metres long and will not be finished until the end of 2023, as it still needs to be filled with 15,000 m3 of pebbles, the same type of stones as the rest of Altea's beaches.
The project to regenerate Altea's coastal façade began in the late 1990s to restore the entire coastline of Altea, between the mouth of the Algar river and the port. The first phase took place in 2016, creating L'Espigó beach by removing the flooded area that people colloquially knew as el charco, spanish for "the puddle".
This project aims to reform the rest of Altea's coastline as far as the fishing port and marina, thus recovering the entire coastline that the sea swallowed up in the 1970s.
