People’s Party says Puerto Escondido Hermitage remains abandoned a year after suffering serious damage

A year after a serious act of vandalism caused extensive damage to Puerto Escondido Hermitage, also known as La Capellanía Hermitage, the building is still awaiting comprehensive restoration work to safeguard its preservation. The People’s Party in La Oliva has denounced the abandonment of one of the municipality’s most important heritage sites and called on La Oliva Town Council to urgently drive forward its restoration.

The party says the time elapsed since the incident makes it especially difficult to justify the fact that a building of such historical value has yet to be restored. It warns that continued inaction not only harms the image of the municipality’s heritage, but could also lead to further deterioration over time.

José Vicente Calero Saavedra, the People’s Party spokesperson on La Oliva Town Council, says the situation shows that the governing group is not making heritage conservation a priority. “A year ago, this building suffered a serious attack and, twelve months later, we are still seeing it abandoned. We cannot accept that one of La Oliva’s most important historic assets should continue to deteriorate while the municipal government still fails to carry out comprehensive restoration work.”

The PP also points out that it proposed a specific solution during the debate on the 2026 Municipal Budget. The People’s Party group submitted an amendment to create a €320,000 budget allocation specifically for the restoration and enhancement of Puerto Escondido Hermitage, funded by reallocating resources within the municipal accounts.

The governing group rejected the proposal. Calero says this shows there is no basis for claiming that alternatives for restoring the building were unavailable. “They had a specific, funded proposal on the table to restore the hermitage and chose to reject it. We were not asking for a declaration of intent, but for €320,000 to be set aside for the work. A year later, the heritage site is still waiting, and the deterioration has not stopped.”

The People’s Party insists that heritage conservation cannot depend on reactive measures taken only after damage has occurred. In its view, the municipality needs a plan that anticipates deterioration and ensures the upkeep, restoration and protection of sites that form part of its history.

Restoring Puerto Escondido Hermitage would also give residents and visitors back a site of particular heritage value and strengthen the cultural offering, which the party considers essential to diversifying what the municipality has to offer.

“La Oliva is about much more than sun and beaches. We have exceptional heritage that we must preserve and pass on to future generations. Protecting it is not a secondary matter or something that can continue to be postponed: it is a responsibility we have to our history and our identity,” José Vicente Calero concluded.

The People’s Party is calling on the governing group to revisit the need for work at Puerto Escondido Hermitage and move from statements to effective action that can halt its deterioration and restore one of the most representative sites in La Oliva’s historic heritage.