Estepona completing work on 20,000-square-metre park and upgrades to street lighting

The new park will feature two playgrounds with inclusive equipment adapted for children with reduced mobility, a 1,000-square-metre multi-purpose sports pitch and fitness trails. The developer behind the La Boladilla development is carrying out the work, now in its final stages, and the town hall says the park will open to residents within weeks.

The green space will also include extensive naturalised meadows, Mediterranean shrubs and ground cover plants, along with around 300 new broadleaf and ornamental trees alongside those already growing in the area.

The project includes pedestrian paths, a remotely controlled automatic irrigation system, and environmental measures aimed at reducing water use. The main outstanding work is installing lighting and streetlights.

The new facility adds to a series of green spaces created on the outskirts of Estepona in recent years, expanding the areas available for leisure and physical activity. These include a 20,000-square-metre space in Bel-Air, a 10,000-square-metre area next to La Resinera and Las Joyas, a 13,000-square-metre meadow at the entrance to Cancelada, a 26,000-square-metre site in northern Cancelada with a seven-a-side football pitch and a recreation area with fitness trails, and a 5,000-square-metre space next to Estepona Hospital.

Elsewhere, the 465 new lights form part of a wider plan to renovate and modernise street lighting in Estepona's outlying areas.

The largest scheme, costing 461,883 euros, will see 325 solar-powered streetlights installed along Montesol, Sidney, Guadalobón, Monterroso, Camino de Los Molinos, Velerín, La Cala and Biosaludable Jesús de Polanco, as well as on the courts on Avenida de las Palmeras.

A further 140 lights will go up on Montejaque, Lima and Avenida de La Resina at a cost of 98,575 euros, continuing the lighting improvements already under way in these areas.

"The renovation will give us more modern, efficient installations, with lower energy use and reduced costs for public lighting, as well as helping to cut light pollution and improve the quality of the lighting," the town hall said.

A further 138 streetlights will be installed at various points along the coastal path, improving conditions on a route residents use daily. The new lighting points will be located in Isdabe, Benamara, Guadalmansa, La Gaspara, Avenida México, Bahía Dorada 3 and Bahía Dorada beach. That project will cost around 195,000 euros.