Torrevieja Town Council has formally abandoned the process to update its General Urban Development Plan, known as the PGOU. Approved in 1986 and brought into force in 1987, it is now 40 years old and the oldest such plan in Spain for a city of more than 80,000 residents.

The review process began in 2018. After seven bids were submitted, officials proposed awarding the drafting contract in 2020, but an adverse report from the municipal auditor, requests for clarification and technical disagreements caused repeated delays. In February 2022, the procurement committee referred the matter to the governing board. The bids later lost their validity.

The governing board has now withdrawn the procurement procedure, declaring it urgent, while promising to study the possibility of a new plan. More than 100 individual amendments have been approved in the meantime, allowing development to continue under outdated rules. The abandoned review would have brought the plan into line with current legislation, which would restrict further expansion and possibly building height. The decision leaves the city without an up-to-date framework for orderly and sustainable development.