Devastating report from the 3^rd Investigating Commission of the European Parliament

The President of the Petitions Committee in the European Parliament, Martin Libicki (Conservative, Poland) and First Vice-President Michael Cashman (Labour, UK) have submitted a report on the recent visit of a 3^rd Investigating Commission on urban abuses in Spain, that was  introduced to the Committee this week. The revised version should be presented formally for discussion and decision on 11^th April.

Certain PP-representatives in the European Parliament tried to stop the visit of the investigating commission. They and representatives of the Valencia Regional Government attacked the members of the commission personally, stating that they represented the interests of countries competing with Spain in the tourist market and that they squandered tax payers money. These attacks and insults unfortunately continued throughout the visit, and in particular during and after the large meeting between the fact finding mission  and the Counsellor for Territory and the Environment, Esteban Gonzales Pons who was accompanied by selected representatives of the promoters, constructors and tourist associations.  Leaders of the PP group in the European Parliament subsequently considered they had to apologise for the rude behaviour and base slander directed against the visitors on the part of some of their own  party members.

We shall return to the conclusions of the Petitions Committee of the EU Parliament  after the discussion of the report is concluded in a few weeks. Meanwhile in the following we reprint the summary introduction to the report . We also ask all members to give their opinion on the preliminary statement of Ciudadanos Europeos on the situation. See proposal at the end of this report.

“Introduction:

The Petitions Committee remains concerned and deeply troubled as a result of the persistent and long-standing denial of the legitimate rights of many European citizens in Spain, most notably in the Valencian Region, with regard to their land and homes. They have become the collateral victims of many rampant urbanisation programmes founded upon legislation which provides privilege and wealth for the developer and which denies individuals their very integrity.

In a large number of documented cases town councils have concocted urban development plans not because of their real requirements related to population growth and tourism but because of what often appears as their greed and avarice. Hardly a day goes by without news of another mayor, or town councillor, being investigated or charged concerning allegations of corruption related to urbanisation programmes. How many urbanising agents are related in one way or another to those controlling the municipalities which in turn bring them massive profit from land conversion deals and the transformation of rustic land to urban land; the transformation of property owners’ arbitrarily imposed costs to the urbaniser’s benefit?

What is spreading along the Spanish coastal region of the Mediterranean is not so much the programmed, sustainable development of local communities – although such developments do exist; it is all too often the spoliation of community and culture, the concretisation of the coastline, the destruction of the fragile flora and fauna and the massive enrichment of a small minority at the expense of the majority. Hill sides are invaded by a cancer of identikit dwellings not because they are needed but because they provide a profit for the developer and the builder, for the architect and the lawyer.

During the past twenty years or so there has been a growing tendency for people to acquire property in the welcoming climate of the Spanish Mediterranean, either to begin new lives or to spend their retirement years. Spanish people have also been leaving the cities to set up their homes in the beautiful rural areas. New land laws accompanied this trend purporting to provide for a rational development process. There has been an unprecedented economic bonanza in the building industry as rural property has been urbanised. How many owners of Spanish building companies are now to be found in the Forbes Top One Hundred or on the list of the world's wealthiest people?

Many chose to buy property in smaller village communities; buying older rural dwellings left vacant and sold by former farming families in order to restore them, dwellings which were acquired perfectly legally and legitimately. Property rights once legally acquired should normally remain, except perhaps in cases of justified and properly defined public interest when proper compensation should be provided. However, buildings constructed and renovated on rural land are precisely those which are the most vulnerable to the sort of housing developments generated by Spain’s new housing laws which have created situations where a family home may be no more solid than a castle built of sand.

As has been reported before, legitimate property owners have become the victims of the land grab, of laws such as the LRAU and now the LUV in Valencia, which oblige them to give up 10% of their land to the town without compensation, ostensibly for very ill defined social purposes, and then make an arbitrary financial charge to be paid in cash or kind for the new infrastructure decided upon by the property developer without consultation of those who own the land. In practical terms, this means the owners may be forced to cede up to 50% of their property,(plus the 10%) and pay high and arbitrary infrastructure  costs set by the developer.

The local authority in some cases even claim to be unaware of the detail of the proposed developments which are to be built on land the councils have designated for urbanisation and which will drive roads through peoples’ rural homes or build new homes in peoples' back gardens. They may in some cases do no more than provide the proverbial rubber stamp. Moreover, many victims may not even be aware that their homes are jeopardised until the earth movers arrive. Victims of the land grab are counted in tens of thousands.

Village residents suddenly find that the size and population of their rural community is suddenly to be multiplied out of all proportion as a result of the ambitions of small-time mayors attracted by the siren calls of property developers. But they will not be receiving any real compensation for their troubles, or their investment. The developers will. The impact upon the environment, the availability of water and energy supply, the requirements of the building programme itself in terms of long-term disruption are often no more than secondary considerations to those who stand to reap the rewards and who will never have to live in the urban developments they create, whether or not a golf course is added as the biggest of marketing attractions.

In addition, another worrying phenomenon has emerged as more and more European citizens are buying property in good faith only to learn that, having paid their lawyers, their estate agents and their builders, not to mention their taxes, their homes are branded as illegal and that they have become the victims of the ruthless town halls which knowingly approve new construction on land which was not officially certified for that purpose. The citizen becomes the culprit; the municipal authority a passive go-between, the regional government has no responsibility and the national authorities claim they cannot interfere in spite of EU law and Treaty obligations. This is the Europe of freedom of movement, freedom of goods and services, freedom to exploit with impunity.”

We proposed to the members that the comment of Ciudadanos Europeos on the situation be the following:

“ The Association Ciudadanos Europeos (that has as it’s aim to inform and defend the Europeans intending to buy a property in Spain, and those that have already done so)  has always recommended foreigners to buy a home in this country. However, the development on the Spanish property market over the past years, correctly reflected in the reports of the investigating commissions of the European Parliament, and the arrogant answers by the Valencian Government, the main perpetrator and defender of the urbanistic abuses against foreign and Spanish owners, forces us to say the following:

"In the present situation we cannot recommend anyone, foreigner or Spaniard, to purchase a property in the Valencia Region until its abusive property laws have been profoundly changed, as proposed by the European Parliament.”

Property production up - sales down

In its yearly report, that was presented in the end of January, OECD maintained that prices for dwellings in Spain were 30% overvalued. The respected economical organisation expressed worry over the consequences also for all other parts of the economy that a bursting of the “property bubble” may produce.

580.000 dwellings were built in Spain during 2003 (169.000 in the UK the same year), in 2004 the number jumped to 739.000, and in 2005 to 780.000. To the end of 2006 will probably be built 800.000. It is the greatest wave of home building in history, comparable only to the reconstruction of Germany after the last war.

The market absorbed it all, even if a great part has been bought by smaller or bigger investors, now trying to rid themselves of the unproductive investment. The saving bank CAM has reported they are sitting on 30.000 dwellings along the Mediterranean coast, that they want to sell, preferably to foreigners. The capital is now flowing into the stock market, the IBEX setting new records.

The big developers have in a number of new urbanisation plans already approved, another 1,5 million dwellings to be built in the coming years.

Sales falling

For some years it has been obvious that the foreigners purchase of Spanish properties have been shrinking. The clients from countries like Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and Holland have become scarce. And over the last year, also the Irish, British and Norwegians are disappearing. Sale to foreign buyers has gone down 50 to 70% over one year.

Developers and sales agent have over the last years compensated for the weakening of the foreigners market, by a strong sales drive among the Spanish. The government granted deductions in the income tax on buying a dwelling. The banks gave mortgages of up to 100% of the sales price (sometimes even more), at initially very low interest rates, for up to 50 years.

The government has now taken away the tax incentives for buying or financing new dwellings. Together with 15 increases in the interest on mortgages during 2006 and the extortionate prices from the promoters, this has halted the sale to the Spanish market. A great part of Spanish families are sitting with mortgages eating up an increasing part of their income.

Temporary drop?

Promoters and sales agents are hoping that the drop in sale is temporary, and that the market will recuperate. We do not share their hopes. The high prices do not allow for any value appreciation, and has driven investors into the stock market or to other countries where property and life is still cheap. The massive construction program with building cranes everywhere is not attractive to retired people seeking tranquillity. The urbanistic abuses against small landowners, promoted by the LRAU and LUV-laws, have scared many buyers away. Greed and corruption has damaged the reputation of the country. Spain has lost much of its attraction.

All signs point to a deepening and prolongation of the crisis on the Spanish property market. The clever promoters have already smelled the rat, they are taking their companies to the stock exchange, spreading the risks on a greater number of shareholders. Some of them are selling off land, not starting up already approved urbanisations. The banks are starting to reduce their financing of new projects, making the future difficult for smaller promoters. During the last months can be seen that the builders are starting to lay off workers. This is especially evident in the province of Alicante, where the construction sector increased unemployment by 15,5% during November 2006. The first building projects are stopping up, and some buyers will certainly be caught without a bank guarantee for the finishing of the dwellings they have bought. 80% of dwellings bought off plans do not have such a guarantee, contrary to the stipulations in Law Decree 515 of 1989.

The situation today is becoming more and more similar to the crisis in the property sector of 1990, that we described in the article “The worst case”.

The president of the federation of construction companies in Alicante province, Ramon Jerez, has in a statement to the newspaper “Informacion” on the 9^th of January admitted a “desacceleration in the construction sector from April last year, that will provoke a loss of  5.000 jobs and 1.500 small companies over the next 4 years.” He reaffirms that there is a decrease in demand and that “the boom has terminated”. He recommends the companies to consentrate on reform work on older buildings and construction of social dwellings.

Will illegal dwellings be demolished?

There are an estimated 100.000 dwellings built illegally in the tourist areas of Spain, meaning outside approved general planning and accepted urbanisation plans. Many of them have also been built without a proper  building permit from the town halls, but mostly with the benevolent oversight of the mayor. We remind our members of two classical examples: Marbella, where 30.000 dwellings were built outside the general planning, and Catral (Alicante) where 1.200 houses have been built on farmland, without any planning and on plots much smaller than the 10.000 required for agricultural constructions.

Will the 100.000 dwellings be demolished, as foreseen in law? Hardly all of them, but certainly some of them. If the authorities do not use a hard hand against the flagrant illegal construction, it will continue and spread all over the country. Already the Andalucia government has demanded the demolishment in Marbella of 334 dwellings where already a court order exists, and another 5.000 that have been built on land foreseen for green areas or social installations.

And the “consellero” for urbanistic matters in the Valencia government has demanded that some of the illegal houses in Catral and in other municipalities be demolished. He has told that the authorities are now using aerial photographs to detect buildings built outside the approved plans.

Situation of present owners

If you already have a dwelling, that is not threatened by an “agente urbanizadora” or nearby gigantic urbanisation plan, you can be tranquil. If you intend to keep it and enjoy your life, there is no reason to be bothered about a drop in property prices. Experience tells us that the buyers will be coming back again after some years. If the promoters do not destroy their own market by continued overproduction of dwellings, the values may stabilize on a reasonable level.

You need to sell? For a couple of years we have recommended anyone in that situation to try to sell at once, while the prices were still good. If you place your property on the market today, you must be prepared to sell below the market price of the last years. If you bought at a lower price more than 5 years ago, you may still get your money back, with a modest interest.

The properties still moving are the very cheap ones (below 120.000 Euro) and the special luxury dwellings in the price class over 500.000, in the first beach line or with spectacular sea views.

New buyers

There are not so many buyers any longer, and most of our members are owners, not buyers. But since you may have a neighbour or friend still entertaining the idea of a home in the sun, please give him the following warnings:

-         Now, more than ever, do not buy a dwelling off plan, unless you are given the bank guarantee of finishing, in accordance with law 57/68, reinforced by law decree 515/89. Do not run the risk of buying into a development that never will be started, or that will stop due to financial problems of the promoter.

-         Do not buy a house on one of the many “urbanisations” that never had a proper urbanisation plan approved and complied with, and that may be the object of an “agente urbanizadora”. Always ask in the town hall for an “informe urbanistico”.

-         Especially, one must be warned against buying a building plot or a finished house in an area not classified as “finca urbana”, maybe constructed illegally. There are 100.000 such illegal dwellings along the coasts, many of them for sale.  Ask for an “informe urbanistico” from the town hall.

-         Shy away from the big building projects with thousands of dwellings, even if they are approved. In the best of cases, you will be living the rest of your life on a building site, in the worst the approval will be cancelled by the regional or national government, for instance due to a lack of guaranteed water supply. (In a trend setting ruling by the Valencia Supreme Court, a big urbanisation plan in Parcent (Alicante) has been cancelled because there were no firm guarantees for the water supply).

-         Do not buy a property with promised letting guarantees. No one can guarantee that tourists will want to rent. Experience has shown that calculations, promises and even guarantees evaporate when the tourist market breaks down.

Where does that leave someone wanting to buy? Almost nowhere. The lack of restraint and control on behalf of the authorities, refusing the proposed moratorium on new building plans, has left to the buyers to impose their own “moratorium” on the purchase. We recommend letting a dwelling in sunny Spain!

In a sensational opinion research by the daily newspaper “El Mundo”, 53,3% assured they believe there is corruption in the municipality where they are living. Only 34,2% were sure that no corruption existed. 76% felt that corruption has increased and 72,4% said that all parties were corrupt.

 

 Abusos Urbanisticos NO

The Association “Ciudadanos Europeos” has for some time warned its members and other Europeans contemplating buying property in Spain, or who have already done so, that a crisis in the property sector was approaching. Whilst still recommending people from Northern Europe to invest and settle in Spain we have more and more strongly warned against buying at any price and under any conditions.  We have been attacking planning, resulting in over density; crude commercial practises from many developers and sales agencies and perverse legislation (read LRAU and LUV) which assists speculative urban activities which are to the prejudice of many small landowners.

The Association “Abusos Urbanisticos NO” and our Association have been criticised for mounting a public campaign against the perverse urbanism, and for taking the problems, which the Spanish authorities would not solve, to the European Parliament. The criticism has come from the property sector, politicians on the pay roll of the developers and is echoed by the publications, which rely on the adverts from the developers and sales agents.

Public resistance movement

Hundreds of associations and groups (citizen’s resistance movements) have been formed over the past year to resist property over development, urban abuse and the practice of leaving town planning in the hands of the speculators. In many local municipalities they now represent the majority of citizens and may have an important impact on local elections in May 2007.

We are proud European citizens were pioneers in this citizen’s resistance movement. We are happy and content now the Spanish citizens themselves have taken the lead and are swelling the ranks in the many local initiatives, that has become the greatest citizen’s movement since the introduction of democracy in Spain. The impact of the resistance can be seen in some political parties who are placing the resistance against the urban speculation on their banners.

However, the leadership of the movement cannot be left to the political parties. Most of them are parts of the urban corruption that has swept the country and left an increasing number of mayors and councillors behind prison bars or before the judges.

Leading and independent newspaper “El Mundo” has put the record straight by selecting urban corruption as “Enemy of the Year”.  The newspaper “El Pais” has named the investigators in the corruption courts as the heroes of the year 2006.

 The urbanistic Juggernaut

(Great care has been taken in the elaboration of this list, but due to the great extension of urbanistic massification, abuse, illegalities and corruption all over Spain, we cannot guarantee that each news item is up to date. What we can guarantee, is that the country is up to its ears in a sump of urbanistic illegality, evident to everyone who wants to look into the matter.)

“Juggernaut” is an Indian word for a figure of a God, placed on a large and heavy carriage, destroying everything in its way. The urbanistic Juggernaut has over the last years moved over the Spanish coasts and island, ruining some of the charming villages and towns that were one of the main reasons so many foreigners came here in the first place.

According to a study by the ecological organisation “Greenpeace” from July 2006, a great part of the Mediterranean coastline is already filled with urbanisations and concrete. Catalonia has filled 39% of their 699 kilometres of coast with construction, the Valencian region 33,8 of their 518 kilometres coastline, the Balearic islands only 5,3% of their shores of 1,428 kilometres, Murcia has built up 13,6 of their short coast of 274 kilometres, and Andalusia 24,6% of their 817 kilometres of Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts. The results of the Juggernaut on the Canary islands is yet to be measured.

But this situation is only the present one. Greenpeace has counted the number of new dwellings now under planning or construction, and have come to the gigantic amount of 1,5 million, all with their corresponding golf courses and yacht harbours.

Catalonia has 20.000 dwellings under preparation, 5 golf courses and 9 yacht harbours with 5.029 berths. The Valencia region has under process 364.500 dwellings, 48 golf courses and 12 yacht harbours with 6.975 berths! The one-province Murcia region goes for another 329.100 dwellings, 32 golf courses and 5 yacht harbours offering 4.790 berths. Andalusia will get another 345.600 dwellings, 156 golf courses and 23 yacht harbours with 8.571 berths. The Balearic islands will be blessed with another 4.500 dwellings, 3 golf courses and 24 yacht harbours for 7.560 boats. The Canary island will build 43.000 new dwellings, 23 golf courses and 9 yacht harbours with 2.660 berths. In addition are being built a great number of dwellings without any plans and permits, sometimes with the collaboration of the local mayor.

How much of the coasts are left in its original state when and if this enormous building program has been finished? A program not made by the citizens of Spain, who will suffer the consequences, neither by the national government, but by a reduced number of private developers, seeing only the profits of their particular project, not the general interest.

The Greenpeace report ads that they have identified 286 “black spots” that threaten to disfigure the coast completely, 57 in the Valencian region and 40 in Andalusia. They add that 13% of all sewage goes straight into the sea, without any treatment.

The daily newspaper with the widest circulation in Spain is “El Pais”. In a harsh leading comment they described the situation the following way:

“…the boom of construction in the Spanish periphery seems like a continuous and systematic destruction of the coasts for speculative interests, the pressure from the municipalities to obtain income and the idleness of the regions when it comes to create order in this chaos…” And it continues: “For tourism, the principal source of income in the national economy, this dense belt of concrete suffocating the coast line is a poison that may drive the visitors away, fed up with bricks on what used to be tranquil beaches…”

One must reckon at least one car per new dwelling. Imagine the queues on the roads with 1,5 million additional cars, the difficulties coming through the often narrow streets in the town centres and double parking in the streets!

Municipalities with “gigantonomis”

Every day one can read in the Spanish newspapers about municipalities increasing the number of dwellings permitted to be built or approved. Often the increases do not represent a normal and sustained growth, but come in leaps of 30%, 50%, 100% or even more. And since a normal dwelling has on an average 2-3 bedrooms, they can be filled with 4-6 people…..

We shall in the following give a few examples, also about places where courageous citizens’ initiatives have led to reductions in the macro-plans, or their withdrawal.

 

Wild South in Ardales

How can a mountain village in the province of Malaga with 2.553 inhabitants get 3.850 new dwellings, with space for 13.500 people, three hotels with 850 rooms – and two golf courses?

Ardales is one of the many villages in the interior of Andalusia that seems never to change; with 445 meter altitude it is a bit cool during winter and hot and dusty in summer. Actually, you can pass Ardales on the road from Campillos to Alora without knowing you have been there.

If you enter the centre, you would recognise its medieval layout and character. In the only hotel you could order a glass of local wine and ask the friendly Andalusian waiter about the place, and he would be glad to tell you the following:

-         Ardales had 2553 inhabitants in 2005, with a loss of 15,74% over 2004, due to lack of opportunities for the young generation. The main economic activity is growing onions and harvesting olives. The unemployment rate stands at 21%.

-         There are 53 foreigners living in the village, 86% of them comes from South America and assist in the olive harvest.

-         The distance from the provincial capital Malaga, where you also find the airport and the beaches, is 52 kilometres.

-         The budget for the municipality was 2.684.000 Euro in 2001. The socialist party has an absolute majority in the town council, and the mayor, Salvador Pendon, is also president of the provincial corporation (Diputacion Provincial). An ambitious and powerful man.

Land price x 27

The first urbanistic agreement was signed by the mayor in November 2002 with a company called Inversion Trebol Garden SL for a land area called Cortijo San Miguel, consisting of 1.369.000 m2 agricultural land (finca rustico). Due to “public interest” the promotion company got the right to build 1.500 dwellings. 1 hotel and 1 golf course. The purchasing price for the land is estimated to be in the region of 3 million Euro, in addition to 150.000 Euro that  the promoter paid to the town hall.

Nothing has happened on Cortijo San Miguel since 2002, no earth movement, no construction. But the land with the approved plan has been put up for sale at a price of 83 million Euro. That means 27 times the purchasing price, in one and a half years, and without any work having been done. Yes, 27 times, not 27%!

The second urbanistic agreement was for the area La Laja, with 3.122.190 m2 of land, where a promoter called Laja del Turon SC got the right to build 1.950 dwellings, 1 hotel and 1 golf course. The town hall got 600.000 Euro for the work of approving the project.

The third agreement was for Cortijo Moronta. On 580.976 m2 the company Spanish Land Investment SL got the right to build 407 dwellings and a hotel. The municipality was given 600.000 Euro for its work.

The Atlantic Coast

Chiclana, Cadiz:

According to press reports, there are more than 10.000 illegal dwellings (outside the general plan), where the owners have difficulties in obtaining electricity because they do not have a habitation certificate (cedula de habitabilidad). Food rotted in many fridges during the last summer. Now a general plan is under way contemplating 40.000 new dwellings.

There are similar situations in other municipalities along the coast of Cadiz.

Twenty five thousand septic tanks, hundreds of real estate agents and 5.000 dwellings built without a building licence in the PSOE-led municipality of Chiclana (Cadiz). That is part of what the newspaper “El Mundo” calls “the greatest urbanistic disaster in Andalucia”.

Puerto de Santa Maria (Cadiz): Under administration:

The regional government of Andalucía has taken the competences in urbanistic matters from the town council (Independientes) after several scandals, among them the construction of a complex in Las Beatillas. The Supreme Court of Andalusia has demanded that the complex be partly demolished.

Costa del Sol

Manilva: Buy for 10 and sell for 100

The most southern of the towns on Costa del Sol has lately become famous for rapid transformation of farm land to building land. Under the mayor Pedro Tirado from the Partido Democratico Independiente (a GIL subsidiary) the property La Parrada had 1,2 million square metres declared building land. The property, bought for 10 million Euro as farm land was then sold for 100 millions as building land.

We shall return to Pedro Tirado in the next chapter.

 

Estepona: 82.000 new dwellings projected.

Mayor Antonio Barrientos from PSOE, supported by ex-members from GIL and Partido Andalucista in a town with 32.000 inhabitants, has approved building land for 82.000 new dwellings.

Marbella: The municipality has problems in digesting the 30.000 dwellings built illegally during the GIL-periode (see next chapter).

Benahavis:  This quaint village in the interior of  the Costa del Sol has 2.265 inhabitants, but plans for constructing 90.000 new dwellings. Multiply the number of dwellings with 4 to 6 users per dwelling, and you will see the future of Benahavis.

Benalmadena:

The municipality has adopted a general plan that will contribute 48.000 new dwellings to the great number already existing.

Valle del Guadalhorce

runs from the airport of Malaga inland. The municipalities in the valley are planning 50.000 new dwellings.

Ronda:

A witch-hunt has started against the people who are resisting the urban over development proposed in Los Merinos (Ronda, Malaga) with more than 50 denunciations against leaders of associations, spokesmen and even a female mayor.

Coin: A plan has been presented to construct 930 dwellings on the land where the spring of water for the municipality of Coin (Malaga) is situated. 6.000 people have signed a protest. But when the “mesa de agua” placed 4 billboards with a protest at different places in the town, the boards were hastily removed by the town council. The “mesa” organisers had applied for a permit on beforehand. The battle continues.

Antequera: 35.000

The historical town of Antequera, far from the coast, has decided to take part in the contest for more dwellings, planning 35.000.

Nerja and Torremolinos

are also at it, with new plans estimated to give us the blessing of another 35.000 new dwellings.

According to the department for public works in the Andalucia government, the municipalities in Malaga province has plans for the building of 600.000 new dwellings over the coming 10 to 12 years. Today 791.859 are registered. We are facing almost a doubling over 10 years!

The sensible president of the provincial association of builders and promoters, Jose Prado, comments: “this is a growth that cannot be sustained if it is not accompanied by some infrastructures that today are absolutely insufficient…”

Almeria 

Carboneras (Almeria): Hotel demolished

The Junta de Andalucia has agreed to restrict the area of the nature park “Cabo de la Gata” in the province of Almeria, so that the municipalities on the border of the park could construct on 200 hectares an agglomeration of 400.000 dwellings, 30 golf courses and a number of tourist hotels.

The town hall of Carboneras gave a building permit for a hotel smack on the beach, a project that was stopped by the courageous minister of environment in the national government, Cristina Narbona, for being located partly in the beach zone. President Chavez in the Andalusian government had to expropriate the construction and pay 2,3 million Euro to the owners to be able to demolish the building.

But the town hall of Carboneras is still going ahead with plans to approve the construction of 5.000 dwellings and a number of hotels.

Antas: From 1.200 to 20.000 or 60.000 dwellings

The small town of Antas in Almeria has 3.000 inhabitants and 1.200 dwellings. Its new general plan envisages the construction of 20.000 to 60.000 new dwellings, meaning an increase in population of between 60.000 and 180.000 people.

“Murcia No Se Vende”

is a coordinating body for more than 40 groups in the province of Murcia, working to stop the building frenzy and the urbanistic speculation in the province. It is the answer to plans for 150.000 dwellings and a great number of golf courses in this, the driest of all provinces of Spain, where the farmers lack water to irrigate their fields. Mar Menor is attracting most of the makro-urbanisations, it is calculated that 120.000 dwellings are planned to be built around the unique inland sea.

The company “Polaris World”

needs to be mentioned specially. It had a turnover of 600 million Euro in 2004,  1.000 employees, plush sales offices in 10 countries and an army of sales agents around the globe. Polaris declared in 2006 that it possessed 35 million m2 land in Murcia. It has a number of projects, we can mention:

Mar Menor Golf, with 750 dwellings, where the infrastructure is finished.

An extension of Mar Menor Golf with 1.500 dwellings. Infrastructure in work.

La Torre Golf has 2.600 dwellings. Infrastructure in work.

An extension of La Torre Golf with 2.500 dwellings. The infrastructure is pending.

Condado de Alhama, fase 1, planned for 12.500 dwellings, but only 2.500 approved so far. Infrastructure pending.

Another project in Alhama de Murcia, planned for 20.000 dwellings.

El Valle Golf in the municipality of Murcia, with 680 dwellings, being built now.

La Loma Golf, also in Murcia town, 470 dwellings. Under work.

Hacienda Riquelme, in Murcia, 1.864 dwellings, in execution.

In Mazarron the company has the project El Mayorazgo, with 10.000 dwellings foreseen, but with the land still as farmland.

In Fuente Alamo the company has land reserves for another 3.500 dwellings, but without any planning permission.

The company is rumoured to have the very best and highest connections in the province, that is also an independent region. But on the project Condado de Alhama they encountered the first serious problems, when one of the PP councillors changed her vote from the affirmative to voting against the planned development.

Property owners in the Camposol urbanisation in Mazarron Municipality (Murcia) have been promised by the mayor that he will continue to apply pressure on the promoter, MASA, to finish the still missing infrastructure.

Juan Antonio Roca, the main suspect behind the scandals in Marbella, has also interests on the shores of Mar Menor, having made plans for 5.000 dwellings in a project called Lo Poyo. The project has now been refused by then regional government and Cartagena town hall has reconsidered and proposed a protection for 20 million square metres of land in the area.

On the islands

On Fuerteventura the representatives of the Greens have asked the courts to investigate all urbanistic licenses for dispersed buildings, given by the town halls on the island, especially in Puerto de Rosario.

Farmers and private house owners in the area of Montaña Carbonero on Tenerife have staged a protest march against the plan to make an urbanisation on the agricultural fields.

Valencia region: “Costa de cemento”

The Valencia region is the area of Spain where the urbanistic “Juggernaut” has created most damages. 33,83% of the coast are filled with concrete and urbanisations. Green light has been given for another 364.500 new dwellings. A great number of small landowners have become victims of the obscene land laws of the region. The laws and the urbanistic policy of the regional government have been sharply criticized by an overwhelming majority of the European parliament. But the regional government continues in its role as the super-promoter of the destructive urbanistic activity.

Pilar de Horadada:

Strong public resistance has forced the mayor (PSOE) to reconsider a plan to build 5.500 new dwellings, in addition to another two urbanisation projects of 1.000 dwellings. An independent councillor has accused the mayor of having “private compromises with friends among the promoters.”

San Miguel: Municipal water for illegal dwellings:

A neighbourhood association has denounced the town hall on 11 cases of urbanistic irregularities. Most of them have been committed by the present PP government, but one illegal urbanisation, “Lago Azul” was built during the previous government of PSOE and receives municipal water in spite of the houses being built outside the legality.

Orihuela – massification and illegalities:

In addition to several urbanisation plans and projects outside the general plan that mayor Medina (him with the Roills Royce and luxury dwellings) has pushed through, the illegal construction on agricultural land (finca rustica) is so extensive and normal that the newspaper “Informacion” reports that the fines for doing so is included as income on the municipal budget. From 2002 has been accounted 400 illegalities per year. The newspaper “El Pais” reports 30.000 “irregular” houses in the municipality.

Bigastro:

The mayor has admitted that his dwelling is among the houses built illegally.

San Fulgencio – Illegal start of makro-urbanisation:

The Asociación Independiente Mediterráneo, with 2.000 members, have denounced that the works on a makro-urbanisation with 4.123 dwellings have been started before the proper approval has been granted, and after 3 similar project have been refused by the authorities.

Elche:

The town hall denounced last year 621 cases of urbanistic infractions. The municipality estimates that there are more than 3.000 dwellings built outside the general planning. 12 houses have been demolished, 4 of them belonging to foreigners

Monovar:

The leaders of Monovar Town Hall (PP) are pushing ahead with a General Plan to change 15 million m2 of agricultural land (rustica) to building land,  with permission for the construction of 33,000 new dwellings and 4 golf courses.

There is strong opposition within the population to the proposal, and it addition to this,  there are also insufficient water supplies.

Court refuses 3.884 new dwellings in La Nucia…..

The Supreme Court of the Valencia region has paralyzed an urbanisation plan on 3 million m2 land in La Nucia (Alicante), where it was foreseen should be built 3.884 dwellings and a golf course. The plan had been accepted by the town hall (PP) and the ministry of urbanistic matters in the Valencia government. However, the court agreed with the council member from the Independent List, Maria Jose Campos, that there was no firm guarantees for the water supply of the macro project.

....and stops 500 dwellings in Elche

The Supreme Court of Valencia has stopped the work on a sector in El Pinet (Elche) where 500 dwellings have already been constructed. The works, situated at the perimeter of the National Park “Las Salinas” had been denounced by a local association for the protection of the wet areas in the southern part of Alicante province. The court forced the town hall of Elche (PSOE) to modify the original planning in a sentence from 2003.

Without limits in Calpe

The town hall of Calpe (PP) changed in 2004 the General Plan for the municipality to permit construction near the mountain of Ifach on plots of down to 500 m2 without any restriction in height. Now has been approved the construction of a hotel with a height of 104 metres, only 6 meter from the waters edge.

The neighbours loosing their views are protesting, and the government has communicated it will not accept it.

Elda: Illegal process:

The University of Valencia has warned that the urbanisation project in sector 9 on 144.000 m2 of land goes contrary to the existing general plan of the municipality and is illegal. In Las Canadas shall be built 7.500 dwellings, with then obligatory golf course.

Aspe:

In just one urbanisation is foreseen 4.899 dwellings and a sport centre 7 kilometres from the town.

Fondo de les Neus:

Has 2.200 habitants at present, but is planning to build 6.000 new dwellings.

In Hondon de los Frailes, Alicante, the mayor has lowered the number of new inhabitants foreseen in the new General Plan from 15,000 to 4,000, due to strong protests from existing inhabitants.

Salinas:

The municipality is governed by an absolute majority of the leftist federation EU, but that is no obstacle to planning the construction of 1.500 dwellings. The number of inhabitants is 1.500.

Monovar: 7.000 houses and two golf courses:

The PP government of Monovar has approved 3 urbanisation projects with a total of 7.000 houses and 2 golf courses. The socialist opposition has taken the approval to the courts, also because the manager of a company presenting one of the projects is a first cousin of the mayor.

2.000 new houses in Granja de Rocamora:

The regional government in Valencia has had to postpone the approval of an urbanisation plan on 900.000 m2 of land for 2.000 dwellings in Granja de Rocamora (2.099 inhabitants) after strong protests from the neighbourhood association “Santissima Trinidad”.  Present small landowners stood to loose up to 50% of their plots and having to pay 18.000 Euro per 1.000 m2 in “costs”.  

Catral: More than 1.000 illegal houses:

The mayor (from the PSOE) and the town council of the municipality with 5.380 inhabitants are from 2005 being investigated by the courts for the construction of more than 1.000 houses on agricultural land, without planning permission.

San Juan:

Owners in the urbanisation La Font has demonstrated against a new plan due to irregularities and strong increases in costs.

The socialists in the municipality of La Romana/Alicante (PP) has requested that the government prohibits the construction of 1.000 dwellings in the municipality, that have no certificate of approval from the water authorities.

The regional government of Valencia propose to approve as building land an area of more than 2 million m2 classified as “rustico”, next to the natural park “Lagunas de Torrevieja”, the salt lakes of the city.

In Tibi, Alicante has been presented an urbanisation plan for 1.200 new bungalows, climbing up to 820 meter on the Maigmo mountain, just 470 meter from its peak.

Citizens from 10 municipalities in the interior of Alicante Province have joined an association to resist the urban pressure around Aitana (highest mountain in the Valencia Region) especially the makro-urbanisations proposed in Benasau and Peñaguila.

Rabassa in Alicante city:

The Ombudsman for the Valencia region has in his yearly report for 2005 criticized the project “Rabassa” with more than 15.200 dwelling projected outside the general plan of Alicante city. The PP mayor…. as well as the socialist “opposition” in the town hall has given green light for this project. The socialist council members have later been taken out of circulation by the leaders of the party.

Also in Alicante town: The courts have stopped the project “El Plantio”, where the promoter is building 22.500 m2 dwellings with a permit for a hotel complex of only 14.500 m2.

Protest storm in Villajoyosa:

A protest storm is forming against a new General Plan for Villajoyosa,  (led by PP government)  that aims at reclassifying 16 million m2 for construction of 34.663 new dwellings and increase the population by six.  Already 3.000 citizens have signed a protest. The association “Abusos Urbanisticos NO” has proposed to perform a referendum among the citizens of the town.

The Ombudsman for the Valencia region has in a resolution agreed with the protest of the association Veins de Parcent, and stated that the 3 urbanisation plans that the town hall (PP) wants to approve (1.300 new dwellings) cannot be approved without an information from the water authorities (Confederacion Hidrografica) confirming the availability of sufficient water.

The mayor (ex-PSOE)  of Benijofar, Alicante has admitted in court that sold land to a promoter and later approved the urbanisation plan of that promoter.

400 citizens took part part in a protest march in Jijona, Alicante, against a planned macro urbanisation at the mountain pass “La Carrasqueta”. In the same municipality a promoting company has started the works on an urbanisation with 2.300 dwellings without building licences granted.

The opposition socialists in Relleu (Alicante) has accused several promoters of buying land at 3 Euro pr m2, knowing it would become building land in the new General Plan, that now has a value of 70 to 120 Euro.

The new general plan of Orxeta, Alicante (16.000 new habitants foreseen) requires 730.000 m3 of water yearly, but the municipality (PSOE) disposes only of 526.651 m3. It has been found that the municipal architect had a labour connection with the promoter of the new dwellings. The

town council is considering reducing by 8% the extension of the plan.

Due to strong pressure from the citizens. the Town Council of Orcheta, Alicante has reduced the number of new dwellings in the proposed General Plan from 4,721 to 3,510.

Finestrat – from 5.000 to 50.000

The new general plan for the charming village of Finestrat (led by PSOE mayor) foresees an increase of 10 times in the population, from 5.000 inhabitants to 50.000.

Relleu: From 1.000 to 20.000 inhabitants:

In the new general plan presented by the PP leaders in the mountain village of Relleu is foreseen a growth in population from the present 1.022 to 20.000.

Altea: 5.755 dwellings:

The town hall, led by PP, has approved an urbanisation along the river Algar that will contain 5.755 dwellings, an 18 hole golf course, 3 commercial centres, 4 hotels zones and a boat harbour. The project was accepted by the regional government on the condition that Altea “declassified” 4,6 million m2 of land in Sierra Bernia.

Tormos: “Agente Urbanizadora” in action:

The municipality of Tormos has 305 inhabitants and a company related to the promoting company “Blauvert”, acting as “agente urbanizadora” based on the Valencia land laws. The long time owners of villas in the Cascalls area, with asphalted roads, swimming pools, sewage and habitation certificates from the town hall, have been notified by the promoter of an urbanisation on 500.000 m2 that they will have to give up to 35% of their land to the new urbanisation and pay sums of 30.000 to 45.000 for the pleasure.

Benissa – 12 new plans in 3 years:

12 urbanisation plans have been presented over the last 3 years, and a report from the water department of the town warns that this pre-empts all water resources existing. The general plan demands that any new urbanisation plan must submit a certificate that sufficient water exists for the new dwellings. None of the 12 plans have done so.

Jalon: A story from 1988

On the Solana-development builder Joe Gonzalez started building and selling an urbanisation, approved by the regional authorities based on incorrect information from the mayoress. In spite of an almost endless struggle by the individual owners, they are 18 years later still on a temporary electricity supply.

Lliber: 250 illegal dwellings:

In the small village of Lliber, where they had the highest percentage of foreign voters at the last municipal elections, have been built 250 illegal dwellings.

Almoradi and Dolores:

In the same area as Catral is situated Almoradi and Dolores. According to the newspaper “El Pais” there may be another 3.000 illegal houses in the two municipalities.

Castalla – 500 houses without electricity and water:

In Castalla, governed by PP, 500 dwellings have been built without permit. The houses do not get water and electricity.

Sueca (Valencia province):

25 houses have been built in the natural park of La Albufuera.

Camp de Turia –Valencia:

According to the newspaper “Información”, there exist 20.000 dwellings outside the general planning.

Sagunto:

800 houses built without permits.

Albalat dels Tarongers – Valencia:

550 houses built outside the planning.

Requena –not only vine:

In the interior area of Utiel Requena, La Hoya and Valle it has been calculated there are 5.000 illegal houses.

Skyscrapers in Cullera:

One tousand illegal constructions in the areas of Marenyet. A plan approved by PP and the nationalist in Bloc to build 33 towers of up to 25 floors, in an area where the water authorities warn there is not sufficient water resources.

Tavernes:

In Marenys of Tavernes exist 200 illegal dwellings.

Villalonga:

Has 600 villas outside the general planning.

Xativa:

500 dwellings illegally built.

Onteniente – beats all records:

The town hall of Onteniente beats the record in the Valencia region when it comes to the number of illegal houses. 5.000 dwellings have been built outside the urbanistic legality, half of them inside what in the general plan is classified as “urbanisable”, meaning where an urbanisation plan can be presented. The rest are built on agricultural land (rustico), some even in areas classified as “protegido” (protected).

Castellon –legalising the chaos:

In the province of Castellon the great majority of municipalities have constructions outside the urbanistic legality. In the area of Marjaleria in the town of Castellon are more than 3.000 dwellings illegal. According to an agreement between the town hall and the regional government, approximately 2.000 will be legalised when an urbanisation plan has been elaborated.

Nules – construction in wet areas:

In a part of the municipality that has been declared a protected wet area, there are a number of illegal constructions.

Oropesa – apartment instead of camping:

In the municipality of Oropesa there are two blocks with 600 illegal apartments, built on a parking site, without the proper permits. Another block with 300 apartments are under preparations.

In the same municipality is situated the “vacation town” Marina d’Or, where has been built a row of apartment blocks and hotels for 30.000 people, together with an urbanisation for another 20.000 habitants. The project is planned to be extended for another 150.000 people in apartments and hotels, in addition to casino, spa and golf courses.

The mega-project Marina d´Or in Oropesa and Cabanes, Castellon, (47.800 dwellings and increase in population from 10.000 to 200.000) is in danger due to having been approved based on the now defunct LRAU-law.

The inland and the north

I deal with a number of municipalities in the region of Madrid in the next chapter. But the megaproject by “Paco el Pocero” in the small town of Seseña (Castilla – La Mancha), near Toledo, deserves to be mentioned also due to numbers. The promoter has embarked upon the building of 13.500 buildings on arid land, without any guarantees of water. One of the opposition council members has denounced a network of urbanistic corruption aiming for a profit of 800 million Euro.

Cuenca:

Guardia Civil has reported 520 buildings without permit, on land classified for agriculture.

La Rioja:

The Supreme Court of the region has ordered the demolition of a  block of 43 dwellings in the municipality of Laredol, built by a company where the mayor (PP) is shareholder.

Extremadura:

In Badajoz the construction of 70 dwellings next to a golf course, where the planning foresaw an aparthotel, has been denounced.

Castilla y Leon:

In Las Navas del Marquez has been approved, also by the PP-led regional government, a project to build 1.600 new dwellings, 2 luxury hotels and a golf course in an area declared of special interest for bird protection (Zepa). The regional Supreme Court prohibited the felling of threes, but the promoter has already started to cut down 5.000 pines.

And in Villanueva de Gomez is planned an urbanisation of 7.500 dwellings and 3 golf courses on land where the water authorities doubt that potable water can be provided, since the neighbours have had to use water from wells over the two last years. Also this project is in an area of protection as being the nesting place for the imperial eagle. 10.000 full grown pine threes, 100 years old, have been cut down.

Cantabria: 500 houses to be demolished

2.500 families in the region of Cantabria have bought dwellings that have been declared illegal. On the urbanisation Las Arenas 500 houses was started, sold and are now waiting the bulldozers. Some of the dwellings have been built on farm land, others to close to the coast or in protected areas.

Hellin:

Ecologist organisations have denounced the urbanisation Las Higuericas in Hellin, where 680 houses shall be built, each with their swimming pool, in an area with permanent water problems and an annual rain fall of only 300 millimetre. The project is approved by the regional government (PSOE), without the obligatory study of ecological impact.

 

7. The corrupting of Spain

A great part of the property industry is systematically using their “war chest” of black money to achieve approval or tacit acceptance of property developments that would otherwise never be placed on the agenda of the town council.

In some places groups of criminals, acting in the guise of political parties, have seized power in town halls. In collaboration with aggressive promoters they have distributed illegal planning approvals, building permits and habitation certificates - against payment.

I shall give some examples, while stressing they are not the only ones, and that they are only from the field of urbanistic corruption. I do not go into all the other forms of corruption.

 

Marbella – the naked corruption

Marbella, the centre for high-class tourism on Costa del Sol, was for several years mismanaged by various weak political leaders. They did not manage to get rampant crime under control, creating insecurity among local businesses and residents. In the local elections of 1991, convicted property tycoon Jesus Gil y Gil swept into power. Under the banner of his private political party, called G.I.L., he promised citizens to rid the town of crime and rubbish, creating security, wealth and work.

Initially he kept his promises, established a functioning town hall; employing cheap labour to sweep the streets clean and extremely well paid people to implement his schemes and protect him from the law; using tough police methods to get young drifters and small criminals out of the town, while at the same time opening the doors wide for heavy criminals with flashy cars and heavy body guards. He got the economy rolling by granting building permits, where no permits should legally be issued, and being paid handsomely for this service.

Soon it become clear that the main objective of Jesus Gil and his helpers in G.I.L. was to set up a machine to use the town hall for their own benefit, and even plunder the municipal treasury

itself by innovative methods. But as long as the streets were clean, the petty criminals out and the economy booming, the voters of Marbella supported Gil and G.I.L.

Jesus Gil resigned as mayor in 2002, after a number of public scandals and a sentence barring him for 28 years from holding public office. He died in May 2004. But his party G.I.L. and his methods survived him. As new mayor was elected Julian Munoz, who in March 2005 was given a prison term of 6 months and 8 years exclusion from holding public office. But already in 2003 he had been replaced as mayor in a “palace coup” engineered by the “grey eminence” Juan Antonio Roca, and supported by council members from G.I.L., the PSOE and the Pro-Andalucia Party (PA). As new mayor was installed Marisol Yague (G.I.L.), while Roca maintained and tuned the money-producing machine, greasing all its parts by distributing the black money collected.

30.000 illegal dwellings

At the moment of writing this (August 2006),  two thirds of the 27 members of the previous town council of Marbella are in prison, or have been there while judge Santiago Torres is trying to sort out details and responsibilities in what is being called “Caso Malaya”. Among them are two ex-mayors.

The regional government of Andalucia, “Junta de Andalucia” has appointed a group of administrators to run the municipality until local elections in 2007. They have started by making an inventory. Here are their main findings:

-         More than 30.000 of the dwellings constructed during the 15 years of G.I.L. are illegal, more than 9.000 of them built on public land, 4.227 with more building volume than permitted, more than

-          9.000 built without the necessary infrastructure (electricity, road access, sewage) executed and 4.256 built on “finca rustica” (land not approved for construction).

-         44 commercial buildings, 4 gasoline stations, 72 industrial premises and 5 hotels have been built, in addition to a great number of dwellings, on public land sold to private promoters.

-         In addition to the dwellings built on “finca rustica”, have also been constructed 7 commercial buildings, 1 gasoline station, 4 gasoline stations, 1 hotel, 1 helicopter landing field and 4 sports clubs on land classified as “non-urbanizable”.

The very superficial excuse for the construction was “convenios” (agreements) made with the town hall, but contrary to the existing general plan from 1986. The G.I.L.-administration adopted in 1989 an advance for a new Mega-plan, that was refused by the junta de Andalusia, and therefore not legal.

The manipulator Juan Antonio Roca received the promoters and others in his private offices to hammer out agreements and settle the payments. When the black money had been handed over the town councillors dutifully signed the agreement and where rewarded by envelopes of cash, distributed by Roca in accordance with their importance.

The administrators appointed to run Marbella until the municipal elections in 2007

 received in June a reminder of an unpaid bill of 855.000 Euro for such items as 350 bottles of  wine Petrus 1979 at 2.000 Euro per bottle, 50 bottles of Champaign Dom Perignon at 300 Euro per bottle and 25 bottles of Chateau Vieux le Pape. The bill was directed to the town hall and the attention of Juan Antonio Roca.

The extension of the corruption scandal can be measured by the wealth amassed by Roca, that includes an hotel in Almonte; a palace in Madrid; another hotel in Alcazarez (Murcia); the property La Loma in the same province; a property in San Pedro de Alcantara (Marbella), with 103 pure-bred racing horses and a helicopter; a property outside Madrid with 30 horses and 100 fighting bulls; the property company One Property; and a great number of jewels, paintings and luxury cars.

Promoters in prison

During the summer 2005 the judge dealing with “Caso Malaya” has also imprisoned a number of well known promoters, while investigations are continuing. They are the ones that have benefited from the corruption in the town hall, buying public land at bargain prices, building private projects on land foreseen for public or social installations, grossly increasing the building volume or building on “finca rustica”. They are the producers of the 30.000 illegal dwellings in the municipality.

Among the most well known promoters that have been arrested, are Jose Avila Rojas, who using various companies has constructed a number of projects, ignoring several court orders to stop the illegal developments. Another is Cristobal Penarroya, who with his company La Reserva de Marbella has 3 urbanisations impugned by the courts. A third is Tomas Olivo who is promoting the biggest commercial centre in Andalusia, La Canada. And we must not forget the owner and directors of the Malaga based company Aifos, with two luxury hotels without an opening licence, and in court for having sold apartments in projects they did not own, and where no building licences existed.

It is obvious that the corrupt politicians could not function without promoters willing to pay the bribes demanded, and vice versa. The sales agents, both Spanish and foreign, taking the illegal properties into their portfolio and selling them on to individual buyers, should also have their responsibilities considered. The same goes for the many lawyers involved in the transactions. They did not know, could not find out? That would be to say that the legal system and protection for property buyers in Spain does not function!

3 notaries among 21 detained in Malaga

In a new operation against laundering of “black money” on Costa del Sol, the police has arrested 21 persons, among them 3 notaries and several lawyers. A number of places have been registered, also the luxury hotel “Marbella Club”. 230 members of the police took part in the action. It is suspected that 250 million Euro have been white-washed in Marbella.

The singer Isabel Pantoja, partner of Julian Muñoz, one of the ex-mayors of Marbella sitting in prison waiting his judgment, has also found her way to the gaol. The prosecutor has found that part of the money that “Pantoja” used for buying property did not come from own savings, but from “black money” of her partner. She is out on bail of 90.000 Euro.

Not forgetting: Manilva

We cannot leave the province of Malaga without visiting Manilva.

The mayor of Manilva, Pedro Tirado, was elected on an independent ticket. When the operation “Ballena Blanca” started in Marbella, he was detained by the police. The operation “Ballena Blanca” was directed against the whitewashing of black money produced by criminal activities, by a lawyers office in Marbella. But the investigators soon found connections also to other places along the coast, and they got part of the information they needed to open the operation “Malaya”, against the urbanistic corruption.

When the police searched the house of Pedro Tirado, they found a bag containing 770.000 Euro in cash.

In nearby Ojen, the socialist mayor has been sentenced to 2 years in prison for approving a building license in an area classified as under environmental protection.

Abusos urbanisticos en Almanzora

In the Almeria valley of Almanzora have been built thousands of illegal houses. The Junta de Andalucia demands now new general plans for each of the municipalities affected, Albox, Cantoria, Oria, Arboleas, Zurgena, Partaloa and others. The plans may affect 6.000 properties, where the owners may have to pay important sums to legalise their dwellings. An association called Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora NO has been formed to protect the interest of home owners.

An illegal town near Madrid 

The urbanistic corruption does not only take place on the coast.  In the municipality of Seseña, in the province of Toledo, just outside Madrid, is being built a town with 100 huge apartment blocks containing 13.508 dwellings. The promoter is Francisco Hernando, also called “El Pocero” – meaning “the well digger”, through his company Onde 2000. The project was approved by both the PSOE group (the socialists) in the town council and supported by the PP council members, with the acceptance of the regional government for Castilla – La Mancha, led by socialists. The land was farm land, not classified for construction. With the good will of the politicians 75 dwellings per hectare in blocks with 10 floors can now be built.

 The credits given by CAM and other saving banks for the project total more than 750 million Euro. When the 13.508 dwellings are sold, the promoter will have a profit of 800 million.

One of the greatest problems of the project is that drinking water for the inhabitants has not been ensured, unless the EU pays for a very expensive, new water channel.

The leftist federation Izquerda Unida has now denounced the regional government, and leaders of  PSOE and PP in the town council. The anti corruption court in Madrid has accepted the denunciation and started an investigation of “Paco el Pocero” and his political connections.

The mayor (PP) and the councilman for urbanistic matters in Alhaurin el Grande, Malaga, have been arrested for urbanistic crime.

Mayors arrested in Ciempozuelos

Two ex-mayors from the PSOE have been arrested in the municipality of Ciempozuelos (region of Madrid) for presumed corruption, together with a property developer that paid out the millions, found in a bank account in Andorra.

Orihuela: Mayor in Rolls Royce

Orihuela is an extensive municipality in the very southern part of the province of Alicante.

The mayor has lately driven a driven a Rolls Royce and lived in a luxury apartment on the coast, both owned by one of the property promoters in the municipality.

In neighbouring Torrevieja, the mayor bought a piece of agricultural land in the municipality of Almoradi for 180.000 Euro in 1997 and sold it to a property development company with interests in Torrevieja for 5,4 million Euro in 2002.

The mayor Jose Manuel Medina of Orihuela has been living in the summer time in a luxury dwelling on the coast, valued at 800.000 Euro, using a Rolls Royce that costs 180.000 to 250.000 Euro new. It has been found out that both the property and the car belonged to a promoter that in 2004  had 1 million squaremetres of “finca rustica” approved for construction of 5.400 dwellings and 2 golf courses.

The majority of the group of mayor Medina (Partido Popular) refused to follow him in the approval of another “requalification”. The promoter San Antonio had a piece of agricultural land approved for construction of 6.800 dwellings. Luckily for the mayor and the promoter, some breakaway councillors from other parties supported the operation. At a party after the approval, the wives of the councillors were presented with collars of black pearls.

The anti-corruption judge in Alicante has now opened a case against Jose Manuel Medina and some of his supporters, together with 5 promoters, presenting accusations of financial and urbanistic frauds in a number of cases. At the end of September 2006, Medina declared that he will not stand as candidate for mayor in the local elections of May 2007. Throughout all this he has had the explicit support of the president of the Valencia government, who is also president of PP in the region.

Never-ending scandals in Torrevieja

In Torrevieja the series of scandals continue. The busy and omnipotent mayor of the town, Pedro Hernandez Mateo, had time to buy up some agricultural land in the neighbouring municipality of  Almoradi for a mere 180.000 Euro in 1997. And without any intention or advance notice from his side, this land was declared apt for construction purposes, and he could sell it for 5,2 million Euro in 2002.  And it was a mere coincident that the buyers, the promoting company Eden del Mar, had urbanistic interests in Torrevieja and depended on the good will of  Hernandez Mateo.......

The “green” party in Torrevieja has presented in the town hall a list of 5 more properties in Torrevieja and Guardamar del Segura where the mayor figured as owner, without this being mentioned in the “registro de intereses” where all persons elected must declare their interests.

The socialist party in the town has pointed to the extraordinary high income of Hernandez Mateo, mentioning a payment of 150.000 Euro in one of his accounts during the year 2.000, asking the mayor to explain from where the money came. The mayor has refused any explanation, saying he will only answer in court…..

Another serious case is the accusation against the municipal police for using torture against people arrested. The chief and 12 police agents are under investigation and one of the suspected agents has told that the mayor was informed.

When will he throw in his towel, in spite of continous support from the president of the Valencia government?

The Catral model

Catral is a municipality situated near Orihuela in the very southern part of Alicante province, with 6.600 inhabitants, living mainly from farming. But since some years, construction of illegal houses has become an important economical activity. Between 1.000 and 1.500 illegal houses (latest statement of the mayor) has been built on farm land with permits for chicken pens and similar that in reality became villas with swimming pool, many of them built by the brother of the mayor. The mayor (from the socialist party) recognises the illegality, but defends himself by saying that the farmers were poor and did not have any other income from their land than to sell it for construction. “Now we have between 1.200 and 1.300 British residents that maintain us. What else shall the people live from? Laws that must be complied?”

The illegal construction in Catral has not happened overnight, already in 2.002 was published the existence of 358 illegal dwellings. A consumer organisation denounced the illegality several years ago, and the case is still lingering on in the courts of Orihuela. A new general plan for the municipality, overcoming the illegalities, has been presented more than one year. It has been held up in the regional administration. The illegal houses in Catral represent only a small part of the illegality in the southern part of the region. In Orihuela have been  built several urbanisations without proper planning and permits. There are 100.000 houses under suspicion of illegality in the province of Alicante, in Castalla, Tibi, San Miguel, Novelda, Monovar, municipalities governed by different parties.

The regional government has declared they will embargo the accounts of the promoters of the illegal houses, bulldoze the houses built in a protected area, and investigate rumours of bribes to local authorities and the involvement of Spanish and foreign groups moving great amounts of money.

The action against Catral will probably place the searchlight on other municipalities using the same model of urbanistic development. Also the responsibilities of real estate agents and lawyers, assuring their foreign clients that everything was all right, will be investigated.

The public prosecutor has asked a court to investigate the mayor of Alicante town (PP).  3 houses occupied by his children and belonging to a company part owned by the biggest promoter in town, Enrique Ortiz, are included in the  investigation, 

The Supreme Court of Valencia is investigating the urban manoeuvres of a company belonging to the family of the mayor of Elche and President of PSOE in the Valencia Region.

José Manuel Medina, mayor of Orihuela from PP,  who has appeared in court on a number of accusations, has signed a building permit for the project “Colinas Golf” with 2,300 houses and a golf course next to the future Natural Park Sierra Escalona, this is in spite of the project being investigated by the anti-corruption court of Alicante.

In the Province of Alicante, 30,000 hectares of agricultural land have been lost to urban developments over the past 8 years. Similarly, in the province of Valencia 59,864 and in  Castellon. 38,029.

The court proceedings against the mayor (PSOE) of Catral, Alicante, has started with his admission that most of the 1300 illegal houses in the municipality was built by his family members. The College of Architects is investigating an architect for presumed falsification of building certificate.

The courts in Alicante is investigating an interchange of land between the town hall of Torrevieja (PP) and a promoter that bought a property from the mayor, giving him a profit of 5,4 million Euro.

Sierra Escalona:

Ecologists en Acció have taken the Valencia Government to the Supreme Court for approving a plan to build 2,286 dwellings, several hotels and a golf course in Sierra Escalona, a nature area in Sierra Escalona, Orihuela, Alicante. There is no firm guarantee for a water supply in the area.

Elche:

A court in Alicante has decided with lightning speed to file the accusations against the mayor of Elche, Alicante and president of PSOE in the Valencia region, for having contributed to a windfall of 10,7 million Euro on a property sold  by a company of his family.

2 mayors of Javea before the court

The Mayor of Javea (Alicante) Eduardo Monfort (Bloc) and his predecessor, Juan Moragues (PP at present) have appeared before the courts regarding illegalities involving a licence granted to extend hotel El Rodat and later, the Opening Licence.

The Prosecution is demanding a sentence of eight months imprisonment and an order preventing them from holding public office for a period of seven years.

Benissa: Mayor involved in illegal construction

The mayor of Benissa, Juan Bautista Rosello (PP) is engaged in illegal construction work by transforming an old cottage, situated on a plot of land with only 7,038 m2 in an area classified as “no urbanizable”.

The Association “Abusos Urbanisticos NO”  has called upon the Mayor to stop the construction.

Other cases

Ubrique, Cadiz:

The municipal achitect and another four persons were arrested for urbanistic manipulations and falsification of public documents. Ubrique is governed by the Andalucian nationalist party, PA.

Camas, Sevilla:

The mayor, from the leftist federation IU, and a businessman is under court investigation for trying to bribe a councilman to make him vote for certain requalifications of land.

Aguilas, Murcia:

A judge in the Supreme Court of Murcia has indicted the mayor and an ex-council member from Aguilas, together with 5 high functionaries of the Murcia Government for authorising an urbanisation project of 4,000 dwellings, a golf course and a luxury hotel at La Zerrichera.   The project is situated in an EU area of Special Interest.

Barbate: Illegal golf course:

In spite of several court sentences, the house of the Social Club of Dehesa de Monteenmedio is still standing on farm land with a golf course without any papers.

The mayor of Telde on Las Palmas (Canary islands) has been arrested, together with 5n of his council members (all PP) for presumed corruption, taking commissions from private companies. They are now out on bail of 80.000 Euro each.

The vice-president of the Diputacion de Granada, Gabriel Cañavate, (PSOE) has had to withdraw from his position due to a strong discussion about his property assets and the investigation by the courts of presumed illegalities in a commercial centre in his home town, Armilla.

The mayor of Alicante town, Diaz Alperi (PP) and two of his collaborators are under court investigation on 5 accounts. The mayor is also imputed in the case of the municipal market, Mercalicante, and he is the principle responsible for the plan “Rabassa” that we dealt with in the previous chapter.  Due to strong pressure from the president of the regional government he is standing as candidate for mayor in the election of 2007.

In San Javier, Murcia,  the court has stopped the project to build a yacht harbour with 1.000 anchorages, 800 dwellings, a hotel, an exhibition palace, commercial zone and a golf course on land won from the sea.

The court is investigating if it is illegal for the mayor of San Javier, Murcia, to be partner in a building company competing for public works in the municipality.

Los Alcazares, Murcia is being investigated by the courts after it has become known that the main suspected for the Marbella scandals, have promoting companies in the municipality, where a family member of the mayor is director.

In Cieza, Murcia, the courts are investigating an urbanistic agreement for transforming 270 hectares of farm land into building land for 5.000 dwellings and a golf course.

In the municipality of Aguilas (Murcia) six council members from the PSOE were expelled from the party after voting in favour of an urbanisation project on land included in the list of protected areas by the European Union.

Juan Carlos Benavides, the long time mayor of Almuñecar (Granada) are facing a number of court proceedings, most of them for urbanistic irregularities .

The mayor (PP) and the councilman for urbanistic matters in Alhaurin el Grande, Malaga, have been arrested for urbanistic crime.

The councillor for urbanistic matters (PP) in the municipality of Gondomar (Pontevedra, Galicia) have been arrested accused of corruption, together with another councillor and more persons.

A judge in Sevilla has demanded an eighteen months prison sentence for the mayor and three council members of Camas for having paid 12,000 Euro to another council member for changing his vote in a question of urban housing approval.

In Santa Cruz de Tenerife the prosecutors are investigating a denunciation that the town hall has bought land at a price the double of what the promoters bought it for only 3 years earlier.

Palma de Mallorca:

A notary, a lawyer and the owner of a famous bar  are among 11 persons detained by the police for fiscal fraud and white washing of “black money” in Palma de Mallorca.

Andratx, Mallorca

The Balearic government has suspended the General Plan for the municipality of Andratx, Mallorca, where the mayor (PP) and the inspector of construction are in prison.

The President of the party Unio Mallorrquina and General Director for Tourism on the island, has moved a horse into his house, because it only had a permit as a stable.

Camas, Sevilla:

The mayor, from the leftist federation IU, and a businessman is under court investigation for trying to bribe a councilman to make him vote for certain requalifications of land.

Ubrique, Cadiz:

The municipal achitect and another four persons were arrested for urbanistic manipulations and falsification of public documents. Ubrique is governed by the Andalucian nationalist party, PA.

Tarifa, Cadiz:

The mayor from PSOE is under investigation by the courts for falsification of document and urbanistic manipulations.

Jimena, Cadiz:

The mayor from PSOE is under court investigation for urbanistic irregularities. In two years he has signed 24 agreement on property plans, covering 2,6 million m2 new construction.

Gaucin, Malaga:

The mayor from the Partido Andalucista and 4 council members have been accused

Benalmadena, Malaga:

The courts have denounced the mayor of giving a building license for a block on land zoned for villas.

Tolox, Malaga:

The environment courts in Malaga have accused the mayor (PA), the municipal architect and the secretary of the town council to permit the construction of 2.000 dwellings on farm land.

Torredelcampo, Jaen:

The public prosecutor has accused the mayor (PSOE) and another 11 people of having permitted the construction of houses in a “cañada real” (one of the old public passage ways for cattle, going across Spain).

Armilla, Granada:

The courts have started proceedings for urbanistic corruption in connection with the construction of a shopping centre, promoted by Tomas Olivo, also accused in the Marbella corruption case.

Calvia, Mallorca:

The anticorruption judge of Palma de Mallorca is investigating 7 charges against the former PSOE-mayoress of Calvia.

Andratx, Mallorca:

The environment court has started proceedings against the mayor (PP) for ecological offence in giving permit to construct 20 buildings in an area classified as Interes Paisajistico.

Santa Eulalia, Ibiza:

The mayor from PP is in court for ecological crime because he has permitted an urbanisation on farm land.

Barcelona:

The courts are investigating illegal commission payment on repairs of public dwellings, during the last government of CiU.

Tarragona:

The courts are investigating presumed irregularities in the urbanisation project Terres Cavades with a planned 4.872 new dwellings. Imputed are the council man for urbanistic matters (who has resigned) and two promoters.

Salou, Tarragona:

The courts in Tarragona is investigating the sale for 500.000 Euro of a property recently rezoned for hotel-residencies that was bought for 30.000 Euro 4 years earlier, by the councilman for urbanistic matters, son of the mayor.

In November 2006 the respected organisation “Transparency International” published its yearly list of transparency or corruption in the countries of the world.

Spain was ranked on the 23^rd place, with 6,8 points of 10 possible, way behind countries like Finland, New Zealand and Iceland (9,6 points), Denmark (9,5), Singapore (9,4), Sweden (9,2) and Switzerland (9,1 points). The sad thing is that Spain is deteriorating. It got 7,1 points in 2004 and 7,0 in 2005.

Two different courts in the jurisdiction of Marbella, “Primera instancia” number 3 and 4 respectively, have ruled on a question that may affect many foreign property buyers in Spain, and come to different conclusion.

In both cases buyers have refused to make the payment, because the promoter cannot give the licence of first occupation (cedula de habitabilidad), because the administration refuse to give this important document.

The similarities between the two promotions are patent:

Both are situated on the urbanisation Elviria Sur, one called Santa Maria Green Hills, the other Los Lagos de Santa Maria. The original promoter is also the same, Sur Inversiones Sema. The first project got a building licence from the town hall for 192 dwellings on the 28^th of April 2003, the second got the licence to build 340 dwellings on the 19^th of February the same year. In both promotions have been committed the infractions against the building norms.

Court 4: Buyers not obliged to pay

Buyers in Los Lagos de Santa Maria who have refused to pay the last instalment on their dwellings were supported by the judge, who said in the sentence that the buyers had acquired the dwellings with the conviction that they would be able to use them within a certain time with all proper licences. The promoter was sentenced to repay the buyers the money paid in advance, plus interests.

Court 3: Buyers must pay

In court number 3 the outcome was different. The judge found that one could not blame the promoter for the possible irregularities of the town hall, and rejected the demand of buyers of having their money returned and not having to comply with the purchasing contract.

Both sentences have been appealed to a higher court.

“Reunifying” the land law mess

 

The Valencia Government has decided to “reunify” its 5 urban planning laws into one legal text, as “demanded by the property sector”, and will also “take into account some of the directives from the European Community”. A technical commission is at the moment working on the text, which will also be submitted to the municipalities. Is this the escape from an impossible situation that the regional government have manoeuvred themselves into? We have asked Executive Vice-President of the Association Abusos Urbanisticos NO, and member of the board of Ciudadanos Europeos, Charles Svoboda, for a preliminary comment. Here is his answer:

 

 This is a promise made some time ago - as I recall by Gonzales Pons and the consolidation was to have been made before the May elections. Be that as it may, the concept is laudable - anything to bring some rationality into the confused land laws- which of course cut across each other- not least of all when the Ley Estatal de Suelo is superimposed on the regional ones.  Bear in mind the national law is under challenge in the Constitutional Court - a process that will take a long time, I expect - many "experts" also see that law more as a series of guidelines than a legal text actionable in the courts. I have a suspicion that because there is a nod towards the EU directives this is partly a game to take some of the pressure off as regards Brussels and the EU Court of Justice. Much along the lines of all the unfulfilled promises by Camps , Blasco ,et al.
 
 It would be a very good thing if there could be a clear land law that is in
conformity with EU norms, rights conventions and the protections as regards private property as contained in the Spanish Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, etc. But I expect that is too much to hope for given Spanish history, not least of all since the LRAU was created back in 1994/95. The proposal is to roll all the 1000 or so pages of turgid legalese contained in the laws and the very flexible "reglamento"  together, not tinker with the underlying concepts, no matter how bad they are seen by many to be. I'll bet that, no matter who is consulted in the process, anything that sounds reasonable to us will be disregarded, just as the series of proposals we ( AUN) and for example the various EU Parliament and Petitions Committee reports have made in past.
 
 One good aspect , if it ever materializes would be making the laws known to town halls who often dismiss allegations based on law along the lines that anything that doesn't suit the town hall or its elastic definition of social interest or public benefit  is not "part of the planning process". I have seen this outrageous phrase used in response to well founded allegations here in Benissa, later supported by the Valencian "Urbanismo sin fronteras" cabal.
 
 Notably absent from the list of those to be consulted are
environmentalists. I believe you seized on the right phrase when you
highlighted that this initiative is "reclamada por los promotores" and it's
not just to simplify procedures. In the face of the looming property/
economic/social crisis - and the national elections, the Valencian gov't has to be seen to be doing something, even if there isn't any new substance on the horizon. Even though there are problems , passing more laws ( not better enforcing existing ones) - the usual  Spanish response to a bad situation that refuses to go away- won't do at this time.
 
 The proof of whether this  process is genuine or not - forgive my cynicism- will be seen in the final product if and when it emerges- that will be a while and in the meantime the LRAU ( over 100 PAIs approved before Feb 2006 will continue under that law until their completion)  , the LUV and all the rest of the mare's nest of laws will be in effect and this new package won't have any real bearing on projects approved before