Monday, June 27, 2005
Note: This law -the LOTPP- is one of three in a "package" of Valencian legislation, along with a law on Non Urbanizable land ( passed in 2004, and in effect) and the draft LUV, which may not go into effect until late 2006 (if ever!). One of the practical effects of the LOTPP is that town halls will no longer have the authority to change the classification of land, eg.from Agricultural/ "rustica" to urbanizable without the approval of the Valencian Gov't. CVS
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DATE APPROACHING (Valencia Life) This coming Friday marks the end of a year's moratorium on the enforcement of the new laws of protection of the landscape and order for the territory(LOTPP). As a result there has been a considerable flood of offers to erect urbanizations of one sort or another across the Valencian Community. In the Marina Alta area of Alicante Province alone, there are plans to build some 30,000 new homes on a total of eighteen million square metres. This building extends across almost all the municipalities in the area that is already saturated with building projects. As an example, in the municipality of Benissa, there are three projects that are still said to be under consideration: Benissa Golf, which envisages the building of some 4,700 new homes, hotel complexes and two golf courses; the Ronda Norte, which foresees the building of 2,000 new homes and a huge road of 33 metres and 900 metres in length, and the creating of 300 new homes in Llobella - the only area of virgin coastline between Teulada and Calpe, whilst in Calpe itself, there is still controversy over the building of a number of 50-storey blocks of apartments around the Salt Flats, which in itself is a protected area.
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DATE APPROACHING (Valencia Life) This coming Friday marks the end of a year's moratorium on the enforcement of the new laws of protection of the landscape and order for the territory(LOTPP). As a result there has been a considerable flood of offers to erect urbanizations of one sort or another across the Valencian Community. In the Marina Alta area of Alicante Province alone, there are plans to build some 30,000 new homes on a total of eighteen million square metres. This building extends across almost all the municipalities in the area that is already saturated with building projects. As an example, in the municipality of Benissa, there are three projects that are still said to be under consideration: Benissa Golf, which envisages the building of some 4,700 new homes, hotel complexes and two golf courses; the Ronda Norte, which foresees the building of 2,000 new homes and a huge road of 33 metres and 900 metres in length, and the creating of 300 new homes in Llobella - the only area of virgin coastline between Teulada and Calpe, whilst in Calpe itself, there is still controversy over the building of a number of 50-storey blocks of apartments around the Salt Flats, which in itself is a protected area.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
NOT REALLY ENOUGH
According to newspaper reports, the European Commission sees 'certain problems' ahead with the new Valencian Land Laws (LUV) that are set to replace the controversial LRAU. The Commission has now officially demanded that Spain make some public comment over the LUV, which was approved by the Valencian Government last March, before deciding what course of action it intends to take, especially as Brussels opened a dossier on the LRAU for failure to respect the European legislation over public contracts. It has also been revealed that the Spanish Government officially replied to the EU letter, which included a copy of the fill LUV proposals. Despite being almost three weeks late, according to Flor Castilla, a Commissioner for the Interior Markets in the European union: Despite the Valencian Authorities stating that they were prepared to include our suggestions in the new land law, that has not yet been done, whilst certain other provisions contained in the LUV could lead to different interpretations of the new law."
ASSOCIATION FORMED
Tavernes de la Valldigna yesterday was the scene of a gathering of some 2,000 people in the town's sports stadium in order to obtain more information on the project by the Actura company (which belongs to savings bank Bancaja) to urbanize four million square metres of land in the municipality that currently is qualified as 'agricultural'. People voiced considerable concern that if the land is re-qualified as buildable, manyowners would be forced to pay as much as 60,000 Euros if the Valencian Land Laws are applied. Many of them yesterday stated that they would probably be forced to get rid of their land at a price far below market value should the project go ahead. Meanwhile, a similar collective was formed yesterday in Benissa aimed at stopping the Benissa Golf Project, which plans to build 4,700 homes, various hotel complexes and two golf courses on 3.6 million square metres in the Lleus area of the municipality. The Collective will hold its first meeting tonight in Benissa.
According to newspaper reports, the European Commission sees 'certain problems' ahead with the new Valencian Land Laws (LUV) that are set to replace the controversial LRAU. The Commission has now officially demanded that Spain make some public comment over the LUV, which was approved by the Valencian Government last March, before deciding what course of action it intends to take, especially as Brussels opened a dossier on the LRAU for failure to respect the European legislation over public contracts. It has also been revealed that the Spanish Government officially replied to the EU letter, which included a copy of the fill LUV proposals. Despite being almost three weeks late, according to Flor Castilla, a Commissioner for the Interior Markets in the European union: Despite the Valencian Authorities stating that they were prepared to include our suggestions in the new land law, that has not yet been done, whilst certain other provisions contained in the LUV could lead to different interpretations of the new law."
ASSOCIATION FORMED
Tavernes de la Valldigna yesterday was the scene of a gathering of some 2,000 people in the town's sports stadium in order to obtain more information on the project by the Actura company (which belongs to savings bank Bancaja) to urbanize four million square metres of land in the municipality that currently is qualified as 'agricultural'. People voiced considerable concern that if the land is re-qualified as buildable, manyowners would be forced to pay as much as 60,000 Euros if the Valencian Land Laws are applied. Many of them yesterday stated that they would probably be forced to get rid of their land at a price far below market value should the project go ahead. Meanwhile, a similar collective was formed yesterday in Benissa aimed at stopping the Benissa Golf Project, which plans to build 4,700 homes, various hotel complexes and two golf courses on 3.6 million square metres in the Lleus area of the municipality. The Collective will hold its first meeting tonight in Benissa.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
An urgent notice for anyone who read (or heard about) the Daily Mail newspaper article of 13th June - please see the response from David Lowe .......
¨This story is wishful thinking at this stage. The Parliament's objectives remain clear; to do everything possible to ensure that justice is obtained for the victims of the LRAU and to ensure that the new law to replace it will fully respect the rights of property owners. However, it is totally wrong to confuse objectives with achievements as this story sadly does.¨
The battle is far from won, so please keep on fighting for a change to the Valencian land laws.
¨This story is wishful thinking at this stage. The Parliament's objectives remain clear; to do everything possible to ensure that justice is obtained for the victims of the LRAU and to ensure that the new law to replace it will fully respect the rights of property owners. However, it is totally wrong to confuse objectives with achievements as this story sadly does.¨
The battle is far from won, so please keep on fighting for a change to the Valencian land laws.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Benissa Golf
Any hopes that the people of Benissa had of overturning the Benissa Golf Project were in ruins last night following a Town Council meeting. The plan is to create some 4,700 homes and two golf courses on some 3.6 million square metres in the Lleus area of the municipality. Opposition groups had demanded that the area be declared as 'protected' by the Council, but thePartido Popular Mayor Juan Bautista Rossello - pictured above as he entered the Council Chamber - accused the opposition of 'being afraid' of the consequences of implementing such a plan. For its part the PP presented another motion that would turn down the project, but would not alter the qualification of the land. Some 200 people attended the meeting last night, with one hundred attending in the Square, hearing the proceedings on loudspeakers especially installed for the occasion - something never seen before in the history of Benissa. After two hours of what has been termed 'intense debate' with the mayor being interrupted several times as he spoke, the meeting ended with nothing altered.
Any hopes that the people of Benissa had of overturning the Benissa Golf Project were in ruins last night following a Town Council meeting. The plan is to create some 4,700 homes and two golf courses on some 3.6 million square metres in the Lleus area of the municipality. Opposition groups had demanded that the area be declared as 'protected' by the Council, but thePartido Popular Mayor Juan Bautista Rossello - pictured above as he entered the Council Chamber - accused the opposition of 'being afraid' of the consequences of implementing such a plan. For its part the PP presented another motion that would turn down the project, but would not alter the qualification of the land. Some 200 people attended the meeting last night, with one hundred attending in the Square, hearing the proceedings on loudspeakers especially installed for the occasion - something never seen before in the history of Benissa. After two hours of what has been termed 'intense debate' with the mayor being interrupted several times as he spoke, the meeting ended with nothing altered.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
The LRAU Lament
This is no discussion of technicalities, legal concepts, deadlines and so on. It is simply a great WAIL from all of us who are experiencing some form of psychological stress syndrome brought about by the permanent threat of LRAU projects (PAI) hanging over our heads. We cannot just "up sticks" and walk away. In most cases, it is simply impossible to sell one's property, even if one could face the horror of trying to sell the "dream" which has cost money, years of work and personal involvement. The dream becomes a nightmare, but more than this, it becomes a prison.
The nightmare starts when town halls and developers (agentes urbanizadores) announce, more or less clearly, their intentions, and the PAI sacrificial lambs are expected to sit tight for years waiting for the axe to fall. There is no way out, therefore no way to escape the tension. It has become clear that the Spanish justice machine and the political class at all levels will do little or nothing for us. Despite the much-appreciated efforts of the many well-intentioned, the on-the-spot reality of the victims remains unchanged. Defenceless, we face total or partial expropriation, if we retain the house, months or years living in a building site, then a huge bill for the so-called benefits. The conviction that we can do nothing leads to frustration, impotent anger, and inward-turned aggressiveness. We are legally robbed, our intelligence is insulted, and we are rocked to the core of our being.
In our neighbourhood, the social network is dysfunctional, and there certainly has not been access to adequate information. Despite being unconstitutional and almost certainly illegal, at no time has there been any fundamental opposition to this project. Our personal efforts to provide information and stimulate debate did not succeed. Luckily Sr. Climent, of AUN, convinced most of the neighbours of the dangers. However, there is still a lot of nonsense being talked and far too much "wait and see". The Spanish administration does not communicate.
As for family and friends, ours have given us little support. It is true that the situation is difficult to believe. Verbal arguments need backup from press and other media coverage to convince. Long months of being treated as stupid, half-mad, as a trouble-causer, or even being accused of not having respected legal requirements, are also difficult to bear.
It is worth remembering that the LRAU text only mentions the existing owner a handful of times. The owner is just another THING along with land surfaces, calculation coefficients, etc. The fact that his or her home is on that land surface is not taken into consideration. And it is true one can end up feeling nullified. However, as European citizens, we have rights which must be respected. Normally property ownership gives a feeling of security, which we have lost. Our properties are now a liability. But we have also lost the right to determine our own future. At the moment, our lives are "on hold". We cannot sell and/or walk away. We are caught in a trap set by a faceless, unfeeling developer (agente urbanizador) who is manipulating a small town mayor who, in his turn, is in danger of making the biggest mistake of his life. The psychological struggle to digest, rationalise and, in some way, overcome this distress is extremely hard, day in, day out …..We personally have endured two years of this torture.
Janice and Graham Fisher, El Aljibe, Tibi, Alicante
This is no discussion of technicalities, legal concepts, deadlines and so on. It is simply a great WAIL from all of us who are experiencing some form of psychological stress syndrome brought about by the permanent threat of LRAU projects (PAI) hanging over our heads. We cannot just "up sticks" and walk away. In most cases, it is simply impossible to sell one's property, even if one could face the horror of trying to sell the "dream" which has cost money, years of work and personal involvement. The dream becomes a nightmare, but more than this, it becomes a prison.
The nightmare starts when town halls and developers (agentes urbanizadores) announce, more or less clearly, their intentions, and the PAI sacrificial lambs are expected to sit tight for years waiting for the axe to fall. There is no way out, therefore no way to escape the tension. It has become clear that the Spanish justice machine and the political class at all levels will do little or nothing for us. Despite the much-appreciated efforts of the many well-intentioned, the on-the-spot reality of the victims remains unchanged. Defenceless, we face total or partial expropriation, if we retain the house, months or years living in a building site, then a huge bill for the so-called benefits. The conviction that we can do nothing leads to frustration, impotent anger, and inward-turned aggressiveness. We are legally robbed, our intelligence is insulted, and we are rocked to the core of our being.
In our neighbourhood, the social network is dysfunctional, and there certainly has not been access to adequate information. Despite being unconstitutional and almost certainly illegal, at no time has there been any fundamental opposition to this project. Our personal efforts to provide information and stimulate debate did not succeed. Luckily Sr. Climent, of AUN, convinced most of the neighbours of the dangers. However, there is still a lot of nonsense being talked and far too much "wait and see". The Spanish administration does not communicate.
As for family and friends, ours have given us little support. It is true that the situation is difficult to believe. Verbal arguments need backup from press and other media coverage to convince. Long months of being treated as stupid, half-mad, as a trouble-causer, or even being accused of not having respected legal requirements, are also difficult to bear.
It is worth remembering that the LRAU text only mentions the existing owner a handful of times. The owner is just another THING along with land surfaces, calculation coefficients, etc. The fact that his or her home is on that land surface is not taken into consideration. And it is true one can end up feeling nullified. However, as European citizens, we have rights which must be respected. Normally property ownership gives a feeling of security, which we have lost. Our properties are now a liability. But we have also lost the right to determine our own future. At the moment, our lives are "on hold". We cannot sell and/or walk away. We are caught in a trap set by a faceless, unfeeling developer (agente urbanizador) who is manipulating a small town mayor who, in his turn, is in danger of making the biggest mistake of his life. The psychological struggle to digest, rationalise and, in some way, overcome this distress is extremely hard, day in, day out …..We personally have endured two years of this torture.
Janice and Graham Fisher, El Aljibe, Tibi, Alicante
Saturday, June 04, 2005
VL: BENISSA PROJECT ON AGAIN? It would appear that the recently constituted Benissa Council for Urbanizing and the Environment has lasted precisely two months, after the Partido Popular representatives at last Thursday's meeting stated that they were considering re-presenting the plan for the Ronda Norte area of theMunicipality. This plan, promoted by a company run by the brother of Juan Cotino, the Conseller for Agriculture, envisages the construction of some 2,000 homes on half a million square metres, with the main road costing some nine million Euros that is to be divided between all the 25 property owners. Amongst these are Joan Josep Cardona, the Town Historian and local businessman Joaquin Nadal. Following the voting on the project, representatives of the El Runar and Avall ecological collectives stated that they were not going to participate in any more meetings of the Council. Aspokesman for the CIBE party also reflected this view, whilst the Socialists echoed this, with their spokesman Vicent Cabrera stating that he had never seen 'such a shameful procedure in a council meeting in my entire life'.
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Thursday, June 02, 2005
Published today in Boletin
Ruining Spain’s reputation
After a prolonged battle, where in the end both the European Commission and the European Parliament had to become involved, the association Abusos Urbanisticos NO (AUN) has forced the Valencia government to present a new law replacing the ill famous LRAU.
The proposed new law is called LUV. We shall leave the comments on the law to the association. The first impressions on the law text are not very positive.
The LRAU dates from 1994, but most of the abuses have taken place over the last 5 years, when the promoters have been scrambling to find new plots for their promotions.
The AUN has been informing the government since 2002 on the abuses, and asked that the law be replaced and a moratorium placed on any new plans based on this law.
The Valencia government has used 3 years for a new law proposal, that probably will not take effect before next year. In the meantime many new plans are being presented based on the perverse LRAU.
Spain has lost much of its reputation as a safe place for foreign investment. The responsibility does not lie with the AUN or the victims, but exclusively on the side of a government that has not reacted in time.
Ruining Spain’s reputation
After a prolonged battle, where in the end both the European Commission and the European Parliament had to become involved, the association Abusos Urbanisticos NO (AUN) has forced the Valencia government to present a new law replacing the ill famous LRAU.
The proposed new law is called LUV. We shall leave the comments on the law to the association. The first impressions on the law text are not very positive.
The LRAU dates from 1994, but most of the abuses have taken place over the last 5 years, when the promoters have been scrambling to find new plots for their promotions.
The AUN has been informing the government since 2002 on the abuses, and asked that the law be replaced and a moratorium placed on any new plans based on this law.
The Valencia government has used 3 years for a new law proposal, that probably will not take effect before next year. In the meantime many new plans are being presented based on the perverse LRAU.
Spain has lost much of its reputation as a safe place for foreign investment. The responsibility does not lie with the AUN or the victims, but exclusively on the side of a government that has not reacted in time.
There is a meeting today, open to the public, at 16.30 hours
at University Politecnica de Valencia (see below for address)
Creo que te lo he dicho ya, pero el meeting sera a las 16,30 horas.
Lugar : Universidad Politecnica de Valencia
Salón de Actos.
Edicficio I 1 /2 ( en el plano G-6)
Avda de los Naranjos (entrada Galileo Galilei)
Valencia
El acto terminara a las 19 horas y alli mismo se inaugurara la exposición fotografica URBANISMO Y MEDIOAMBIENTE, con entrega del premio.
at University Politecnica de Valencia (see below for address)
Creo que te lo he dicho ya, pero el meeting sera a las 16,30 horas.
Lugar : Universidad Politecnica de Valencia
Salón de Actos.
Edicficio I 1 /2 ( en el plano G-6)
Avda de los Naranjos (entrada Galileo Galilei)
Valencia
El acto terminara a las 19 horas y alli mismo se inaugurara la exposición fotografica URBANISMO Y MEDIOAMBIENTE, con entrega del premio.
