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Press Release from AULAN.
MASS MEETING IN MOJACAR BETWEEN ECOLOGISTS AND BRITISH CITIZENS.
This Saturday a large meeting took place in Mojacar organized by the association campaigning against urban abuses known as "Abusos Urbanísticos Almeriense Levante - No!" (AULAN). The Auken report (which harshly criticised urban and environmental abuse affecting the province of Almeria and other parts of Spain) was discussed in a roundtable meeting between the environmentalists and associations of affected foreigners. Some 500 people from the different municipalities of Almeria attended, including those from the Valle del Almanzora and Levante Almeriense.
Special guest was David Hammerstein Green Party MEP and member of the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament, known for his interventions in Europe in favour of an investigation into urban and environmental issues in Spain. The Auken report was prepared and approved by the aforementioned committee, and was subsequently approved by the European Parliament by an overwhelming majority, despite opposition from the MEP of the PSOE and the PP. The report was harshly critical of Spanish urban planning and even proposed the freezing of structural funds for Spain.
At the roundtable were representatives of Ecologists in Action; the AUAN, an association known for their efforts in support of urban regularisation in the Almanzora Valley; AUN from Valencia, represented by Jacqui Cotteril, a member of Parcent town council; Levante Sostenible from Bedar and the AULAN.
In the audience there were also representative from groups in Almeria: Cantoria Residents Association; AVEP from Bedar; SOHA and Citizens Advocacy from Malaga and Camposol Residents Association from Murcia.
Sean O’Curneen Cañas, European election candidate and head of the list for the Centro Democrático Liberal (CDL) spoke at the end of the meeting.
After an Exchange of views the participants were in broad agreement on the following points, based to a large part on the Auken report:
1. COMMISSION OF INVESTIGATION: A national commission of investigation
be established, with representatives of the administration and citizens’
groups (including those for the protection of homeowners’ rights and the
ecologists), to investigate the existing grave planning and environmental
problems, to draw up a report on the causes of said problems and their
possible solutions, as well as recommendations for the future.
2. ARBITRATION: The creation of a special administrative commission that includes a provincial public ombudsman, advised by independent investigation services, including representatives from the administration and from citizens’ groups (including those for the defence of individual property owners and ecology groups), and with arbitration powers in relation to disputes concerning these problems, available to affected parties free of charge.
3. RESPONSIBILITY: The liability of developers, the administration and pertinent third parties, for having given rise to the grave planning and environmental problems which exist, must be made enforceable and real. Any process of regularisation should, as far as possible, include binding agreements (including adequate guarantees) between those who have caused the irregularities and the administration, and these must include the opportune measures so that those who caused the irregularities compensate for the damage caused.
4. PRINCIPLES TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT: The following principles should be recognized and reflected in urban law.
In urban development priority must be given to the true needs of the cities and towns affected, sustainability from an environmental point of view and the need to preserve the historical and cultural identity of the affected areas.
The need for full compliance with community law and fundamental rights, including the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
In the case of demolition of property acquired in good faith by citizens real, effective and prior compensation must be guaranteed. Such compensation must be made prior to any loss and at proper rates and conforming to the case law of the Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.
The legitimate right of purchasers to property acquired legally must be recognised and criteria established for the application of Art. 33 of the Spanish Constitution with respect to public and social interest in order to prevent and prohibit the infringement of people’s property rights by decisions of local and regional authorities;
5. TRANSPARENCY AND PARTICIPATION: Notice of any planning or environmental
proceedings should be communicated individually to all those affected,
directly or indirectly; as well as publicised widely; publication in the
relevant Bulletins not being sufficient. The possibility of electronic
access (Internet) to planning and environmental documents in the process
of being approved or approved be ensured. Information in the Cadastral
and Land Registry must coincide, and the Land Registry must include graphical
information. It must be ensured that the information on the land registry
includes information about the status of the property with respect to
urban regulations as well as environmental and cultural restrictions or
similar.
6. JUDICIAL SYSTEM: There is an urgent need to reform the judicial system to avoid the lack of effective rights before the courts; shortening of the real length of proceedings; computerizing and providing adequate resources.
7. ESTATE AGENTS: Should 1) be licensed or have passed an examination of sufficient knowledge and capacity; 2) have adequate insurance to cover all civil liabilities; 3) be clearly regulated in their activities.
8. PROMOTERS & CONSTRUCTORS: These must be subject to bonds, guarantees or insurance to cover possible liabilities to third parties (including to buyers), and to the administration; for possible planning or environmental breaches or infractions; and proof that such guarantees are in place must be a pre-requisite to present and manage any planning instrument.
9. PROTOCOL: An obligatory protocol for the buying and selling of real estate should be established for the benefit of the consumer, setting out the precise steps and standardised procedures , similar to those in other EU member states (for example the United Kingdom).
They (the participants) agreed to establish a working group, to establish the final version of a Decalogue of measures required to solve the problems that have occurred and to ensure that they do not happen again.
Mojácar, 30 Mayo 2009
info@aulan.es
www.aulan.es
Additional Reporting:
Round Table meeting
Speech by Helen Baker on behalf of the AUAN
Good morning, my name is Helen Baker and I am speaking to you today on behalf of the AUAN, Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora No.
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We
are a group of some 500 residents of the Almanzora Valley who are directly
impacted by the problems in urban development that are so accurately described
in the Auken report.
Like many others we bought our homes in good faith from property developers. We paid the going market rate. We used local lawyers, town planners and architects whom we trusted (and paid) to protect our interests. We did not knowingly buy illegal houses.
In
2005, as our legal paperwork failed to appear and we began to grow weary
of the endless excuses, we formed our organisation to uncover the truth.
This was no easy task. We were confused by the conflicting advice we received from our local authorities and lawyers.
We were frustrated by the lack of legal certainty resulting from complex legislation.
And we were utterly bewildered by the way in which this legislation was implemented (if at all) in our local area.
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But
bit by bit, discussion by discussion, we persevered and learned the truth.
We discovered that our homes were illegally built, without consideration for the provision of appropriate services and infrastructure, and without consideration for the general environment and the needs of the entire community.
We discovered that our homes were subject to legal proceedings and could possibly be demolished.
We discovered that our homes were worthless and un-saleable.
We discovered that virtually everybody we had trusted was in fact part of the problem. That those empowered by the electorate, or by their professional qualifications to protect the interests of their clients, to uphold the law, and to protect the interests of the community at large, had been seduced by various means to perform acts of oversight, omission and deception.
As time progressed, our situation only got worse.
The promised services never arrived or were subsequently disconnected once the construction licences expired. Some 50% of our members are still without mains electricity. 50% are without mains water. Some are without both!!
.JPG)
Some
of us who could afford it initiated legal proceedings against our developers.
However, we have no confidence in a legal system that, by its own admission,
is unable to cope with the volume of cases coming before its courts. Legal
proceedings have been ongoing for many years now with no end in sight.
With little avenue of redress open to us we have therefore campaigned tirelessly to highlight this issue and to bring about a resolution.
Due in no small part to the efforts of groups such as ours, and those at this round table, we can acknowledge that the authorities have at last begun to respond to the challenge.
In recent months we have had visits from the inspection teams and the publication of new urban plans, with the emphasis on a new spirit of co-operation between the Junta and the town councils. We welcome these moves and are studying developments with great interest but even greater caution.
However, we continue to struggle with a culture of NON-transparency within
our administration, and have already been forced to take legal steps to
ensure that the right of public participation in the planning process
is respected, or even indeed, acknowledged.
It is clear that much work is still required to provide a sustainable solution to this problem that secures the continued economic, environmental and social future of this region.
The primary purpose of the AUAN is to seek the legalisation of our homes and access to services.
We would prefer that our homes are not demolished, but if it is necessary, then we seek fair compensation in advance.
We are also very mindful of the need for a transparent, open and honest planning process which fosters effective mechanisms for public information and participation. Only then can the wider community be protected from the vested interests of the unscrupulous and the greedy.
We are not opposed to the demand to protect the general environment from damage, due to badly organised and badly considered development.
Whilst superficially, it may seem that the aims of our organisations and the environmentalists are necessarily in opposition to each other, we believe that we have common ground.
We fully support the publication of a jointly agreed Decalogue.
We believe that the time has come for our organisations to open a dialogue, to respect our differences, and to work together to achieve our common goals. Together, our voice will be louder.
Thank you for your attention.
ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION with DAVID HAMMERSTEIN (European Member of Parliament), ecologist groups and regional associations joined in the fight against urban abuse
AULAN (Abusos Urbanísticos Levante Almeriense - ¡No) has organised a round table discussion for Saturday, May 30, beginning at 11am in the conference hall of the Hotel Best, Mojácar Playa.
In the Round Table, participating from Almería Province, will be:
• Ecologistas en Acción (Almería)
• Abusos Urbanísticos Almanzora - ¡No! (AUAN, Almanzora Valley)
• Levante Sostenible (LSOS)
• Abusos Urbanísticos Levante Almeriense - ¡No! (AULAN, Almería
Coast)
• Grupo Ecologista Mediterraneo
From Valencia will come members of the first and largest anti-urban abuse
group and instigator of the Auken Report submitted to the European Parliament
(containing a resolution condemning the lack of basic rights in Spain
for homeowners, as well as multiple abuses of the environment):
• Abusos Urbanísticos - ¡No! (AUN, Valencia)
As special guest:
• David Hammerstein, European Member of Parliament
The goal of the meeting is to enable the various groups to begin working together towards demanding that the recommendations outlined in the European Parliament resolution contained in the Auken Report be carried out.
The event is open to all interested members of the public. In the audience there will also be representatives from other associations, including SOHA (Malaga), AVEP (Bedar), CRA (Cantoria), Citizens Advocacy (Malaga) Camposol RA (Murcia), plus the candidate from the upcoming European elections Sean O’Curneen Cañas (Centro Democrático Liberal).
For more information, call Lenox Napier on 649471219.
A link to the Spanish version of above is HERE
Castles in The Sand
The economic crisis has highlighted unsustainable urban development practices in Spain, writes Margret Auken (MEP who presented the petitions against Spain).
EU Parliament Magazine
AUAN / AUN 9th May 2009
PDF document HERE
Priors' lawyer blasts the authorities over demolition
Politicians' conduct "shameful"
from Costa Almeria News, By Richard Torné
The lawyer
representing the Priors last week gave a withering
assessment
of all those who in his view were responsible
for
bulldozing the retired
expat
couple's home in 2008.
Lawyer Paulo López Alcázar, from the firm Martínez-Abarca Muñoz, attacked Vera council, the Junta, and the judge who signed the demolition order, for their conduct during the case at a specially arranged press conference.
Accompanied by Len and Helen Prior, Sr Alcázar said the demolition had "deeply affected me as a Spaniard", adding that the case had been "the most unpleasant one I've had to deal with in my entire career".
The statement came in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent ruling in favour of the Priors. Sr López said: "Politicians have given Spain an appalling image abroad - worse than that of a Banana Republic."
The ongoing feud between Vera council, who granted the Priors a building licence to build a villa on rustic land as early as 2002, and the Junta, who revoked it a year later, led to the eventual demolition of the Priors home on January 9, 2008 - a day after the couple had been officially notified by the judge on the case, Jesús Rivera.
However, the couple were kept in the dark about the regional government's decision to annul their permits until 2006, prompting an ultimately unsuccessful appeal by the Priors' lawyers.
Sr Alcázar aimed most of his remarks at Judge Rivera and the Junta, whom he accused of being "politically motivated" in their quest to have the house pulled down.
He said: "We don't know what interests they (the Junta) were trying to protect but they ignored the fact the case was under appeal at the time."
Sr Alcázar described the speed with which the regional government sought to have the house bulldozed as "bizarre". He said: "If the elections hadn't been round the corner, the demolition would not have been as ‘urgent'."
He went on: "There are many illegal properties in Marbella but as far as I know not one has been pulled down, even though many are in green belt areas. Yet the Junta is as responsible there as it is here."
The Priors are currently seeking damages from Vera council amounting to some 600,000 euros. An earlier lawsuit against Judge Rivera was thrown out, although the judges recognised Rivera had acted "incorrectly" in signing the demolition order without having the Priors present at the hearing.
Sr López said: "You don't have to be a legal expert to understand you can't be tried without being heard in court first."
Bulldozers move in to demolish coastal properties in Cantabria, Spain
Typically Spanish - Spain News : National By h.b. - Apr 30, 2009 - 7:27 AM
Concerned
residents in La Arena de Arnuero - EFE
The original court orders against the properties concerned were issued 15 years ago
Work has started to demolish homes which were constructed illegally on the coast of Cantabria.
The first court sentences ordering demolition were issued as long as 15 years ago, declared to be illegal under the ley de costas (coastal law), but it was on Wednesday when the bulldozers finally moved in at two different locations.
The most important one is the El Encinar Urbanisation on the beach at La Arena de Arnuero, where 144 homes were built on protected rural woodland, 42 of which are now coming down, all of them corresponding to the second phase of the urbanization.
Some twenty owners and locals protested as the bulldozers moved in, carrying placards which read ‘144 families, victims of the construction mafia’.
For link to story and video go here.
Good News for the Priors
AUAN Statement
The
constitutional court
in Madrid has judged that the proceedings leading
to the
demolition of the Priors
house, were not carried out correctly.
The Priors were not
informed about the proceedings, not
given the opportunity
to put their case forward and
therefore denied their right to justice.
The proceedings
were invalid, and so
was the demolition order, their house
should not have been
knocked down !
The AUAN are absolutely delighted for the Priors, but they are still
without a house, and living in their garage without mains
electricity
and water. They were
denied their right to
justice. They should now have
the right to justice and
dignity.
This situation needs rectifying and
it needs
rectifying now.
House demolished in Chiclana
(European Citizens Weekly Report, 08 April)
A house of ninety square meters in El Marquesado (Chiclana, Cadiz) constructed without a permit on a plot of 500 m, has been demolished by the municipality. The Spanish owner used it as a weekend house. There are 15,000 illegal houses in the municipality of Chiclana.
Partaloa Liaison Office
AUAN Statement
A liaison office has been set up in Piedra Amarilla
for the inhabitants
of Partaloa. It
is situated in the old
church in Partaloa and is open
from 4.00pm until 6.00pm
weekdays.
It is being staffed by a lady called
Maite, who
speaks english.
This service
has been provided by the Town Hall of Partaloa.
When the AUAN met with the mayor recently, he informed us of this service,
but said it would need to be utilised or the funds would
have to go elsewhere.
The mayor is
hoping to establish an
internet connection also, but this
was still ongoing at
the time of the
meeting.
Please
inform
friends and neighbours of this service, with the
message
being.
´Use it or lose it´.
European Parliament criticises "extensive urbanisation" practices in Spain
Petitions - 26-03-2009 -
13:28
For full report go HERE
European Parliament votes in favour of the Auken report which calls for EU funds to Spain to be frozen until real estate abuses are corrected.
Typically Spanish - Spain News : Andalucia
By h.b. - Mar 26, 2009 -
1:20 PM
Danish Green Euro M.P., Margrete
Auken
However despite the report from the Danish Green Euro M.P., Margrete Auken, being passed, the freezing of funds is not yet binding
The European Parliament has today approved the Auken Report on real estate abuses in Spain, the report which threatens to freeze all community funds for Spain until such abuses denounced in Brussels by Spanish residents from several E.U. countries are resolved. The decision to cut the funding is however not yet binding despite today’s vote.
The vote supporting the Auken report, compiled by the Danish Green Euro M.P., is considered to be an extremely harsh reflection on the town planning situation in Spain.
Her report calls for the suspension and revision of all new building projects which do not respect the environment or guarantee the right of ownership. It also demands the halting of developments which have already started if they do not meet current E.U. legislation.
The text of the report says that real estate corruption is endemic in Spain, and that responsibility lies at all levels of the administration for the ‘unsustainable development’. It slams the judiciary saying that it is ‘not correctly prepared’ to deal with the problem, saying its rulings in many cases cannot be carried out in a way that compensate the victims of abuse. This has enforced the impression among foreigners in Spain of a lack of action and impartiality of the Spanish justice system.
It says there is a lack of ‘clarity, precision and judicial security’ in the current legislation in Spain regarding the right of ownership, and a lack of application and coherent legislation in environmental matters, and this has led to many of the abuses. Lax judicial proceedings have created ‘a form of endemic corruption’, and it notes the ‘greed’ and ‘speculative conduct’ on the part of local authorities.
The report singles out Marbella, where it says it is ‘worried about the town planning situation’, where ‘dozens of thousands of homes have been constructed illegally, and which probably infringe community legislation’. It also names developments in environmentally protected areas in Cabo de Gata in Almería and in Murcia.
The Auken report also attacks the Ley de Costas, Coastal Law, which it says has to be urgently revised to protect the rights of the legitimate owners of property and those who own small plots of land on the coast which have no negative impact on the coastal environment.
Finally it calls on the Spanish authorities to speed up the justice system and compensate the victims of town planning abuses by applying laws already in force.
The vote in the European Parliament was 349 in favour, 110 against and
114 abstentions from the Spanish PSOE and PP members.
Alternative amendments put forward by both
Spanish Socialist and PP members
were
both defeated.
Michael
Cashman - EFE
The Socialist amendment did have support from other European Socialists, until the British Euro M.P. Michael Cashman withdrew his support, leading finally to the Socialist amendment also being defeat.
It’s the third time that town planning abuses in Spain have been denounced by the EU, after earlier reports in December 2005 and in June 2007, but the first time that E.U. funding has been threatened to be withdrawn as a result.
Read the complete Auken Report HERE
Junta de Andalucía counts 4,462 illegal properties in the region
Typically Spanish - Spain News : Andalucía By h.b. - Mar 23, 2009 - 8:13 AM
The number is described however as the 'tip of the iceberg' as the count is ongoing
The inspectors from the Housing and Territorial Planning Department of the Junta de Andalucía are reported to have 4,462 illegally built properties recorded to have been constructed on rural land, but the number is being described as the tip of the iceberg as the count continues.
Most of the irregularities are in the provinces of Almería, 2,192 and Málaga, 1,113 all of which are in seven villages of the Axarquía, and as many as 54 municipalities have now asked the Junta to revise their urban plans.
The census of illegal constructions in the region remains in its first stages however. Under the inspection plan, designed to continue until 2012, the regional housing department intends to collaborate with local Town Halls to control and stop the illegal building. Seven areas are considered to see the most serious irregularities – Valle de Almanzora, Freilas, Medina Azahara, La Axarquía, Sierra de Aracena and Sierra de Cazorla.
In the second line of irregularities are Chiclana, Tarifa, Algeciras and La Línea in Cádiz province, Ayamonte in Huelva, Atarfe and Maracena in Granada, Estepona, Mijas, Benalmádena and Alhaurín el Grande in Málaga and Pilas, Guillena and Arahal in Sevilla.
The census will first establish the number of illegal constructions, and include data such as location, promoter, and whether some sort of licence was granted, whether it is inhabited and whether there is already some form of judicial procedure against it.
After the census is completed then the future strategies will be defined. It’s thought that many of the properties will be brought into legality, but in some cases that will not be possible and demolition will be ordered. That will happen where the building is on environmentally protected land, in a river bed, or on land already assigned for some public infrastructure.
Junta de Andalucia to establish new property demolition legislation.
Typically Spanish - Spain News : Andalucía By h.b. - Mar 12, 2009 - 5:00 PM
Juan
Espadas - photo
www.psoeandalucia.com
The new measure was explained to the Andalucian Parliament on Wednesday by the Regional Councillor for Housing and Territorial Planning
The Junta de Andalucía will shortly be able order the demolition of any property it considers to be ‘manifestly illegal’ within a month, in other words any property which is never going to be accepted into an Urban Plan because it has been built on protected land, or on land of high ecological worth.
El País reports that the Regional Councillor for Housing and Territorial Planning, Juan Espadas, on Wednesday took advantage of an appearance in parliament to announce that his department is putting the finishing touches to a new town planning regulation which includes a procedure for summary demolition, without the matter having to go through any further courts. He said the legislation accepted many suggestions from both the Prosecutors and Ombudsman’s offices.
The measure, part of the LOUA, the Andalucian Building Ordination Law, is designed to stop building in nature parks or river beds from taking place in the first place, and end the current scenario that while such a case goes through the courts, other buildings are built nearby.
During the debate in Sevilla, the P.P. Spokesperson, Esperanza Oña, hit out at the Socialists for ‘encouraging corruption’, while Espadas called for responsibility to avoid ‘social alarm’. He said that the Andalucian administration had done all it can to protect legal construction, and proof of that was that since 2005 it had ordered 17,649 actions in some 535 cases in the region, some 70% of the total, and mostly for building on rustic land.
See complete Spanish article here.
First illegally built property is demolished in Marbella
Typically Spanish - Spain News : Andalucía : Costa del Sol
By
h.b. - Mar 13, 2009 - 7:11 AM
Photo Ayuntamiento
The unoccupied building is one of 34 in the Golf Rio Real area of Las Chapas
Marbella Town Hall has issued a statement confirming that work to demolish a home built illegally in the municipality at Golf Río Real, by the promoter Naviro Inmobiliaria, has now started.
The building, which is one of 34 at the site, lacks a municipal licence, was unoccupied, and considered impossible to include in the PGOU Urban Plan.
The demolition is being carried out by Naviro to comply with a municipal order passed on September 9 last year and has an estimated cost of 47,500 € which it must pay. Naviro is owned by the Granada businessman, José Ávila Rojas, who is himself indicted in the Malaya corruption case in the town.
The PGOU first showed the plot as green land and then with the revision for public services.
Another building in Lindavista Alta is in the same circumstances.
See complete spanish article here
Method of accessing the Catastral
AUAN, 14th March 2009
Apparently, members have had problems downloading the instructions for accessing the catastral. So here they are:
Method of Accessing the OFICINA VIRTUAL del CATASTRALES
Before you enter the site you will need to know your Poligono and your
parcela numbers
Search Oficina
Virtual del Catastral or enter site by Copy and Paste
https://ovc.catastro.meh.es/
[OPTION] [ acceso a datos catastrales no protegidos [aceptar] enter
This takes you to this page ( you can if you wish go straight to this page by Copy and Paste)
https://ovc.catastro.meh.es/CYCBienInmueble/OVCconsultaBI.htm
On this page
Press Button (o) Localization
ENTER (*) Provincia select [ALMERIA]
ENTER (*) Municipio input [ALBOX] for example
Press Button (o)Rusticos
Input (*) Poligono [32] e.g. (*)Parcela [36] e.g.
Below are three options
1 [Datos y consulta descriptive y grafica] If you choose this it gives details of the parcela and land designation
2 [Cartografia] This page gives arial pictures and graphics Choose this option
On this page on the toolbar is an option window reading [SOLO cartografia catastrales] (default)
In this window is also [Ortofotos del PNOA] these are more recent arial shots than Google Earth and these are the pics PROYME use for their Survey
Also in this window is[Ortofotos del SIGPAC] these are Google Earth shots
3 [Volver] this means go back to start
This facility is only available in Spanish office hours and be patient while it loads up
Spanish Property Scandal Petition, Submitted to No 10 Downing Street.
AUAN, 14th March 2009
By
Tom
Cain, Costa News
AN EXTENSIVE dossier and a petition highlighting property
abuses in Spain was handed in at Number 10 Downing Street
yesterday (Thursday),
with a plea to
Gordon Brown to
intercede on expat homeowners' behalf with
Spanish PM
Rodríguez Zapatero.
Suzanne Wyatt, the woman behind the
compilation of the dossier and the
petition, travelled to
London to
personally hand over the documents.
The dossier, which outlines numerous cases of property and land law abuses committed by regional governments and in particular Valencia, also highlights the roles played by lawyers, councils and builders and the way they have colluded to defraud British citizens out of millions of euros.
Those who have signed the petition ask the prime minister to pose a number of questions to his counterpart at the G-20 summit due to be held in London on April 2.
What could boost petitioners' chances of getting some real action on this matter is the fact that PM Zapatero owes his British counterpart for getting him into the Washington global economic crisis summit.
Go here for complete text of the petition.
European Elections - Register NOW! - Your Vote Counts
AUAN, 21st Feb 2009
In
June this year there will be
elections to the European Union Parliament.
In Spain the
election will be on
Sunday the 7th June
(in Britain on
Thursday 4th, Ireland on Friday 5th).
As European Citizens
and Spanish residents we have the right to vote in
these
elections on an equal footing
with Spanish nationals.
Prerequisites
are to be on
the municipal Padron, and to have notified
the Electoral
Census Office that you
want to vote in Spain. This is done
at your local Town
Hall, who all have the form “Censo
electoral de Cuidadanos
de la Union Europea, no españoles,
residentes en España”.
If you
are not on, but decide to enter the Padron, you may also
register
your wish to vote at the same time, for both the
European
Parliament and
local
municipal elections. This is a
permanent registration
until you
rescind it.
The electoral system is one
of proportional representation, Spain being
treated as one
entity. This is not
the same as the UK where a regional
approach is
taken.
It is not clear what
the
deadline for registration to vote is, but clearly
the
Authorities need some time to
assemble the final electoral roll, in
advance of June 7th,
so the earlier you register the
better.
The latest
statistics from the Spanish Census Office are those of
August
last year where only 11% of Spain’s eligible
foreigners
had registered
to vote.
18% of Britons and 16% of Irish
are on the electoral roll,
topped
by 19% of the Danes, and
the
Rumanians and Bulgarians are in competition
for last
place at 4 and 5% respectively. Non registration is taken
as
a wish not to vote, in other words no one puts
you
on the electoral
roll, as is the
case in the UK - you have
to put yourself on it.
So far as we are aware,
there is no
sanction in Spain for not using your
vote on
the day.
Brussels approves criticism of Mediterranean urbanism in spite of the opposition of the PSOE and PP.
The European Parliament today approved a report that harshly criticized "massive urbanization" in Spain and which suggest suspending EU aid to the country if the problems are not remedied
Levante-EMV.com, 11 February 2009
The Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament (EP), with opposition
from MEPs Spanish PSOE and the PP, today approved a report
that harshly
criticized
"massive urbanization" in
Spain
and suggested the
suspension of EU aid if
the problems are not rectified.
The text of the Danish MEP
Margrete Auken (Greens) went ahead with 23
votes in favor,
11 against and 1
abstention and will now move to the House
of Parliament,
which will vote next March for final
approval.
Finally, the main
amendments proposed by the PSOE and the PP to soften
the
report were rejected by the rest
of MPs, who agreed to do other more
forceful criticism.
Read
full article in Spanish
Translate
the Spanish text in Google
READ AUKEN REPORT
Housing delegate to meet with mayor of Vera and the Priors
Joint AUAN/AULAN Press Release, 10 Februrary 2009 (revised 13 February)
The
AUAN and AULAN
are pleased to confirm that they have successfully
brokered
a meeting between Sr. Luis Caparrós, the regional
delegate
for
housing and planning;
Sr. Felix Lopez, the Mayor of
Vera; and Mr &
Mrs Prior, whose home in Vera was
demolished, without compensation, on
the 9th January 2008.
The
meeting will take place
on Wednesday, 4th
March at
11.00am in the offices of the
regional delegate
in
Almeria.
Mr and Mrs Prior
are currently living in their garage without electricity
and water. Their bathroom is a tin shed. They are
the
innocent victims
of a dispute
between two components of
the administration and have
become
international symbols
of the
urban planning chaos in Andalucia.
We sincerely hope
that a satisfactory solution can be found, not only
for
the sake of the Prior family,
but also as the first step to restore
the confidence of
the foreign investor.
En
Espanol
"Without demolitions, the rule of law is meaningless"
Spainsh Property Insight, 27 January
2009
In
a recent press
interview, Ángel Núñez, coordinator
of Andalucia’s
environmental public
prosecutors, gave an insight into
how
the environmental authorities would like to approach the
widespread
problem of illegally-built homes in Andalucia.
Here is a
translation of
the Q&A
he did with the Spanish daily
‘Publico’.
Q: In recent
times, thousands of illegal homes have been built. Who is
responsible?
A: Town
planning
infractions are the result of inefficiency in the
public
administration. Local governments have not
exercised their
functions of
town
planning discipline. Due to a lack of
resources,
especially in small
town halls; due to a lack
of political will to pay the price of unpopular
measures
like demolition, and, in
other cases, due to clear and simple
corruption.
Q: Is a lack of
money the reason
why there have been so few demolitions?
A: You don’t not demolish
for
lack of money. There have been no demolitions
because
there have been no
demolition orders. In a huge number of cases,
by the time
action was taken, the illegality was already
prescribed.
Q: Is there any historic justification for
the town planning chaos?
A: No.
There are still Mayors
who boast that they will never
execute a
demolition order.
But it
is their duty under town planning laws! They
defend
their municipal autonomy, which I think is fine, but that
goes
hand in hand with carrying out their responsibilities
as
required by law,
amongst them, to
impose town planning
discipline.
Q: Do you have a figure for the number of
illegal homes in Andalucia?
A: I
don’t
think anyone has. An accurate figure really doesn’t exist.
Q: What do you think of the wave
of regularisations on the way?
A: In a situation so
out of
control, the only solution is to impose the
law
somehow, and that implies regularisations (legalising
homes). You
can’t knock down 30,000 homes. It’s a
complicated problem.
And when you
propose the failure that is a regularisation,
other problems emerge.
Q: For
example?
A: Pressure groups appear demanding that the
rest of
society pays the
costs of
their illegal urbanisations,
that they pay for public
services,
building roads, rubbish
collection…so they can benefit. If one regularises
something that is worth 20 today, it will be worth
40
tomorrow. It strikes
me as
unacceptable. These are
political issues that the
prosecutor’s office
does not get
into, but it is far from setting a good example so that
the
rest of society respects the law..
Q: How do the judges and demolitions mix?
A: Without demolitions, the judgements become purely
symbolic. They have
been quite
reluctant to deal with town
planning crimes. Perhaps
because
they think that only
professionals can commit these crimes, whilst we
think
that anyone can. The Supreme
Court sided with us in 2003. They have
been too generous
with the principle of error, of
ignorance, when it is
public land all work needs a
licence. And there has been a lot of reluctance
when it
comes to agreeing to
demolish. Without demolition, the judgements
become purely
symbolic, because the punishments they
impose – which are
not related to the value of the
building, but the income of the guilt
parties – are
paltry, and the
punishment of detention in principle does
not imply
going to prison. As a result, the punishments
just become
an
additional cost of building. Fortunately,
we are making progress.
Q: Does
the lack of
demolitions foster a sense of impunity?
A: Yes. In the
time it
took the Supreme Court to find that anyone could
commit these crimes, dozens of people were let off.
Q: You have said that one can’t demolish 30,000 homes,
but you can demolish
some. Are you
thinking about
Marbella, for example?
A: One has to distinguish
between administrative demolitions, and criminal
judgements. Regarding the latter there is no room
for
discussion, just
carry them out.
The question being
discussed here is the administrative
ones. Q: Does the
public prosecutor
not have any say in the matter? A:
No,
we could not intervene there.
Q:
And what do you think
about it?
A: Personally, as an ordinary citizen, not
as a public prosecutor, I think
we
need to connect with
the rule of law, which will be
meaningless if
they don’t
go through
with demolitions, and deal with situations of real
social
importance as a consequence of not enforcing town
plans.
Q: The Government of Andalucia has approved new
laws and talks now of
supra-municipal planning
A:
Planning is about managing growth, but this only
serves to
consolidate
the irregular. The fact is that the
plans are not carried out, and when
they are reformed it’s
not to
advance but to consolidate de facto situations.
That
way point of the plan is lost. To plan is to manage
growth, but this
just serves to
consolidate what has
already grown in a disorderly way.
Q: Are people aware that their
illegal actions create problems for them
too, traffic
jams, a lack of
schools…?
A: Up until now, no. People
have an old fashioned notion about property.
It’s my land
and I’ll do what I want
with it. There is no consideration
of the social function
of property.
Q: How much does the environmental
department owe the
Greens?
A:
Their behaviour is absolutely laudable.
Q: What is the biggest threat to
the environment?
A: Out of control urban development.
Q: Some people deny the climate is changing.
A: There are always people in denial. There are those
who deny the holocaust,
the fact
that some deny climate
change shouldn’t come as a
surprise.
Spanish
Property Insight
Priors meet with Mayor of Vera
Joint AUAN, AULAN Press Release 23rd January 2009
During the recent protest march in Almeria (9th January) Sr Luis Caparrós,
the regional delegate for housing and planning, agreed
that if the AULAN
and AUAN could
jointly broker a meeting
between the mayor of Vera and
Mr & Mrs Prior, he would
speak
directly to the mayor of Vera to see
if a solution
could be found.
As a result
of this promise a meeting took place on 21st January
between
Sr. Felix Lopez (the mayor of Vera), Mr & Mrs
Prior,
their legal counsel
and
representatives of the AULAN and
AUAN.
During
the meeting Sr.
Lopez expressed his sympathy and
understanding
for the
plight of the
Prior family but reiterated that their home was
completely
legal and should not have been demolished.
Representatives of the AULAN
and AUAN acknowledged their awareness of
an ongoing and
possibly quite
lengthy dispute about the rights and wrongs
of the
demolition. However, they stated that is was
neither right
nor
fair nor humane to expect Mr & Mrs
Prior to continue to live in their
garage without the
right to
electricity and water until such time as the
dispute
was resolved.
Maura Hillen
for the AUAN
also emphasized that the foreign press has
exclusively
focused on the human interest angle of
this story ie. That
a couple invested
their life savings in a dream home in
Vera,Spain only to have it demolished
before their eyes
without
compensation thus reducing them to living in
their
garage. The Andalucian construction industry could do
without this
type of negative publicity in these troubled
times.
We are please to
report that after a quite a robust and constructive
discussion,
Sr. Lopez agreed to a tri-party meeting
between Vera
council, Sr. Caparros
and representatives of the Prior
family, if the AUAN/AULAN could broker
such a meeting.
En
Espanol
Read the Priors Story
Spain told to put house in
Order
Land grab and
development
abuses must stop, say
MEPs
Costa News,
Dave Jones,
23 January 2009
SPAIN'S land laws
and
construction industry came in
for a hammering at the
eagerly
anticipated meeting
of the
EU's
petitions
committee on Tuesday.
Victims of
development
abuses, MEPs and
members of the Valencia
regional
government were in Brussels to
debate the report drawn up
by
Margrete Auken, which is due to be presented to
the
European parliament in March.
Read
more...
The Solution for the Almanzora
Valley
AUAN
Press Release, 22nd January
2009
At the end of the demonstration march in Almeria on the 9th of January, Sr.
Luis Caparrós agreed that members of the AUAN could meet
with Sr. Paco Torres,
the senior
planning technician for
the Junta de
Andalucia in Almeria.
Sr.
Torres
is
a
technocrat not a
politician
and we
are very pleased to report a
refreshing
absence of
political 'spin' in
the
answers we received.
It is clear to us that, as a result of the marches and the publicity, the
Junta is now working in earnest on the matter of illegal
houses. We understand
that efforts
are now being made to
legalise as
quickly as possible; the
problem
being that
legal mechanisms
take time. We would like to make it clear that,
contrary to the impression given by Sr.
Caparrós
in recent weeks, there
is
NO magic
solution to legalise
all of
the houses in 6 months time;
but a
small
number may
be lucky.
The Facts about
legalisation
The sequence of
events for
towns
that have
pre-existing
urban
plans is likely
to be as
follows:
a) The
pre-existing
plans will be
adapted
to
the
current
planning legislation
(LOUA) and
indeed this step
is already in
progress for
Albox,
Cantoria and
Arboleas.
b)
These plans will then be
modified using 'punctual' (meaning
'minor')
modifications
to
make
changes eg
to
land
near
historic urban centres,
which
could
be
reclassified as
non-consolidated
urban land, and
creating new
sectors
of urbanizable
land.
c) These
modifications are subject to the
POTA (territorial planning legislation)
limits which state that a
town
cannot expand its urban
land by
more than 40%
and cannot expand the
size of its
population by more
than 30%.
It
is
quite
possible
that a relatively
small
number of
houses could
be
legalised
quickly in
this manner. However, when the
POTA
limits have been reached, and given the large number
of
illegal houses
(4,300 confirmed
by
the inspection plans to
date), it
is
likely that a
territorial
plan, plus a full
PGOU, will be
needed to cover
most of
the
properties. Sr
Torres
advised
that
the territorial
plan for Alto
Almanzora will
take 2
years to
complete. If this target is
met, it will
represent a
considerable improvement on the time taken to
produce the
plan for the Levante
region (4 years).
The
solution is more complicated for areas such as
Partaloa and Zurgena
where there is no
pre-existing urban plan, and
therefore no opportunity to do punctual
modifications. Any
legalisation will
have to wait for a territorial
plan, and
a
full PGOU, for
these towns unless
some further
legal
decree or order
permits
a
more rapid
solution.
Based on this information, it is
clear
that,
for the
majority, it
is
likely to take 2
years or
more to
legalise an
individual
home.
Sr.
Torres
clarified that the
landowner is
responsible for
the
(possibly
considerable)
costs to
urbanise a
parcel of land.
He also
confirmed that
there is no legal obligation on the
constructor to
take
the steps
to
legalise your property
unless
they are the
landowner.
It is
also clear
that
whilst
the
territorial
plan will complete
the
legal
framework to
allow for the
legalisation of our
homes, the
difficult and
expensive
process of
legalisation will not take place
without continued pressure from the homeowner.
We intend
to keep a watchful eye on
the matter given that, in our experience,
politicians tend
to concentrate on
the most pressing
matters first.
Denuncias and legal action
against the homeowner
For those homeowners
whose
homes
have been
denounced
and/or are
subject to
criminal
and
administrative
proceedings, the news
is not
so
good.
Sr.
Torres
advises that the
law must
take its
course. We can
only hope therefore
that the
legalisation
process moves
faster
than the
courts.
Interim
provision of
electricity and
water
There is
better
news
for those
without electricity
and/or
water. Sr
Torres advised that
the Junta is
actively
working with the
Diputación
on a
directive for the
town councils
and the utility
companies.
The draft
of this
document is well
advanced.
He
anticipated that an
instruction
would be
provided
to the
councils in two months time
(March)
which
will allow
electricity
and water
to be provided to at least some of the
illegal houses.
En
Espanol
Promises made, promises kept
AUAN 15th January 2009
Standing together we can be
heard
Further
to the
commitment made by Sr. Caparrós during the march
in
Almeria, the AUAN is pleased to
report that today we were allowed to
meet with Paco
Torres, the chief planning technician of
the Junta de
Andalucia
in Almeria. The meeting was both
constructive and informative.
A full summary will
be distributed to the memberhips as soon as
possible with
press release to
follow.
Committee
members also traveled
to Vera in
support of Helen and Len Prior where
a letter was
presented to Vera
council requesting a meeting to discuss
a solution
to this families' dilemma on humanitarian
grounds. Watch
this
space!.
(Len and Helen Prior request a meeting with the mayor
of Vera, Sr.
Felix López)
Outcome of Meeting with Sr. Caparrós
AUAN/AULAN Press
Release, 11th
January
AULAN
(Abusos Urbanisticos del Levante
Almeriense, No!) and AUAN (Abusos Urbanisticos
Almanzora,
No!) would like to thank
the demonstrators for their commitment
and support during
the 9 January 2009 march in
Almeria.
During the protest,
Sr Caparros,
the regional
delegate
for housing and
planning,
held a
private
meeting with
Len and
Helen
Prior
and representatives of
the
AUAN and
AULAN. Sr
Caparrós
said
that he understood and
sympathised with the human
aspect of the
Priors'
situation, but
reiterated
that "the Junta
(regional
government) acted
correctly
within
the law and
compensation must
be sought from the mayor who
issued the
license".
He said
that
it was
the courts that had ordered
the
demolition of
the house, not his
department,
and
that he
was "forced to
work
within the framework of the
law".
During the meeting, the
representatives
of
the
marchers said that they
considered what had happened
to Mr & Mrs
Prior and
their
current situation to
be a breach of their
human
rights.
Mrs
Prior said they were
living in
their
garage and did not even have a
bathroom.
She said that
they had
done
everything legally and were forced out of their
house with
no compensation in sight.
Mr Prior asked Sr
Caparrós how
he
would
have
felt if, after he retired and
had
spent all his money on a
house and
done
everything
correctly,
that he found
himself thrown out of
it. Mr Prior also
asked why in the
area there were
other houses
recently
built and yet
his
house
was
the only one knocked
down.
Sr Caparrós did
agree that after the
AULAN
and
AUAN jointly broker
a meeting between the
mayor
of
Vera
and Mr
& Mrs
Prior, he
would
speak directly to
the mayor of
Vera
to see if a
solution could
be
found.
He
also said that
although
it was the
democratic right
of
people to protest, he
was
disappointed that the AUAN had
not followed up on
his
offer of a
meeting to discuss
the
issues. Maura
Hillen,
representing
AUAN, said
that
after
the initial
meeting back in
September, AUAN had
indeed attempted
to
set up a
meeting but
had received no response. Sr Caparros
replied
that there
had
been no
point
in holding such a
meeting at
that time given that
there
was as
yet nothing
to
report.
The
representatives
of the marchers stated
that
they
reserved the right to stage
further marches.
They
will
also be
making the
arrangements shortly
for
the
meeting
with Felix López, the
mayor
of
Vera,
and
the Priors.
With respect
to the issues
of the Almanzora
Valley, Sr
Caparrós
also
agreed with Mrs.
Hillen to a
technical meeting
between
representatives of the
demonstrators
and
the
Junta in
Almeria to
discuss
progress
and
steps currently being taken
and to be
taken in the
future
to
resolve the problems
created
by
planning
irregularities.
Arrangements
are to
be made next
week.
AUAN and AULAN committee
members consider
these
results to be
positive given
that the demonstrators rate ongoing
dialogue,
transparency
and
consultation with affected
parties to be
of highest
priority.
They also believe that if
the
victims
of
planning and real estate abuse were
kept involved,
matters would
proceed
more smoothly.
Mrs
Hillen
advised
Sr Caparros that
the AUAN
has
submitted an allegation to
the
Human
Rights
Council
(OHCHR-UNOG) based in
Geneva
highlighting the
failure of the Junta de
Andalucia to act
in a timely manner
with respect to
the provision of interim
services
(electricity and water) to
homes
caught in the
illegality
trap.
This
topic is also tabled for
discussion
at the technical meeting with Junta
representatives.
The
issue
of "land grab" was discussed,
when someone
who has bought
a
property in good
faith is later required
to give up
roughly 50%
of their land, is
not
compensated
for the land but
forced to pay for
infrastructure costs.
Sr
Caparrós
stated that this was
the
law in
Spain. It was
pointed
out to Sr
Caparrós, however, that the
protesters
considered
this
practice
to be against the
human
rights of
homeowners and that
the
European
Parliament
had
passed
a
resolution last year
stating
the same. Sr Caparrós
argued
that the law was the law, but
conceded that an application could be made
to his
department on an individual
case basis for further
discussion.
The
Decalogue of
the
protesters'
demands has been
forwarded to the
Junta.
PRESS RELEASE IN
SPANISH
British expatriates march in Spain to protest against
chaotic planning laws
(Text) Fiona Govan, The Daily Telegraph, in
Almeria, 10
January
2009
(Photographs) Tom
Jones,John
Bowling
In
the biggest
demonstration by
expatriates
to
date, coach loads of mainly retired British
residents from
across the
region
took to the streets to wage
war against the
Spanish
bureaucrats
they hold
responsible for
"persecuting"
innocent home
owners
who
bought
properties
in good faith.
The symbols of the
struggle
are
Leonard and Helen Prior, a
retired
couple, both 64
and
originally from
Berkshire, who
on Jan 9 last year
watched
aghast as the bulldozers
flattened
their luxury
villa
on
the
outskirts of the town of Vera
after the regional
government of Andalusia
revoked the building license
issued by the town hall
and
declared
their home
illegal.
Exactly a year later the pair, who have
yet to receive
compensation
and are living in a
garage on the site of
their demolished home,
defiantly led
the
500-strong
crowd
of
protesters
down Almeria's central
boulevard on Friday
towards
the
offices of the man they
believe
is
to
blame
for
their
predicament.
Luis Caparros, who
has
been
dubbed
'Demolition Man'
and 'Mr
Bulldozer'
by British
residents whose properties are
threatened, has
held the
post
of regional head of
planning and housing for Almeria for
the last
five years
and is the
official
charged with enforcing
building
regulations
across the
province.
"We are here to force him to
take
notice,
to give us
an
explanation as
to why this has
happened
to us
when we
did nothing
wrong and to
ask him to make things
right,"
demanded Mrs Prior as she held aloft a
placard
emblazoned
with the words
"No home
and no compensation". (Picture:
Luis Caparros left,
Helen Prior,
right)
Since the
Priors became the
first expatriates
to
have their home pulled down, an
event
which sent shock waves through
expatriate
communities
across Spain,
where as
many as a million Britons are thought to own
property, a
further 5,000 homes in
the neighbouring
Almanzora valley
have been
declared illegal by
Mr
Caparros's office.
The problem stems from
a
two-tier planning system in which town halls,
which
have
the
authority to issue
building
licences, failed in many
cases
to
adhere to regulations
set
by the
regional
government of
Andalusia and allowed
construction
on designated rustic
land.
During a
decade-long
construction
boom,
corrupt
mayors - often in
cahoots
with local
builders -
allowed swathes of
countryside to be
built over
without
the proper
licences being
issued.
Many British buyers
unwittingly bought these
illegal properties through
unscrupulous estate agents
and
the
lawyers recommended by
them.
They
claim they are victims
who bought in
good
faith
and should
not be
penalised in a
clamp down by
regional authorities.
A day before the Almeria march,
on
a
hillside above the town of
Albox,
some 30 miles from the
Mediterranean
coast, Thomas Jones
and his wife
Carole
surveyed the
view
across the
Almanzora
valley from the terrace of
the
three-bedroom villa they bought almost four
years
ago for
250,000 euros
(£223,000 at
today's rates).
"We were expecting to
spend a
quiet life in
paradise," Mr
Jones, a retired motor
engineer, said of his
decision
to
sell the family home in
Worthing,
West Sussex, and
take
early
retirement to
live
in Spain.
Instead they
have found
themselves
the owners of
an
illegal
property.
"We thought we did everything
right and trusted
that
our developer
and our solicitor
were working in our interest, but it
turns out
that they
weren't. We were
lied to and now we
are facing the consequences."
Having been
denied
access to mains water
and
electricity, the couple
are
now
living
with the threat of
the
wrecker's
ball.
"It's
got to the point
where
we can't just
sit quietly and wait
and see," said
Mr
Jones. "We have to
find our voice
and make a fuss,
demand
to be heard
in the
hope that by
keeping
up the pressure a solution will be
found."
Those in the Almeria province
affected by
the problems caused by
corruption, unscrupulous builders and the
shambolic
application of the
planning laws have formed
residents'
lobby groups
to
demand
justice, and
all are
looking to Mr
Caparros for a
solution.
"What
happened to
the Priors
should serve as a
wake-up
call," said
Robert Barlow, 69, a
resident of
Bedar, a hilltop
village
50 miles
north
east
of
Almeria city, who
addressed the
demonstrators on
Friday and told his
own story
as a
victim
of
an
allegedly illegal
land grab
scheme, a practice common
elsewhere in Spain
that has
been
routinely condemned by
the
European
Commission.
Three years ago
he
learnt
that
some of the land that he and
his partner
Margery
Easton had owned
for 16
years was to
be appropriated
and developed,
after it had
"mistakenly" been
designated as
public
building land
by
the town
hall.
Moreover,
the
couple
would be forced to contribute more than
700,000
euros (£620,000) to pay for
the
infrastructure of the
development. They
fought what Mr
Barlow described as a
"financially
crippling"
legal
case
and the
scheme was put on
hold, but
he fears others may
not have
the means to
protect
themselves.
"Land grab and the
demolition of
people's
only homes are
against
basic
human rights and
cannot be allowed in a democracy,"
he said. "It's
persecution of
innocents
and
we
deserve protection."
A
startled Mr
Caparros, 53,
emerged
from his
office on Friday to
face a chorus
of booing from
the
pensioners at his
door. He
invited the Priors and a
delegation of three
others
representing residents'
interests
for a private
meeting,
in
which he 
acknowledged their concerns and said he was
working to address them. (Picture:
Luis Caparros meets the
protestors)
He later told The
Sunday Telegraph that
although
he
felt "enormous sympathy"
for
the
Priors he was powerless
to help
them.
"I'm
a human
being and so of course I
feel 100 per cent solidarity
with
them. I have enormous sympathy
for a
family who built
in
good faith
a house
with permission from their
town
hall," he said.
"But the Junta
(regional
government) acted correctly within the law
and
compensation must be sought from
the
mayor who
issued the
licence.
I am
forced to work within
the
framework of
the
law."
The
Daily
Telegraph
What
do
we
want?
When
do
we want it?
Now!
The
Protestors
Demand
Los
manifestantes
piden
ADDITIONAL PRESS
COVERAGE
Links to news articles (Ideal,
La
Voz, El Pais etc)
http://spanishshilling.blogspot.com/
SUPPORT GROWS FOR THE MARCH IN ALMERIA, 9th January
2009.
AULAN Press
Release, 5th
January
(Vera, 5 Jan
2009) - Support continues to grow
for the anti-urban abuse
demonstration
scheduled
for
January
9
in Almeria
city
(capital of Almeria
province in
Andalucia). The date marks
the
first-year anniversary of
the demolition of the
home
of Len
and Helen Prior, a
retired British couple whose
house
was bulldozed
despite having all the
requisite
planning permissions
issued by
local
authorities. To date,
the
couple are
living in their garage and have received no
compensation.
The
peaceful
protest has been organised by AULAN (Abusos
Urbanísticos del
Levante Almeriense,
No!),
one of
a
series of anti-urban
abuse or
neighbourhood
associations
formed in
response to ongoing
planning
abuse, the lack of
transparency in the
Spanish
legal
and political system,
and the
absence of citizen
participation.
The march
is
supported by
sister
organisation AUAN which
is demanding
the
regularisation of some 5000
homes -
primarily owned by
British - in the
Almanzora Valley, as
well as a
number of other neighbourhood
associations and
citizens'
platforms.
"We've had a
difficult
time
organising the march
because of
the holiday season," said
AUAN
spokesperson
Helen
Baker,
"but
we're
now filling our
fourth
bus while AULAN is working on
its
third". Buses will be
leaving from various towns
with many others making
their
way to
the provincial
capital
in
their own cars. The march
follows
a similar event which
was held in
Cantoria in
September
which organisers believe
was instrumental in getting the
groups' demands
taken
seriously.
Although the
march
is being held on
the
anniversary of
the
Priors'
demolition, organisers point
out that the
event is
being
called on behalf of
all those
currently facing problems with planning or
related
matters. Demonstrators
are protesting against real
estate and
planning
corruption
and
asking for solutions to
their
cases and protection from
any
pending demolition
orders.
"The British buyers would never have bought
houses
had they known they were
illegal," said an AULAN
spokesperson. "Now it is
simply
impractical to tear
down
5000 homes. We ask that those
who
are really
responsible
be brought to
justice. Most
importantly, we are
campaigning so that,
in
the future,
these abuses will no
longer take place and
to
give
adequate
solutions for those
which already exist.
"This should include the
establishment of an
organisation
made up of
government
officials and
representatives
from
citizens' groups,
ecology
groups,
British and other
residents
who have
purchased in good
faith.
This body should
be responsible
for
dealing
with
everything related
to
this area, including publicity
campaigns,
ensuring
transparency in
proceedings,
collecting opinions
and
offering
suggestions,"
continued the
AULAN
spokesperson.
Both
Spanish
and
international press
have
been
notified about the event, with
at least one major
British
television network scheduled
to do a report.
Particular
emphasis
has
been paid to drumming up
Spanish
support with
interviews on Spanish radio.
The
march
coincides with the latest
visit of a member of the European Parliament to
Valencia,
where planning abuses are
rife, and Madrid to
investigate
the
ongoing
problems.
Speeches on the
day
will include Helen Prior and two
other
victims of
Spanish planning
abuse,
including a
Spanish
homeowner. AULAN
organisers
emphasise
that they
operate
primarily as an
information and pressure
group. As such, they hope that
anybody concerned with restoring Spain's
reputation in the
international
property marketplace will attend the
march.
Anyone interested in
free
transportation to the march
should
contact info@aulan.es
or 950069558. The march
will commence from
12:00
in Puerta
de Purchena and end in
front of the office of the provincial
delegate of Housing
and Territorial
Planning where a
letter and
signatures
will
be handed
over and speeches
made.
PRESS
RELEASE IN
SPANISH
READ THE
PRIORS STORY
CALL
TO ARMS (COSTA ALMERIA
NEWS)
Stop Corruption. Justice Now. Support us. We bought in
good faith. Save our homes. Stop planning and real estate
abuse. Regularisation
now. Justice
for the Priors.
Transparency and
Citizen
Participation.
The organisers,
residents in the province of
Almeria, are holding a peaceful protest: (1)
against real
estate and planning
corruption and insecurity and to ask for
justice; (2) to
ask for solutions
and the protection of
purchasers in
good
faith, some of which, are
subject to
the threat of
demolition,
and many of which
do not
have
proper
water and
electricity; (3) to seek transparency and
citizen
participation in the
regularisation process;
(4)
against
proposed charges the
Junta
seeks to
levy within the
regularisation
process, and which should
be
met
by
those
responsible, and to
ensure
this is
guaranteed in writing; (5)
to ask
for
justice for the Prior
family,
victims of alleged
planning
irregularities,
whose house
was
demolished over a
year
ago, and who have not yet
seen
any sign
of redress.
Congregation and March
starting
point:
Puerta de
Purchena
from 12:00noon. After
an
opening
speech, the march will
begin
at
1:00pm, heading down
Rambla
del
Obispo Orbera for
five
blocks,
turning right
on
Av de
Federico Garcia Lorca, then
turning
left after about
six blocks
at
Calle Hermanos
Machado, stopping
in front of
the
provincial
office of Housing
and
Territorial
Planning
where speeches
will be made
beginning
2:00pm. See
Map
Transportation:
Those
who
wish
to
travel in chartered
buses
for a nominal fee should
immediately
contact:
Mojácar,
Turre, Los
Gallardos,
etc.
info@aulan.es or
950069558
Almanzora
Valley
info@almanzora-au.org or call
634642144
Cantoria
petermacgechan@hotmail.com brucehobday@googlemail.com
Thank you for the support of the following
citizens movements: AVEP,
AULAN,
AUAN, AUN, LSOS,
Ciudadanos
Europeos, Cantoria Residents
Association.
MANIFESTACIÓN
PACIFICA EN ALMERÍA
CIUDAD
READ THE
PRIORS
STORY
Brit home owners in Zurgena building
scam
Builder
flees with thousands
while expats are forced to cover
unpaid mortgages
Costa Almeria News, 12th
December, Richard
Torne
THE pitfalls of buying property in Almería are once more
in the spotlight this week following revelations that
scores of expats have
fallen victim
to a crooked developer
who fled with
their cash and left
mortgages
unpaid.
An investigation by this
newspaper can
reveal that the owner
of
building firm Socribo S.L.,
responsible for the Jardines del Almanzora housing
complex
in Zurgena's La Alfoquía
district, took out at least seven mortgages on
properties
expats had already bought
and paid for.
The
bank,
Caja
Sur,
started legal proceedings in
July to reclaim seven of the properties and is
threatening
to evict
expats
unless
the outstanding moneys
are paid.
Nigel
and Jane
Thomas bought a part-built
villa in
October 2004
for
120,000
euros. The
villa was completed in
March 2006
after a delay caused by a dispute between
the
builder and
the firm selling the
land, New Horizon Villas - a company currently
being
investigated by the Guardia
Civil for
fraud.
Although the couple
were instructed to pay
73,418
euros
into Socribo's Banco Popular
bank account,
the
builder's
mortgage was
with Caja de Ahorros de Córdoba
- a
subsidiary of
Caja Sur, the
bank
that is now
demanding
the money.
To their
horror,
Mr
and Mrs Thomas only
recently
learnt
the bank was foreclosing the
mortgage on the
seven
properties,
including their
home.
Lawyers who
have
reportedly filed
criminal
proceedings against
Socribo's owner,
Jose
Manuel Bonilla
Vargas,
are
claiming
Sr Vargas
Bonilla has fled
without a trace.
But Costa
Almería
News can
reveal
that, far
from disappearing
off the face
of the earth, Sr
Bonilla Vargas is happily living in
Almería city. He is also in hot water with
the Spanish
Inland revenue for not
paying social security contributions and is
the subject of
four claims of
irregularities with the
authorities.
Coupled to claims of fraud by
the
developer, there is suspicion lawyers
did not act in the
interests of
their expat clients. One lawyer in particular
acted as
representative for both the
real estate firm
involved in
the
sale, Art
of Living, and the
victims.
To add to the
couple's woes, the
sales
contract
falsely stated there
were
no charges on the property and they are still
without
their title deeds. There are
also question marks
hanging
over the
agent
representing the real estate
company, who cannot be named for legal
reasons, as
she
claimed to be the
owner of the
property when it was sold.
Read the
full story in
the Costa Almeria
News.
Costa Almeria
News
Online
INSPECTION PLANS
As
at 12th
December
IF YOU ARE NOT SURE THAT YOUR
HOUSE
SHOULD BE INSPECTED CHECK
THE DESIGNATION
OF YOUR LAND
HERE
CANTORIA: The
inspection plan for Cantoria is under way as previously
reported. The
mayor of
Cantoria Pedro Maria Llamas
Garcia has
advised
us that the inspectors
will NOT be asking individuals to
complete the
inspection
forms. The necessary information
will be
provided by the town hall and the constructors.
If
you
wish to check the information recorded for
your property or to ensure
that your
home has been
included, Sr Llamas Garcia advises
that
you
consult the town
hall. (Members: Check your
email
accounts for a full transcript of our meeting
with
the mayor
of
Cantoria)
Copy of Inspection
Form
Questions
in English
ALBOX:
Francisco (Paco) Conchillo from
the
mayors office has advised
us that the inspection will commence
week beginning
17th November. We were advised that
the
inspectors from
PROYME WILL be calling to
each home and will be asking each homeowner
to
provide the necessary
information. The town hall intends to run a publicity
campaign to insure that the public is kept
informed. At this point
in time
it is not
clear how homeowners will be
able
to check
the details
recorded for their home. We will
follow up
on this. (Members: See your email
accounts for a
full
transcript of our meeting with Sr.
Conchillo).
04-12-08: If
you are not resident
in Albox during the inspection
period, Sr
Conchillo has
agreed that you may print off the attached
form, fill it
in and return it to PROYME. Their contact
details are on
top of the
form.
LATEST Copy of Inspection
Form LATEST
Questions in English
Publicity
(Sol
Times)
ARBOLEAS:
Angel Jesus Garcia Martinez, the acting mayor
of
Arboleas advised us that the
first phase of the inspection plan for
Arboleas is already
in progress. A team of
engineers is collecting
photographs and basic data
about
each home. They will NOT call
to your
home. Once an area is
completed
the residents of
that area will be
invited to the town
hall to provide additional
details. (Members: Check
your email
accounts for a full
transcript of our meeting with the
Sr. Garcia
Martinez)
Questions in
English
PARTALOA:
Alejandro Lopez, the mayor of Partaloa
advised us that the inspection of homes in Partaloa
is
already underway.
Some 500 homes
have already been
surveyed and the team hopes to
complete its
task
by the end of
the year. The team will NOT call to your home. A summary
of the completed survey details will be posted in the town
hall for checking
by the
residents. You will be
contacted by the town hall
once the
Junta has reviewed
your
file and determined the status of your
home. (Members: Check
your email
accounts for a full
transcript of our meeting with the
Sr. Lopez)
Questions in English
ZURGENA:
The mayor of Zurgena, Candido
Trabalon,
has failed to respond to our request
for a meeting to
discuss the inspection
plans on behalf of our
members.
Therefore, we
suggest that you direct
your questions to Zurgena council
member Jim Simpson via
his blog.
