Lengthy Meeting

I had a very open, interesting and lengthy meeting with Candido, Jose and Francisco this morning.

Firstly I raised the issue of the gun club and the constant noise at weekends of which I have received a number of complaints. Some of you will remember that some 2 years ago we submitted a petition to the TownHall and subsequently the club owners shut down. We then heard some months ago that they had opened at Overa but, as we now know, the club is operating from the original site, which is what is giving rise to the complaints. Candiod confirmed that no permission has been granted from the Town Hall. They are aware that a number of Spanish people have lodged denuncias in Huercal Overa against this club. As it is not licensed then the suggestion from the Town Hall is that a report is made to Guardia Civil when people are in attendance. I am informed that the G.C. are aware of the activity and will act on complaints.

The area of the old football pitch at the side of the road between Palaces and Zurgena is NOT a garden refuse dumping site. The site has an amount of vegetation refuse put there by the Town Hall (for a purpose) which will be burnt off soon. Residents who have garden refuse are advised that they should ask for a license to burn it. It costs nothing and can be done at this time of year. The nearest refuse site for such waste is Albox. There is a battery disposal box within the Town Hall. The other issues of recycling will be dealt with later.

Street lighting at various locations still not switched on. There is little more the Town Hall can do all the boletins have been submitted to Sevillana Endesa and we can only await their attention.

I questioned why people were no longer allowed to use the Sports hall in Zurgena for keep fit. Candido said he had already been upset by reports that were reaching his ears about what people were saying about this. For the record he said, the sports hall had to be closed to the public as a new floor was to be fitted and a basketball court and other things installed. For that reason the keep fit class had to be moved. It has been moved but is still continuing as it was before only at the old Town Hall rather than the unavailable Sports hall. He then highlighted the timetable for the new gymnasium which showed that the instructor was not there from 11.0am until 12noon which he confirmed was when the keep fit class exists in Zurgena.

I asked if there was anything we could do about the mass of rubbish on the hillside as you approach Zurgena as this was the most outstanding point in questionnaires I had so far received back. He gave me a full explanation of what had been done over the years, things such as cleaning and planting but that the occupants of the houses overlooking this area had destroyed the plants. The problem was further complicated by the fact that the land is actually owned and supposedly maintained by the Junta!

On behalf of some of the residents of the Aurora houses I passed on their appreciation of the tidying up that had taken place and asked if we were going to put down gravel and/or membrane. He said that they only had funds sufficient to do the central area but that the others would be maintained and cleaned until later this year when they would also be more permanently embellished.

I had been asked to enquire about what surface the new bowling green was going to have. He replied that the contractors have been appointed but a final decision on the surface has yet to be reached. He had been in touch with the only company which provide the specific surface required by top quality greens, however for the area of our bowling green 1.600 sq meters the cost of, in excess of 100 euros per sq metre, was prohibitive. I asked if, when it came to deciding the surface to be installed, whether I could bring along some local players to help us decide and he agreed. So the contractors will do everything up to the laying of the surface and we will then decide what is best within the price we can afford.

I asked about what the wording had been from the High Court ruling on the Prodelor houses and he confirmed that the basis for the Judge throwing the case out was that the Junta had waited far too long to bring the action. Bearing in mind that the only action the Junta was seeking from the courts was that they direct the Town Hall to review the grant of the original licences. A course no court has yet directed.

We then had a very lengthy conversation about the meeting which was held yesterday with the Josefina Cruz from the Junta and 10 of the valleys municipalities. Within that discussion Ms Cruz stated that 12000 houses were illegal in the Almanzora valley made up of 534 built on special protected land which would have to be demolished (we maintain we have none that meet that criteria), 386 of less than 4 years old (again apart from 2 we maintain we have none that meet that criteria)and 11,000 which it would be possible to legalise by a special regulation. The problem with this last idea being that such a regulation would not allow a full Licence of 1st Occupation and therefore precluded from accessing normal services. This is NOT the case for Zurgena as we have the licences which mean we would not be seeking to legalise property as we maintain all properties are legal and the only thing stopping us from issuing the last of the licences was the Juntas actions.
Apparently after this bit she said that she would not tolerate people coming from other countries in Europe to build houses on cheap land whilst local people had to pay to build on urban and more expensive land.
Candido said he thought that when the various bodies acting for expats heard the content of her statement they may want to organise more demonstrations against the Junta. After Ms Cruz made this statement she then left (despite how the PSOE controlled press have shown that she had a conversation with our Mayor after the meeting when she wasn't even there). After Ms Cruz's presentation the Director of the Tecnicos in Almeria took the stage and enlarged upon what she had said.
Candido and the other Mayors were all given various paperwork, which we have not yet had time to thoroughly examine, but, at first glance, seem to more false, duplicitous and contrived documents. Closer examination needs to be made of these papers but I can certainly attest to the fact that they make no sense.
Candido asked that I convey his feelings to the expat community that there was nothing said yesterday that changes our position, or our feeling, that our properties are legal and safe and that the reports in the Spanish press contain blatantly false statements.

I asked when we could present the PGOU to Pleno and thence to the general public. Candido said that yesterday had meant a slight delay but that both he and Luiz, our Architect, were going to Almeria next Tuesday to include some detail and should present it before the end of the month. He apologised for the short delay but assured me that it was being completed expeditiously.

This is a rather lengthy update but I have greatly precise d the detail. If anyone wishes further clarification please contact me through the usual means. I have to be a little more circumspect in what I put on here as, I have recently discovered that various, opposing political parties are monitoring it and using the contents for political ends eg opposition politicians were aware of our provisional list before some of the people on it!!

Bit of good news the new bar restaurant at Cuesta de los Pinos (La Vida) opened tonight. It is intended to be open 12 noon until 12 midnight and as time passes may open earlier in the day. They are still looking for a good chef. So if you know of one put them in touch. They have done a good job of making the premises look much nicer and a bit more Spanish with a boars head and large mirror. Lets hope it is a success.