Mayor defends Xàbia’s affordable housing project amid criticism
Cardona rejects the socialist opposition accusations as “false and misleading”.
Xàbia mayor Rosa Cardona has defended the construction of 82 social housing units in the municipality following criticism from the PSPV-PSOE, which has claimed the project primarily benefits developers and will make only 16 homes available for true social use.
Cardona rejected these accusations, describing them as “false and misleading,” and insisted the development is a necessity for young people, families, and seniors in the town. “Xàbia needs affordable housing now,” she said, noting that no public housing has been built locally in the past 20 years.
The mayor stressed that the local council has not “given away” land but ceded municipal plots for the project on the condition that the homes are sold at a fixed, legally regulated price, below that of publicly subsidised housing. “The sole beneficiaries are the buyers,” she argued.
According to details provided by the local government, the project includes homes of varying sizes, from 30 sqm studios to two-bedroom apartments of nearly 70 sqm. Sixteen of these units – around 15% of the total -will be transferred to the local council, including the two studios of 30 sqm, which will be managed by the Department of Social Services for temporary accommodation.
Cardona emphasised that the project is being overseen by technical staff from the Generalitat Valenciana, which also supervised the tender process, and that allocation will be transparent and based on objective criteria. “The current situation is unsustainable,” she said, pointing out that even two young people with stable incomes cannot afford to buy locally.
She concluded that her government is determined to move ahead with the plan: “We will not stand by when real solutions can be provided for the people of Xàbia.”
