Sunday, December 21, 2003
As you know we have many MEPs helping in our fight against the LRAU. The following is a letter sent by Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP to the Spanish Prime Minister.
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Mr Jose Maria Aznar
Presidente del Gobierno
Complejo de la Moncloa
28071 Madrid
21 December 2003
Dear Prime Minister,
I write in relation to the Valencian land laws, specifically the Ley Reguladora de la Actividad Urbanistica, being implemented under the delegated authority of the government of Spain and by the authorities in the Valencian Community.
I write in my capacity as a Member of the European Parliament and thus elected representative of the many Londoners who have homes in Spain and the many more who may wish to do so in the future. I believe as many as 750,000 British citizens are currently resident in Spain.
You will be aware of this law and the effect it is having on the inhabitants of Valencia, many of whom are having their lives ruined and their homes destroyed. This is certainly borne out by the experience of the two ex-Londoners who first approached me about this problem earlier this year and have been living under great stress as they fear for the loss of the home they have worked their entire lives for.
I understand the LRAU was passed by the last Socialist Valencian regional government in 1994 and allows property developers to be chosen by town halls in order to implement an “Urban Development Plan” (PGOU). The original intent may have been practical, even laudable but, whatever safeguards are supposed to exist, the problem which emerged is that the law is being implemented in a way which affords the town hall and the developers the right to take peoples’ land and build on it while offering little or no compensation.
Owners of the affected properties are not only required to surrender their land but also required to contribute in an unreasonable way to the added infrastructure costs necessitated by increased urbanisation. I understand that Ministers of the current and previous Valencian Government have expressed their serious concern about the abuses and predatory practices that the LRAU has encouraged. While there have been promises to reform the LRAU, several months have now gone by with no substantive progress.
I accept that one of the original motives lying behind the LRAU may have been reasonable at the time it was introduced, namely to correct previous deficiencies in planning control and to ensure that adequate infrastructure would be available to service the homes that were already in place.
However there is increasing evidence which demonstrates this law is being abusively applied to the benefit of ruthless properly developers and to the unfair detriment of home owners, like the ones I represent. They have, like many others before them moved to Spain in order to enjoy their retirement and lead a peaceful existence. It is regrettable that the adverse publicity arising from this situation could seriously harm the foreign property market upon which the Valencian and Spanish economies depend to a substantial degree.
I am concerned that these land laws run contrary to the obligations as regards human rights, including property rights and fair and equitable treatment under the rule of law, as well as those regarding sustainable development, which Spain as a Member State of the European Union is bound to respect by virtue of the European Union Treaties. They also run counter to obligations contained in other accords to which Spain is a State Party, especially the European Convention of Human Rights. As you will be aware, the draft EU Constitution would not only allow the accession of the EU itself to the ECHR, but also incorporate into EU law as specific binding provisions the articles of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights including (as draft article 11-17) that on property rights, which Spain would be obliged to enforce throughout its national territory, regional legislation notwithstanding. Clearly a major issue may arise if EU Structural Funds were used in any association with the LRAU.
You may be aware that the people of the affected region have brought these concerns to the attention of the European Parliament by submitting a petition, now supported by well over 4,000 signatories, asking the European Commission to investigate the effect of these laws and whether they do indeed fall foul of Spain’s obligations to its citizens and its environment as a Member State of the European Union.
I therefore request that the application of this law be suspended until the European Parliament acts on the petition and any possible action is taken. I also call on the Valencian authorities with the support of your government - and indeed your party - to reform these laws as a matter of urgency to offer greater protection to property owners with immediate effect. I understand there is in Valencia a political commitment to undertake reform; I hope this will be done before any further suffering, as well as damage to Spain’s reputation, is caused.
Yours sincerely
Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP
cc. Molt Honorable Sr. Presidente Francisco Camps
Honorable Conseller Sr. Rafael Blasco
His Excellency the British Ambassador to Spain.
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Mr Jose Maria Aznar
Presidente del Gobierno
Complejo de la Moncloa
28071 Madrid
21 December 2003
Dear Prime Minister,
I write in relation to the Valencian land laws, specifically the Ley Reguladora de la Actividad Urbanistica, being implemented under the delegated authority of the government of Spain and by the authorities in the Valencian Community.
I write in my capacity as a Member of the European Parliament and thus elected representative of the many Londoners who have homes in Spain and the many more who may wish to do so in the future. I believe as many as 750,000 British citizens are currently resident in Spain.
You will be aware of this law and the effect it is having on the inhabitants of Valencia, many of whom are having their lives ruined and their homes destroyed. This is certainly borne out by the experience of the two ex-Londoners who first approached me about this problem earlier this year and have been living under great stress as they fear for the loss of the home they have worked their entire lives for.
I understand the LRAU was passed by the last Socialist Valencian regional government in 1994 and allows property developers to be chosen by town halls in order to implement an “Urban Development Plan” (PGOU). The original intent may have been practical, even laudable but, whatever safeguards are supposed to exist, the problem which emerged is that the law is being implemented in a way which affords the town hall and the developers the right to take peoples’ land and build on it while offering little or no compensation.
Owners of the affected properties are not only required to surrender their land but also required to contribute in an unreasonable way to the added infrastructure costs necessitated by increased urbanisation. I understand that Ministers of the current and previous Valencian Government have expressed their serious concern about the abuses and predatory practices that the LRAU has encouraged. While there have been promises to reform the LRAU, several months have now gone by with no substantive progress.
I accept that one of the original motives lying behind the LRAU may have been reasonable at the time it was introduced, namely to correct previous deficiencies in planning control and to ensure that adequate infrastructure would be available to service the homes that were already in place.
However there is increasing evidence which demonstrates this law is being abusively applied to the benefit of ruthless properly developers and to the unfair detriment of home owners, like the ones I represent. They have, like many others before them moved to Spain in order to enjoy their retirement and lead a peaceful existence. It is regrettable that the adverse publicity arising from this situation could seriously harm the foreign property market upon which the Valencian and Spanish economies depend to a substantial degree.
I am concerned that these land laws run contrary to the obligations as regards human rights, including property rights and fair and equitable treatment under the rule of law, as well as those regarding sustainable development, which Spain as a Member State of the European Union is bound to respect by virtue of the European Union Treaties. They also run counter to obligations contained in other accords to which Spain is a State Party, especially the European Convention of Human Rights. As you will be aware, the draft EU Constitution would not only allow the accession of the EU itself to the ECHR, but also incorporate into EU law as specific binding provisions the articles of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights including (as draft article 11-17) that on property rights, which Spain would be obliged to enforce throughout its national territory, regional legislation notwithstanding. Clearly a major issue may arise if EU Structural Funds were used in any association with the LRAU.
You may be aware that the people of the affected region have brought these concerns to the attention of the European Parliament by submitting a petition, now supported by well over 4,000 signatories, asking the European Commission to investigate the effect of these laws and whether they do indeed fall foul of Spain’s obligations to its citizens and its environment as a Member State of the European Union.
I therefore request that the application of this law be suspended until the European Parliament acts on the petition and any possible action is taken. I also call on the Valencian authorities with the support of your government - and indeed your party - to reform these laws as a matter of urgency to offer greater protection to property owners with immediate effect. I understand there is in Valencia a political commitment to undertake reform; I hope this will be done before any further suffering, as well as damage to Spain’s reputation, is caused.
Yours sincerely
Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP
cc. Molt Honorable Sr. Presidente Francisco Camps
Honorable Conseller Sr. Rafael Blasco
His Excellency the British Ambassador to Spain.
Saturday, December 06, 2003
We would like to thank O:C:I Radio, Sunshine Radio Javea and CB Nachrichten for advertising the video show and The Club Fustera, Benissa for hosting the event which helped bring together the 200+ worried people, a fraction of the number who are actually involved and for whom the LRAU will ruin Christmas and their future here in Spain.
Also thanks to the Round Town News for their coverage of the show, their front page headling being ¨Club Fustera filled to capacity for LRAU video show¨with a full page report on page 3.
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Would you like to show the videos (and numerous cuttings of newspaper articles)in your area (either in your home with friends and neighbours) or at a local friendly and helpful bar or club, where a larger number of people could attend? If so, contact Jan or Chuck Svoboda at the AUN e.mail address.
At the video show at Club Fustera, we found it astonishing that so many local people were unaware of the land problems surrounding them and how it could affect their lives in the future. Many of us have found that friends and neighbours do not appreciate the severity of the problems caused by the LRAU, so why not borrow the tapes and let them see for themselves and hear and read the stories of families already caught up in the land law.
Jan.
Also thanks to the Round Town News for their coverage of the show, their front page headling being ¨Club Fustera filled to capacity for LRAU video show¨with a full page report on page 3.
---------
Would you like to show the videos (and numerous cuttings of newspaper articles)in your area (either in your home with friends and neighbours) or at a local friendly and helpful bar or club, where a larger number of people could attend? If so, contact Jan or Chuck Svoboda at the AUN e.mail address.
At the video show at Club Fustera, we found it astonishing that so many local people were unaware of the land problems surrounding them and how it could affect their lives in the future. Many of us have found that friends and neighbours do not appreciate the severity of the problems caused by the LRAU, so why not borrow the tapes and let them see for themselves and hear and read the stories of families already caught up in the land law.
Jan.
