LOCAL INTERCHANGE INTRODUCING THE “ZIP”PROGRAM

Pilar Garcia

The English language is without doubt the most important language in the world today followed by Spanish and probably Chinese. Whether it is for future career prospects, both within Spain and abroad, or simply for travel, a working knowledge of English is a tremendous asset.

There has long been a tradition of student exchange between families in Spain and the United Kingdom, usually during the summer months. This has enabled the participants to not only improve their language skills, most especially their pronunciation and, critically, their knowledge of colloquial English but to immerse themselves in another culture with families from very different traditions, history and customs – a truly mind broadening experience.

However, these exchanges are quite complex to arrange and can be very expensive, especially with the current financial crisis.

The objective of our “zip” program is to duplicate this experience with the people resources we already have in the region, especially in the Camposol area, and at a reasonable cost. Students would be placed with thoroughly screened British families for whatever period is appropriate for each individual. Some students may be asked to act in a semi –au pair capacity or as a carer for older residents to help pay their way or. Failing this, the recipient family will receive a generous stipend for the student’s keep. And, of course students are within easy reach of their families should the need arise.

We are now urgently looking for appropriate recipient families and can be contacted at

telephone contact: 663 74 2442  or email:  pilar@t-linea.es

The CRA is very enthusiastic about the project, both to promote language learning and to better integrate the population.

Hi All,

Thought I would go to the meeting to get any information that may be of use to members who could not attend, albeit not what I think will be of any use, but you never know I might be surprised and get some very favourable feedback.

Well the meeting started just after 5pm with 25 residents attending (No Spanish residents attended the audience), the only officials from the council was David Fernández, José Navarro and Tatiana Andrés (Translating), David Fernández pointed out that José Gómez García could not attend but didn’t know why.

David Fernández stated he would update us all about the questions he had received from the residents via email

A proposal was made by the gardening groups that the council helped with the organising of work to keep the green areas, he stated that he is going to meet with the council official to see if the council can help with this and also provide tools and materials, any work that may be to difficult for the gardening groups the town hall would be responsible for that.

One of the complaints was about the cars with English number plates, a report has been sent to the ministry of interior Guardia Civil, the Guardia Civil will now be doing more patrols and checking for illegal vehicles.

There has been lots of reports about empty villas with swimming pool that have mosquitos breeding in them, if you are aware of any then you must report it to Tatiana and arrangements will be made for environmental workmen to attend and destroy the infestations.

Aqualia informed the council they would start to issue bill in January but still not issued them yet but it is hoped they will issue soon, the problem is Aqualia wants 800,000€ to repair the water system on Camposol and the council does not agree with this. The council are still in discussion with Aqualia to decide if they will provide the service or maybe another company.

José Navarro introduced himself as the mayor of Saladillo and explained the citizen participation meetings (CPM) were organised by the council, and unfortunately there has been a long time from the last meeting which was in Oct/Nov 2012, he went on to explain what he has been involved with since he become mayor of Saladillo in Feb2013.

•             The bridge – it is unfortunate that the bridge took so long to repair but this was due to the bridge not being correctly licenced and registered with the CHS and this was required to be done before it could be repaired.

•             I was involved in the organising of the Saladillo Fiesta, which from the feed back most people enjoyed, I hope that the next Saladillo fiesta will be better as I will have more time to get organised.

•             Due to short notice of the meeting this is the reason that there is so little in attendance, there are lists available on the table so if you wish to be individually informed of the meetings, just put your email address and we will inform you, you can also email Tatiana or myself to be informed by email of future CPM.

The audience was asked for any question:

Residents Question. The last meeting we raised the problem of the roads on C14 where there are 3 holes in the road, they have been dug up and the raw sewage continually runs out of them; at the last meeting the mayor said he would make it a priority after the bridge problem.

•             We have still not had anyone inform us yet what is going to happen this problem has been on-going for 4 years now.

David Fernández Answer. It is a problem for Aqualia and they are not doing it also Camposol has not been adopted, if you give me your contact number I will come with the engineers this week and look into it, we will then issue a Denuncia to Aqualia or whoever is responsible to get it fixed.

General Conversation between residents but could not hear what they were discussion

David Fernández, replied that Camposol belongs to Mazarrón and more work needs to be done on the infrastructure but they have only been in power for 2 years, and they are trying this is why they worked with Masa but Masa broke its promise this is why they have gone to court to execute the bond, this will take a long time for the court process, we did not expect the bridge problem and we had to pay for this to be fixed.

Residents Question. At the last meeting you told me you had already got an enforcement order to get Aqualia to do the work and that did not work, what are you going to do about it.

David Fernández Answer. Aqualia said they are not responsible for the problem.

Residents Reply. That’s all well and good but there is an environmental problem that the council or whoever has to sort out.

José Navarro stated that he had taken photos of the problem and given a report to the council but unfortunately it will need the environmental engineers to compile and full authorities report with costs to be placed before the authorities and this is why David will be coming to Camposol with the engineers to progress getting the problem fixed.

David Fernández, replied they have tried with Aqualia but along with all the problems on Camposol it costs money, Aqualia says it is not there problem and has requested 3 million euros to fix all the problems

Residents Reply. What’s more important money or resident’s health?

David Fernández, replied Residents health but if we have no money what can we do.

Residents Question. At some time we will all have to pay IBI, why is it that some pay and others don’t, we all want to pay so that the money can be used to improve our way of life?

General Conversation between residents but could not hear what they were discussion

David Fernández Answer. If they could collect the money they would do it because the council need the money, it is a problem with some properties being illegal and others not.

General Conversation between residents and Tatiana about how some of them were paying electric and getting building licences if it was illegal why could they pay it.

David Fernández replied he has no answer. The main problem is that hundreds of properties are illegal on Camposol, we won the court case against Masa and they have to pay the council 1 million euros for the licences of the 200 properties that were illegal.

Residents Question. Bins, Camposol is filthy because of the bin problems, the other day opposite D24/D25 there was rats and general rubbish lying in the road. Why is it that new bins with lids have been put in place throughout the port but we on Camposol are the worst treated people in Spain, none of the bins on Camposol have been power washed since I have been here, it about time someone should do something about it.

David Fernández answer. They are going to come to Camposol and have a look at that area to see if it needs more bins. If they need more bins they will try to get some.

Residents Reply. Why can’t we have bins like they have in the port?

David Fernández replied the council only bought bins for a small area in the port.

Residents Reply. No there are new bins all the way down from Bolnuevo and throughout the port.

Bob Owen CRA Replied David you are not unaware of the situation as Steve Blacker and myself provided you with maps and bin location showing the problem, this was done 6 weeks ago.

José discussed the matter with David Fernández and replied that they think only 2 or 3 bins were requested.

Residents Question. Lighting, since the new council have been in power the lights on A and B have been sorted but us on C and D have not been sorted. Due to the council being short of money would it not be more economic for only every other light to be on instead of all the lights.

David Fernández Answer. The light can only be all on, not some on and some off.

Residents Reply. I am sure if the light were on we would not have the burglary’s we are having.

Residents pointed out that there were large areas of Camposol that had no lights on.

David Fernández reply this is because Camposol has not been completed yet

Residents Reply. Although the elections were over 2 years ago a lot of promises that were made have died down now, but in less than 2 years you will be making the same promises and wanting our vote what do you think the vote will be then.

David Fernández replies he did not promise the problems would be made quickly.

Resident who had been burgled explained that due to being in an area without lights although when he moved in 4 years ago the lights were on, now there are no lights, and that is the reason his property and others have been burgled because the burglars have free cover of darkness.

David Fernández reply he lives on D sector and he also has no light but in the other street they have lights. The police will try to do more patrols.

Residents Question. Have you got any news about using the Cultural Centre as a polling station for the next elections?

David Fernández reply the council has requested this to the Murcian authorities.

Residents Reply when will we have an answer

David Fernández replies before the next elections, and he thinks residents will be able to vote in the European elections at the cultural centre.

Residents Question. There is a porta cabin on D25 this could be used for voting in

David Fernández replies voting can only be made in a public building.

Residents Question. Can the cultural centre be used to allow the process for registering on the pardon?

David Fernández replies No it is complicated as the people responsible for this matter need to be in the council offices in Mazarrón.

Residents reply the process is done on a computer surly with a bit of good intention it could be done here on Camposol.

David Fernández replies he agrees it is a good idea to issue pardons here, but it is too difficult to do, but he will raise a request.

Residents Question. I have attended all the CPM and with all the promises I sit here frustrated by the lack of progress, and residents come to these meeting asking the same questions time and time again and there is no progress,

David Fernández replies how many times did the previous council come to Camposol to ask questions, we are only 2 years in power and we are trying, it is not easy as there were many problems because the previous council did nothing.

Residents Reply there was meeting with the previous council who made many promises and this council is doing the same.

General information made by many residents and David Fernández about the European officials, homes from hell program, Beirut , tourist program for Mazarrón and resident moving back to UK  because they fed up with Camposol.

David Fernández replies Camposol has many problems we can just sit back and do nothing or try to do it bit by bit, step by step we are fixing the problems; the plan was that Masa had the money to do these things so sector A was to be completed first but 8 or 9 months ago Masa stopped doing these things and broke the agreement.

Residents reply will anything be sorted by the next meeting.

Tatiana reply the water bill will be sorted soon.

Residents Reply Now paramount is going ahead the new airport according to the regional government is also going ahead people that may visit will see the state Camposol is in and they won’t come here.

General information made by many residents and David Fernández about paramount, the airport tourism and rental problems.

As there were no further questions the meeting was closed 18:30.

The last CPM I attended, I thought was a waste of time. Well there you have it, another meeting that I for one can only say was a waste of time.

Steve Blacker

I suppose we should start with “A good time was had by all “ This is in reference to the excellent fund raising gathering at “ Casa Beryl “of course the problem with this sort of BBQ, party, is the limited number of people you can have there. Never the less the effort put in by several group members, including, Beryl, who hosted the day and Paul, the cook, sorry Chef, helped make this a very successful day so there are more events being planned.

Regarding the group’s efforts to become an association, we started the ball rolling when the Chairman, Edward Roberts, with the secretary, Joce Grant and treasurer, Beryl Holland, had a meeting with the solicitor in Mazarron. It was decided at the, AGM, that the group would be renamed,” The Los Palacios Garden and social Group “. Please remember this is your association, looking after your part of Camposol, so don’t adopt the attitude of let someone else do it.

On the garden front, an extensive program of Palm tree dressing is in progress to remove the dead Fronds and get rid of them. This in its self creates another problem, how to get the dead frond’s to our green bins. So if you have a trailer you can help solve this problem, remember this task is only done once a year. This is one of the jobs that make a big visual difference.

We have a very impressive design for our entrance signs to LOS PALACIOS, but we cannot progress until we get permission from the town hall. The wheels do not grind slow, they don’t grind at all. And finally, an update on our Weed eradication team, it’s good news and bad news, good news. We have six new volunteers, bad news, still not enough.

Remember, Keep fit and make friends. Sounds like a garden group to me!

Chairman Edward Roberts.

Quite a few residents turned up for the meeting in the office next to Best Wishes and low and behold it started on time.

Mercedes introduced the solicitor who will represent those of us on D23 and D32 who have taken up the Masa offer.

It was explained what can be done for us re Spanish Law:

•             The POLIGONO can be divided up into individual plot and then registered with the land registry.

•             Properties will need to be registered by you as the legal owner.

•             Masa will place on the escritura that you are the rightful owner of the property and were not responsible for the embargo debt and will not accept it.

•             Although the embargo will be listed on the property you as the rightful do not accept the debt and will initiate the legal action in court to remove the said debt.

•             You were the rightful owner of the property before the embargo was placed on it.

•             The solicitor will prove to the court with the original documents (that you must provide at the notary) which are copied into the escritura that you are the rightful owner of the property before the embargo was placed.

•             When the escritura is signed at the notary, the same day the land registry is informed that you are the legal owner; at this point no further embargos can be placed on your property.

The solicitor described the process that will take place:

The following documentation will be required to be shown to the court to prove ownership prior to the embargo being placed.

•             Contract between you and Masa

•             Padron (there are some other documents that may help) to prove you were living at the property.

•             Utility bills (or bank statements showing utility payments)

•             Proof of payment for the property (Due to length of time, you may not have this information? Masa should be able to provide with their records, payment transactions and this information will be put onto the escritura documentation.

Ensure you have purchased the property prior to the embargo, You have paid in full for the property, and you took up residence in the property prior to the embargo.

If you have kept the final payment back (for whatever reason) the embargo can still be removed but the final payment would now be paid to the embargo creditors NOT Masa.

Question from Residents: How long will it take to remove the embargo?

Answer: 6 to 12 months, the courts do not move quickly.

We will be doing the court processes in batches; all those who have completed at the notary in May, will be the first batch to go to court. To quicken the process, after the first batch they will negotiate with the court to make the processing through the court quicker with each batch of court actions they are presenting.

The reason this can be done is that it shows that the problem is not just an individual problem but a social problem.

Please note the sooner the action is started the better, otherwise some owners may lose their properties due to court auctions.

The removal of all embargos on the properties will be for the sum of 600€ +iva

Question from Resident: What about all the properties never sold on D23 and are still owned by Masa?

Answer: The properties which you have paid for are the only properties that are of interest, we have no interest in the properties still owned by Masa.

Question from Resident: Resale properties getting the original documentation?

Answer: On the escritura it will show that a second buyer has taken over the property prior to the embargo. It is possible that the first owner may have given power of attorney to the company that sold the property in which case it will still be possible to complete the removal process as Masa will be able to provide all contract documents they still hold for the properties.

Question from Resident: Why should Masa all of a sudden help us now?

Answer: Masa started to help us a few months ago.

Question from Resident: Is it 600€ to remove all the embargos on a property?

Answer: For the third time it is 600€ for the process to remove all embargos on a property from start to finish.

Question from Resident: Is the solicitor 100% sure of removing the embargos?

Answer: Providing we prove with the documentation, you purchased and moved in to the property before the embargo was placed, Yes 100%.

Question from Resident: It was said that the escritura will have embargo listed on it, what happens when the embargo has been removed, do we need to get something?

Answer: The court decision is noted in the land registry and there is a small cost approx. 150€ for this action.

Question from Resident: when signing at the notary there is a period between signing and registering the property.

Answer: The same day you sign at the notary, the notary will inform the land registry that you are the legal owner of the property (provisional registration, full registration in 30 days) no further embargos can be placed on your property after the notary informs the land registry.

Question from Resident: If in between signing for the escritura and the removal of the embargo, should Masa go bust are we responsible for the debt?

Answer: Not your problem, you have shown with the documents you own the property and the embargo is with Masa not you.

Question from Resident: Once we sign for the escritura we are 100% not responsible for the debt?

Answer: Yes, it will be Masa problem not yours.

Question from Resident: if Masa goes bankrupt the debt is still on the land?

Answer: No, because you owned the land before the embargo not Masa.

Question from Resident: How soon can we get our escrituras?

Answer: We can start with some now and more from 17th May.

Question from Resident: How many of us can go to the notary on 17th May?

Answer: Send me an email if you want to complete and I will try to arrange with Masa to process as many as I can.

Question from Resident: Are Masa still going to pay Plusvalia Tax?

Answer: Yes.

Question from Resident: Main thing is to ensure the court procedure to remove the embargo has started, will you be letting us know as soon as this has started?

Answer: Next week we start the court proceedings for D27 and Mercedes will be in touch with the solicitor throughout and will keep her clients informed.

Question from Resident: What about the touristica information on the property?

Answer: Information about the touristica problem:

•             The law states you need to be the owner of at least 10 touristica properties which will include a reception area for it to have any Tax effect on you.

•             As an owner of 1 or 2 properties there is no effect on you with tax etc. the only effect may be with getting a bank mortgage.

Well that’s it, meeting was closed and the residents at the meeting appeared to be a lot happier with the information that was provided.

If I have missed anything, hopefully it will be reported by one of the residents that attended the meeting.

Steve Blacker

Camposol Residents Association Meeting Minutes

Meeting Date 08^th May   2013

Meeting Location Meeting Room Golf Club

Officers Present

Chairman Bob Owen

Vice Chairman Les Crook

Secretary Andy Coombs

Admin Jackie Drewe

District Mayor of Saladillo Jose Navarro

Committee  Present Val Clough / Peter Pitt

Apologies For Absence Ernie Prior, Maite Gomez John Dawes, Sandy Allison, Bridget Stuart

Chairman BO opened the meeting at 15.00 hrs

Minutes of the previous meeting

BO Asked for acceptance of the minutes of the meeting 03.04.13  Proposed BO Seconded PP

Matters arising from the previous meeting minutes

Embargo Update  BO and LC Reported that they have attended a  meeting that was set up with Masa , affected owners and Viva House, to discuss current issues and progress. It is hoped that a full account of this meeting will be posted on the D sector website by Steve Blacker. BO stated clearly again the important point to get across to the CRA members is that they MUST INSTIGATE THEIR OWN LEGAL ACTION, the CRA can only guide by sourcing information. Many people are still sitting back doing nothing.

ACTION REQUIRED Ongoing situation

Chairman’s Report

BO Reported that he had , dealt with only 470 emails. The Chairman also stated that some questions posed in these emails were items discussed at length within the website forum, and that he felt that in some cases members were not using the forum to their own full advantage.

Treasurers Report

SA Was unable to attend this meeting, however she had as normal produced a financial sheet that was handed to AC, this was read and discussed with the Committee . The accounts show,

Bank Accounts (Fighting Fund) €16,616.58 (Gen Fund) €2247.68  Total €18,864.26 + Cash in hand €27.58

LC asked regarding donations versus the cost of the Nota Simple purchase.

The CRA Fighting Fund has been used for the purchase of Nota Simples.  Donations towards those Nota Simple costs are on-going to re-coup the amount back into the Fighting Fund, these particular donations are going a large way to that end.  It was also explained that the Voluntary Contribution Scheme and members donations are accounted for separately.

Admin & Website Report

JD Stated that the Membership across all sectors is continually rising.

JD went on to report that the website and forum was running well.

A brochure had been produced by JD now in master form, for distribution at this years Fiesta on Sat 15^th June, it was successful with sponsorship adverts to cover the cost of the initial print run. The sponsorship adverts had been pledged by some of the regular sponsors of the CRA website.

Fundraising Sub Committee Report

This was jointly presented by VC & JD , VC stated again that she was pleased with the tremendous help and flexibility given by the Management of “The Club House” 2 events had now been organised, 1) The Gardeners Garden Party 29th May and a Barn Dance & BBQ on the 28th of June, further details will now  be advertised and sent to the local radio for announcement.  Notices will soon be displayed in the CRA notice board in the Foyer of Consum.

It was again generally discussed that the CRA must continue to emphasise that although it consists of volunteers who give up many hours of their time freely, the CRA cannot exist and further its aims for a better Camposol without money. Members donations and fundraising were the only revenue sources available other than the bonus ball sale, so all avenues and ideas must be continually explored and publicised.

ACTION REQUIRED Ongoing.

Political Sub Committee Report (PSC)

PP Gave a concise report of the last meeting of the PSC that was held on 24^th April, He reported that he had a meeting with Luis Canovas who had pledged his support in the formation of a political party with his services free of charge. Firstly the proposed party needed a written constitution and this had been obtained by JN and was currently being translated, this would be complete by the next meeting (ACTION JN) A discussion was had regarding the name of the proposed party, PP stated that although he had had a successful meeting with the Mazarron Country Club, they at the last minute had decided that they did not want the name or any derivative of the name (MCC) included in the party name. The committee were bemused regarding why, however after in depth discussion regarding effectiveness and impact it was accepted by the committee that the proposed name that PP will take back to the sub committee will be , THE CAMPOSOL & DISTRICT INDEPENDENT PARTY

PP went on to highlight at length the way he and the PSC felt there was currently no mechanism for anyone to follow with regards to things like gaining the official permissions to use the cultural centre as a polling station, being able to use the facilities of the cultural centre for members to sign the padron, and get themselves on the voting roll etc etc. JN reported that at the current time he was finding it difficult in being able to get time with the Mayor of Mazarron Gines Campillo, however a meeting had been set up for 17^th May and hopefully JN would be able to report back with some news. It was understood that the CRA had always been told that full facilities such as this would be available to be done at the cultural centre.

Action JN

Saladillo District Mayor Report

JN reported on various issues

The B3 compound demolition situation was still on going.

He had been trying again to contact with the CHS over the rambla issue on D and was still awaiting a reply, JN stated that he was still extremely disappointed with the level of response.

The streetlight situation still remained unchanged and he had not heard back from Gines Campillo (Mayor of Mazarron)  since he promised to look into it on 20^th February This will be raised at the metting on 17^th May

ACTION REQUIRED All ongoing JN

A.O.B

Press Officer Vacancy

There is still a vacancy within the CRA for a Press officer,. this role involves compiling and putting into media reporting form, information on the current affairs of Camposol and the CRA activities for the various media publications. Also updating the notice board in Consum.

A general plea is put out here for any willing volunteer to take this position and assist the CRA to obtain this important media presence. If anyone would like further information without commitment, please email info@cracamposol.com or ask in the cabin.

Liaison Officer

The Cra also has been needing a Liaison Officer, for the distribution of information between various groups. EP had put himself forward for this.  Proposed LC and seconded PP

Disabled Parking Spaces

These are now in place in the Commercial centre on sector B

Next CPM

Citizens Participation Meeting with Cllr D Fernandez will take place in the Cultural centre at 5pm on May 13^th All are invited to attend.

There being no further business  BO closed the meeting at 17.45 The next meeting being Wednesday 5^th June  2013 at The Club House. At the Revised time of 3pm

LEGAL NOTICE These Minutes are © The Author and © The C.R.A.

No part(s) of these may be copied, published or re distributed in any form, without express permission from the Author and the C.R.A

The Los Palacios Garden Group has decided to hold a Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 17th of April, at 11,o’clock, in Marianos Restaurant, Los Palacios. Some of the main points to be discussed will be the group’s Registration as a “Neighbourhood  Association “, to this aim a new committee must be  formally elected. Any person living on Los Palacios may attend, indeed, will be more than welcome.

Well I suppose we should get back to gardening. The two things  you can guarantee will happen in Spain, the sun will shine and the weeds will grow.  As a gardening group we have the equipment, strimmers, back pack weed sprayers and weed killer, but there is a definite lack of people to use them.  We are still looking for volunteers to form a weed eradication group . This will comprise of about ten people to concentrate on weeds only. They would be expected to only put in about 3, hours a month, not much to ask for to see the area looking neat and tidy. If you think you would like to help, contact me on:  646557887 or on our     e-mail, address:   volunteers@lospalacios-gardeners.com.

We seem to be mentioning the “Book Shop” every Month, they are running a “ free “ yes free raffle, you buy two books and get one free, because you  have three books you are entitled to a raffle ticket.  The raffle is drawn on the last Friday of every month and is valid for one month, then the new ticket is drawn.

I have been approached by people telling me that they are not physically able to help, or they don’t live here permanently, they can still help by making a small donation at the book shop on a Friday morning.

For more information about the Los Palacios garden group, minutes, future projects, why not visit our web site, lospalacios-gardeners.com.

Edward Roberts,Chairman.