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It will have been noticed that the park area near the commercial sector and opposite the new health centre has been cleared. A bench and some plants have been placed opposite the clinic, funded by contributions to this group. Apart from much of the perimeter, which has been prepared by ourselves, the heavy work has been done by Masa. This is a great improvement, whatever initiated Masa to do it and we are most appreciative. We now need to keep it looking good and ask for volunteers to help. Anyone interested please contact David.

We thought it was time to hold an open meeting to show what we are doing now, and hear suggestions of what we may manage in the future. This will be held at Terraza Lara (Mariano´s Pool) on the 9th. September at 11 a.m. – EVERYONE WELCOME.

We had promised another street party for the end of July. Unfortunately this has had to be cancelled. We hope to do something later in the year so watch this space ! These are always very happy social events and a valuable means of raising much needed funds. We also hope to hold a fashion show (for the ladies) soon.

We are pleased to notice that the new litter bins placed in the park are being used, mainly by responsible dog owners. We would like to encourage all dog owners, in the whole of Camposol to clean up after their pet. All that is needed is a plastic bag, which can be used to remove and contain the mess. This can then be tied shut and dropped into the nearest bin.

Finally, the weather has almost beaten us for now, being too hot for gardening or heavy work, so only basic street cleaning is possible for the time being, but we hope to restart with a full team of volunteers in September.

For any further info, or to make donations, discuss placing a plant or a bench in the memorial garden, or to offer help in any way, please contact David Holley, 968 130 487.

The next CRA/Mayor meeting has been agreed for 7th July 2010 at 12.30pm.

The extract below is taken from the last CRA/J Galvez meeting and gives details of who you should contact if you have a water leak or sewage problem on Camposol.

5. Now that the infrastructure on Camposol, especially the sewage and bridge, is showing regular signs of failure can we put in to place a more efficient method of communication between the CRA and Council.

JG agreed that it was important for the CRA and others on Camposol to have a point of contact to report these incidents and get them resolved as soon as possible.
It was agreed that Bob Owen (Tel: 968 970 577 or 647 849 260) would become a central point of contact for residents to report to within Camposol and JG and GG would then be contacted to advise Masa and Aquilia directly.

The following message was posted on the Camposolers website and kindly passed on by Reg Rogers the site manager for publication here :

I know this has been mentioned before a couple of times, but its important for those in the UK to know the bullish way that the utilities go about treating you here.. the onus is on you to find out, not wait to be told.

Yet another client of ours would have been left high and literally dry if we did not realise they had just been cut off, they are due to arrive at 10pm on Friday and they would have been stuck without water until at least Tuesday morning if we had not have found out.

Justo y Manoli FAILED to request payment for March April account, no request was made to their bank whatsoever so the bank is NOT at fault, so Aqualia .. who refuse to send invoices to the UK simply came round and cut them off with no warning or communication.

OK we managed to get funds transferred to Aqualia account for them but they also had to pay a 75 euro reconnection fee !!!!!!! even though they are not at fault at all, the reconection fee was more than the “missing payment”

Negotiating this with the Aqualia office in Mazarron I was told quite simply “its up to householders to check their bank every 2 months and if money is not taken then they must chase it up !!!!!!!!! Incedentally this set up has been perfectly operational for 2+ years with never a problem.

A point of note here is ……… Aqualia head offices, who have English speaking departments … will not get involved in any quieries involving Camposol “their words not mine” you have to go to the Mazarron office direct as ” Camposol is treated differently” again their words not mine !!

So my advice to all those in the UK, keep an eye on your bank to make sure your bill payments are being requested, as once you have been cut off you cannot arrange payment over the phone and they do not accept cash, you have t get your bank to forward money to their account in Madrid, then fax conformation back to the Mazarron office before they will reconnect you the next working day …. if you are lucky !!

Andy Coombs

At the time of writing we are looking forward to two main events. Over the weekend of 22/23 May we are planning to clean up the area of zona verde opposite the new health centre below the commercials and the corner of San Sebastion. We have advertised for more volunteers and all are invited . We shall meet opposite the health centre at 9am for about two hours. I know that this will happen before publication of some of the “freebies” but do watch this space for further appeals and updates.

Also, we are having a fun night for fundraising on the 29th May with live music, karaoke, barbecue and dancing in Calle Teruel off Calle Madrid.If you read this in time do come and have an enjoyable night. It starts at 8pm and please bring a chair.

Many people have been complimentary about the improvements that we have made on our sector and we thank them all for their encouragement. We do need, however. More volunteers and we would welcome anyone who can give an hour or two once a week,or less, or whenever you are on Camposol. As the advert says, “Every little helps ”Please contact me for more information. David 968 130 487.

The Friday Book Club continues to do well but would welcome more support. Books only cost 1 euro. It is situated by the correos on sect,A and starts at 10 am. We were delighted to receive a donation of 50 euros recently at the Bookclub and we trust that your generosity will continue.

New laws mean thousands of Britons could lose their homes in Spain in just 28 days time

Tuesday May 11,2010

By Simon Edge

This week an obscure ordinance came into force in the region of Andalucia, in the baking hot south of Spain. Designed to crack down on dodgy companies who build houses illegally and then sell them to innocent buyers, the new regulation gives local councils the right to send in bulldozers at one month’s notice and knock the buildings down before they can get off the ground. The authorities refer to this procedure as “express demolition”.

The point is to tackle the problem of so-called “urban abuse” that has blighted the lives of thousands of British people seeking a quiet retirement in the sun. But rather than ease their worries, this latest development has sent a further shiver down the spines of expatriates in the Almanzora Valley, about 60 miles north of the coastal city of Almeria.

This area, which hosted a construction boom from 2000 to 2006, has been notoriously blighted by the local town hall’s practice of granting building licences without the authority of the regional government. As a result, many of the residents are trapped in “dream houses” with no mains water and electricity. Some of them are living under demolition orders and the angry, frightened population fear the new regulation could make their situation even worse.

“Based on the track record of the authorities here, we are not being hysterical to worry about this,” says Maura Hillen, who first came to the valley with her husband John in 2002 and is now president of a local campaign group highlighting the scandal.

“One of the things we complain about is that they allowed all this ­illegal construction to take place without stepping in quickly and ­calling a halt,” adds Maura.

“The intention now seems to be that the man from the ministry will step in soon and stop it, which we welcome. But our concern is that, in the wrong hands, this new power could be used to destroy houses that people have invested their life savings in. After all, the authorities here have been known to do crazy things.”

Len and Helen Prior can attest to that. In January 2008 they watched as a bulldozer tore down their £350,000 house outside the village of Vera.

Their building licence, issued by the local town hall, had been revoked by the regional government. As his home was demolished, Len collapsed and had to be taken to hospital with a heart condition.

With nowhere else to go, the couple were forced to live in their garage, the only part of the property spared from demolition, while spending money they didn’t have to keep their ­salvaged furniture in storage.

Meanwhile the British owners of eight other properties in and around the small town of Albox have been served with similar demolition orders. Scandalously, neither they nor the Priors were informed that judicial proceedings were under way against them – which would have given them a chance to fight their corner – until the orders were issued.

Spain’s supreme court has now ruled that the Priors’ demolition order was invalid and it seems likely that they will eventually be compensated. In the interim, the judge ordered that they should be provided with rented accommodation equivalent to the house they had lost.

“It’s not equivalent to the one that was demolished but at least it’s a proper house and they have been able to take their furniture out of storage,” says a friend of the couple. “It’s a step in the right direction.”

As a result of a growing campaign all over Andalucia, culminating in a mass rally in Malaga in March, two of the other demolition orders have been set aside, again because the court recognised the homeowners were not fully informed of the process.

But John and Liz Brown, who spent their £140,000 life savings on a villa in Albox, are still under threat. “Their house was a couple of months away from completion when it was taped off,” says Maura.

“That’s the sort of building we would be worried about with this new legislation. We know that the local councils are anxious to satisfy the regional government and they have been targeting new properties. We are concerned they could quickly demolish one of those before the owner had any chance to appeal.”

Maura estimates 5,000 expatriate-owned properties were sold under false pretences in the Almanzora valley alone. There are similar problems all over Andalucia, as well as those in other regions of Spain.

The beleaguered owners do not dispute there is a problem if their homes turn out to be built on ­“rustic” or green-belt land. Their complaint is they bought them in good faith. They were not alerted to any problem by solicitors and in many cases the local town hall granted planning permission. They were not to know the town halls were in defiance of the law.

“When we came here we engaged what we thought was a reputable building company of long standing,” says Maura. “They were offering parcels of land and you could pick the design of your house. There was lots of development going on and we didn’t for a moment imagine anything would be wrong.”

Then came the bad news. “Our neighbours, whose house was built at a similar time to ours, had been living there for two weeks when police knocked on the door, asked for any paperwork and said: ‘By the way, do you know your house is illegal?’”

The Hillens may not have been issued with a demolition order but, like thousands of other expats, they are stuck with a house they cannot sell. Others are worse off.

Of the 300 households who are members of the Almanzora campaign group, about 50 per cent do not have secure access to electricity and water.

“These are beautiful houses that aren’t really houses because they don’t have the services,” adds Maura. “People can’t switch on their lights or pump their water. I’m 47 and probably the youngest here. Most people have at least 15 or 20 years on me and those aren’t the conditions they want to live in.

“And if their medical circumstances change and they need to return to the UK, they won’t be able to sell their houses.”

MAURA recognises that the authorities are trying belatedly to deal with the local chaos that has turned ­paradise into a living hell for British and Spanish homeowners. However, she is nervous that the supposed ­remedies will end up further penalising the innocents.

“They have thousands of houses that are built on green-belt land and they now need to create town plans retrospectively to regularise them.

“But who is going to pay for the ­infrastructure: the sewerage, roads, street lights? As the person sitting in the house you are the sitting duck for those costs.

“I appreciate they are trying hard to make sure this doesn’t happen again but for people like ourselves who are caught betwixt and between, it’s a bit of a nightmare. It’s like we are swimming towards a shore that’s moving away from us.”

Perhaps surprisingly, the experience hasn’t put her off her new home. “In an odd sort of way I’ve probably learned a lot more about Spain being involved in this,” she says.

“You shouldn’t let this sort of thing tar every single person in the country or indeed the country itself. It’s a lovely place.

More than 100 people gathered in Parque Los Palacios, on Camposol A, at 4 pm on Saturday, April 10th., missing the Grand National to assist in the dedication of the Garden of Remembrance, created by the volunteer group. David Senior Peake welcomed residents from Camposol sectors A, B, C and D, and thanked volunteers in each sector for the hard work provided to make Camposol a better place to live. He also welcomed representatives from the town hall, Alicia Jimenez (Deputy Mayor), Clr. Jackie Galvez, and Salvador Ardil, councillor for services, and thanked them for their assistance.

The service was presented by Rev. David Holley and Rev. Len Eaton, and included a very pleasant joyfull hymn sung by St. Nicholas Church choir. David expressed the wish that the park might be enjoyed by residents from all parts of Camposol and asked that anyone wishing to extend the rapidly establishing garden, by means of a special plant in memory of a loved one, or even by buying a bench which could be placed in the park, should contact him by telephone – 968 130 487.

Following the service, all present enjoyed refreshments and appropriately chosen music provided by the beautiful Laura from Black and White disco, with a chance to chat to friends and make suggestions for the future. Salvador Ardil promised assistance from the council to help with the ongoing maintenance of the park.

All of the money spent on creating the park has been raised by fund-raising events organised by the volunteer groups. Residents can support the fund by visiting the book club, held outside the Correo building on the Car Park on Camposol A every Friday 10 – 12, which has raised much of the needed cash, or, the next fund-raising social event will be held on Saturday, May 29 – another popular street party, which this time will include live music, disco, Karioke, BBQ, and the all important Euro Bar. It is hoped that many of the talented singers living on Camposol will come to entertain us !

This article is from Round Town News

You must be registered on Padron by Oct 2010 to vote in municipal elections May 2011

THE MUNICIPAL elections take place in May 2011. Many of you may think that with more than 14 months to go, you have plenty of time to register to vote. Well, you would be wrong. In order to vote in next year’s local elections, you must be registered to vote and be on the ‘padron’ of your municipality by October. In 2007, only a very small proportion of expat residents here on the Costa Blanca actually voted and many people, when asked, said that the reason they didn’t vote was because they didn’t think that they could.
If you are a resident here in Spain and you are on the ‘empadramiento’ at your local Town Hall, you are eligible to vote in the municipal elections.
During the next few months, RTN will be launching a campaign to highlight why it is important for expats to get registered to vote. Basically, if you don’t vote, you have no say; it’s a simple as that.

EAGER

If you are on the ‘padron’ you are entitled to subsidies from the Town Hall; they often give Christmas food baskets to pensioners and at fiesta times, you could receive hampers of food and drink. You are also entitled to health and social services as well as school places and in Torrevieja, if you marry, the Town Hall gives you €3,000! (It’s almost worth doing it again!) By being on the ‘padron’, it not only benefits you, it benefits your Town Hall as they get money from central and regional government based on the numbers of people that they have registered in their municipality. Now, the Town Halls know this and they are as eager as anything for expats to register because it means more money for them. Some towns can lose up to 60% of income from the government because resident expats (not just British, but other nationalities) have not registered.
Doctors, the local police and Town Hall employees are all funded by the Town Hall, so with extra funding as a result of more people registering on the ‘padron’, they could have more doctors and more importantly, more police officers; which will help to reduce crime and keep residents safer.

HELP

It is easy to do; just go along to your Town Hall with all your paperwork (house documents, passport and NIE number etc) and ask to be put on the padron. Essentially, you must also ask for a voting form from the Oficina del Censo Electoral. This is in Spanish but there is a translation on the reverse of the form in English, German and French. If you live in Torrevieja, the International Residents Office can help you to fill in any paperwork and in most of the other municipalities, there are people available to help you with the forms. If you voted in 2007, technically you don’t need to re-register, but the system has been changed since then (surprise, surprise!), and therefore, to be on the safe side, check with your Town Hall that you are still registered or re-submit a form.

On the 30th March a BBC programme will show a programme highlighting the Spanish illegal housing controversy. This documentary has a team which visited the Costa Blanca after they had researched the situation fully. They met with various associations and action groups that have been campaigning for a solution to the issues. Spanish land legislation is the key to the problem and this is what they want to expose to prospective house buyers.

Part of the programme will focus on Lliber in the jalon Valley where 300 houses have the sword of Damocles hanging over their homes. The situation in Lliber is currently the subject of a criminal investigation. However the BBC team met with residents, lawyers and builders in an attempt to understand just what has happened in this village.

The team has also visited the south of Spain where illegal homes have actually been demolished. These expats who have purchased properties in good faith, only to discover themselves victims of a system which they feel has let them down. People viewing this programme in the UK may think twice about purchasing a house in Spain after watching this documentary.