PROPERTY SEARCH
Hundreds of campervans descend on Orihuela Costa and Torrevieja beauty spots
Motorhome season has landed early on the Costa Blanca, with control efforts having little impact
The motorhome season is back in full swing along the Costa Blanca and with it comes the familiar debate about where these vehicles should and shouldn't be parking. From Torrevieja's residential streets and natural park to the large municipal car park next to Zenia Boulevard in Orihuela Costa, hundreds of campers have taken up position across some of the area's most popular spots.
In Torrevieja, motorhomes have spread across several key locations including Avenida de Soria, the green areas of the La Manguilla residential complex near La Mata beach, Calle La Veleta on the southern edge of the town centre and the area around Cala de Ferrís.
The situation has now extended into the grounds of the Lagunas de Torrevieja y La Mata Natural Park itself, where a motorhome parking area between the cemetery and the park's visitor centre has effectively become a caravan island within the protected landscape.
Over in Orihuela Costa, the municipal car park next to the Zenia Boulevard shopping centre has been steadily filling up with campervans in recent weeks, with motorhomes now covering more than 20,000 square metres of the site.
Torrevieja City Council has responded by installing signs prohibiting vehicles wider than 2.2 metres from parking in certain areas. The signs do have some deterrent effect, but enforcement is proving difficult. Local police can act on public streets where the signs are displayed, but their powers don't extend into the natural park, where the land falls outside municipal jurisdiction.
The situation inside and around the natural park is where concerns are most serious, according to those raising the alarm. Although the areas being occupied aren't within the park's most strictly protected zones, they do fall within plots covered by the Natural Resources Management Plan, which acts as a buffer zone where motorhome parking isn't permitted.
Some vehicles are accessing the area via the N-332 roundabout and then turning off onto paths that run alongside former vineyard plots where kermes oak and mastic trees have been carefully restored as part of conservation work in the protected habitat.
The environmental impact isn't limited to the physical presence of the vehicles either. Solid waste and wastewater from some campervans are reportedly being left behind, raising concerns about the effect on the surrounding area.
Back at the Zenia Boulevard car park in Orihuela Costa, the absence of overnight parking fees or any strictly enforced time limits means what starts as a short stop has a habit of turning into something much longer. What were originally brief rest breaks for travellers heading further south towards the Almería coast have, in some cases, stretched into stays lasting weeks or even months over the summer.
It's worth noting that the Orihuela City Council had previously rejected proposals to build a new school on this land, and the site is currently used by the shopping centre to provide extra parking for its businesses without any payment to the municipality.
A big part of what's driving the concentration of motorhomes in specific spots is technology. Dedicated apps and online forums allow travellers to share GPS coordinates, access point photos, noise levels and, crucially, information about how often an area is policed and how likely a fine is. Locations that were barely known as stopping points five years ago are now firmly on the motorhome map, and once a spot gets a reputation for being relaxed on enforcement, word spreads fast.
Some local businesses near the Zenia Boulevard car park have reported a boost in sales of food, basic supplies and provisions to motorhome travellers, suggesting there is some economic upside to the influx.
But with no system in place to rotate vehicles or limit the length of stays, the car park designed to serve shoppers during busy periods is increasingly tied up with long-term occupants who show no sign of moving on.
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