Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora No
Campaigning to safeguard our homes
AUAN Press release – 8th March 2011
Contact info@almanzora-au.org
| HEATED MEETING ON THE ARBOLEAS TOWN PLAN Some three hundred British residents attended a marathon public meeting last Thursday in Arboleas where Mayor Angel Garcia informed them that 95% of the irregular homes in the municipality should eventually be legalised under the Town Plan.
However, all that glitters is not gold, and in AUANs view the process could take several years to complete and the titleholder of the land is at risk of having to fund the necessary works to complete infrastructure.
AUAN thanked Sr. Garcia for the opportunity to participate in a round table discussion, which they consider to be a good exercise in transparency, and for being brave enough to face a barrage of questions in a meeting which took some three hours.
Sr Garcia outlined the approval process for amendments to the town plan as set out by the Junta and stated that this is the only way to solve the problem within the law as it stands at the moment. According to Sr. Garcia, the approvals process began in July 2009 and is now nearing completion.
He presented documentation to AUAN outlining the next steps, which would eventually include the preparation of an urbanisation project followed by the execution of any works required. According to AUAN president, Maura Hillen, who participated in the panel questioning the mayor, the planning documents indicate that the whole process could take some years, although some areas were more advanced than others.
When asked regarding the power the Town Hall has to extract money from developers, who had a moral obligation to provide infrastructure and who in many cases had been paid to do so, Mayor Garcia said his powers were limited to getting payment from the actual landowner.
In many cases this is now the homeowner, not the developer, though some homeowners may be able to claim against the developer, or it is possible that the developer might have a written agreement with the homeowner to complete the infrastructure.
During the meeting AUAN representatives confirmed that the process of legalisation dictated by the Junta is one of the main avenues open to municipalities to sort out the planning chaos and that Town Halls have no power to require constructors to pay for infrastructure if they no longer own the land.
“You are victims of a Spanish planning mess” said AUANs Legal Advisor Gerardo Vazquez. “There are some 300,000 illegal houses in Andalucia alone. The problem is massive. My advice is to join together and demand a change to the law, as AUAN is doing”. |
