Unfortunately, the figures show that the administration owes around 45 million euros for the said period, reported the Councillor for Finance, Antonio Laborda.

The same accounting team are now working on the period up to 2012, after finally closing the accounts for the 2007-2010 period. The delay in submitting these figures has meant that Almuñécar has had much needed income from State Taxes embargoed to the tune of 1,546,011 euros. Money that would have been very handy recently and the blame for the delay and amount owed has been firmly laid at the door of the previous administration.

Mr. Laborda has stated that the embargoed money has now been freed up and should be with the administration very soon and believes that the funds will increase the frequency of payments to suppliers who are still owed money by the Town Hall.

APYME considers it a ‘brutal’ increase in the context of the present economical climate, as the increase of 10% is the maximum permitted by legislation that a municipal council can raise the IBI.

The association has qualified this move as a ‘castigation of citizens,’ lamenting that the Council chose to use the maximum increase permissible.

“Not only is the new administration going back on its electoral pledge that they would not increase taxes, but the tax hike is also an authentic punishment. We thus ask the Council to reconsider, choosing instead the minimum increase instead of the maximum one,” said the association’s spokes person.

On the other hand, the Town Hall has announced that numerous families in Almuñécar and La Herradura could received between 40% and 50% off their IBI bill, which in compliance of the governing party’s proposal when they were in the opposition in January 2008.

The Councillor for Social Welfare, Maria del Carmen Reinoso, reminded those interested that they have until the end of February to apply for this allowance.

(News: Almunecar/Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Taramay bridge under construction

With the change of Central Government and a litany of cut backs promised, there is a great deal of concern over the A-7 autovia where it passes through the province of Granada – the only part of this main traffic artery that traverses the whole of the Mediterranean coast of Spain.

Yet while the Granada business sector and residents bite their collective nails, fearing a devastating announcement from Madrid, it is also a time to look back, at the A-7 bridge disaster, as on the 1st of February those considered responsible for the accident will stand trial, at last. More on that later.

At the beginning of February 2011, the then Minister for Public Works (Fomento), Jose Blanco ventured down to Granada and made several promises, one of which was that by June last year the Lobres-Guadafeo would be complete. There mustn’t much cheering when this proved to be accurate, because as it isn’t connected to anything, it still can’t be used.

Of more interest was his promise that by the end of this year, motorists would be able to use the A-7 from Taramay to Carchuna, meaning that the Gorgorach-Puntalón stretch would be finished a put into use. But what is the real state of things at the moment?

Two of the five sections are inactive with a doubtful future awaiting them: the plans for the Carchuna-Castell section are sitting, trembling, on the desk of the Minister for the Environment in Madrid, lacking authorisation until the definitive route is decided – until then, all the heavy machinery is parked up.

As for the Gorgoracha-Puntalón section, which you might remember was set back when excavating machinery struck very unstable rock strata. The re-directing of the road course meant that the budget bloomed out so much that the whole section project had to be re-budgeted and contracted out. This was highly unfortunate because the section was 80% finished when this happened.

Although Isolux Corsan won the contract, worth 39m euros, the definitive adjudication has not been signed – it is hoped that it will be in the coming weeks. Joy upon joy, this means that it has escaped the wrath of Central Government cuts in spending.
The other two sections, one of which is the Taramay-Lobres section, are advancing as planned, even though there was a small rock fall within one of the tunnels on the 20th of December, which has been fixed and the concrete lining of the tunnel is continuing ahead.

The Polopos-Albuñol section is also progressing as planned.

The important thing is, nobody is keener to have the work concluded than the construction companies, because they don’t get paid until they do, under the so-called ‘German Method’ of payment adopted by the Government.

Unfortunately for the property owners, about 80% of the compulsory purchase of land along the route has still not been paid, and the longer it takes, the higher the interest the Government will have to pay, so there is a great deal of concern over this.

The Bridge That Fell
Six workers, five Portuguese and one Gallego, lost there lives at 15.30h on the 7th of November 2005 when the bridge over Río Verde collapsed whilst under constructions – over six years have gone by before somebody has to answer before a judge, which is what will finally happen on the 1st of February. Twelve men stand accused, facing 288 years in prison between them.

Both the Public Prosecutor and the private prosecution filed by the workers unions CCOO & UGT maintain that the six workers did not die because certain bolts became loose, bad soldering or electrical failures, but rather because those that should have been overseeing the safety aspects of the construction work had not done their job properly. Consequently both the combined prosecution bodies are calling for an example to be set when it comes to punishing this incompetence, thus creating a ‘before and an after’ for work-site safety.

We shall be reporting on the public hearing as soon as details are known on our online version of the Seaside Gazette, and in the March, hardcopy issue.

(News: A-7, Costa tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

I would like to inform you of a recent series of burglaries in our urbanisation [in Cotobro, Almuñécar].

On Saturday 14th, between the 3 and 4 o’clock in the morning, the “cacos” (thieves) broke into several houses along c/del Tenis (including my own). In all cases the owners were absent.

It later turned out that the day before a lady living on the same street had noticed a strange man “of darkish complexion” standing on her property in broad daylight, smoking a cigarette and observing the neighbourhood. Quick-minded, she loudly called for her (absent) husband in the house informing him of her observation. Upon which the stranger quickly slipped away. Her house was spared a later visit by the cacos.

The break-ins were discovered by a gardener arriving a few hours later, who called the Guardia Civil. They established that the thugs had apparently only been after money and valuables, easily carried and to be disposed of later. Neither of which was to be found in my own house; they only took along a large screwdriver which was later found, bent and damaged, in the house of another neighbour.

This fellow was not so lucky; they had removed his strong box from the wall and taken it to the disused tennis court at the bottom of c/Principal. They must have used a car for transport. The Guardias found a large farmer’s pick beside the open strong box. The owner of the safe then established that only his collection of valuable watches had been stolen. Papers and documents they had not touched.

(A note: as reported in the Seaside Gazette, at earlier occasions thugs had even entered the bedrooms where the owners were asleep, stealing money, car keys and valuables from the night tables).

They had forced entry into the houses by smashing in doors, thereby destroying the wooden frames holding the lock feeder. In several cases, they had entered through very small windows of laundry cabinets and even a skylight, all unprotected by iron grids. The dexterity needed for the latter suggests that they must have been rather young and fit persons. Once inside, they were checking (and leaving open) all cupboards and drawers, but fortunately without causing more damage or havoc.

The Guardia Civil later sent a specialist to take fingerprints etc. – but no news yet about the cacos being caught. It is believed that – as at earlier occasions in the surroundings (Punta de la Mona being a favourite area) they were an itinerant gang, probably foreigners.

Yesterday, on the morning after our return to Cotobro, and after our first shopping in town, we found a strange car parked in front of our gate: it turned out to be the sales agent of a security company, who told us that neighbours had sent him to us (and others in the area). To judge by the increasing number of their red plates found by house entrances in our urbanisation, they must be doing a good business these days.

Yours Faithfully
Concerned Cotobro Resident

TSG: You are the first female mayor in the history of Almuñécar, congratulations. Is being Mayor as you expected?

Mayor: Things are never 100% how you expected them to be. It’s a great honour and responsibility to lead a municipal council. The post provides both satisfaction but also frustration for the things you are not able do or everything that people are asking of you.

At the moment the main problem is unemployment and the administration doesn’t have the capacity to absorb all the unemployed. (at present the Town Hall is giving one month contracts on a rotational basis to as many Almuñequeros as possible on public works, such as the work being carried out on the street leading up to the church.)

Really, the economic situation does not permit much public outlay but we would be willing to facilitate things for anybody interested in investing in a project that would create employment.

TSG: Will the attrition against rotational parking (began under the previous mayor) continue?

Mayor: Well, the problem with parking in Almuñécar is that it has always been a problem. At the moment there is public parking that in some ways goes to satisfy that demand but one must take several things into account. The Altillo underground car park is 100% public (rotational) but the underground car parks of Velilla and San Cristobal were built for areas to be sold off for private use, which denies these parking spaces for public use. We are aware of this problem.

The Town Hall owns a considerable amount of space in both which will continue to be available for rotational parking, but we shall have to see if in the future the Town Hall has to sell them off. But we shall have to make an effort to provide alternative parking areas to solve the lack of rotational parking.

TSG: Under the previous administration there was a constant policy of destroying rotational parking to widen the pavements – will you continue with this policy?

Mayor: We, or any responsible administration, cannot continue to diminish rotational parking spaces without providing an alternative. Therefore before eliminating such parking spaces we would make sure that alternative spaces are provided elsewhere.

TSG: This brings us on to Blue Zones. Your administration has already improved the situation by reducing the paying times. We understand that progress in this sense is coupled to existing contracts with the company that runs the Blue Zones expiring, so that new terms and conditions can be laid down. Will there be any more changes along these lines in the near future?

Mayor: We are modifying one of the contracts at the moment as it has expired, but the other one won’t expire until January next year. We shall be reducing the paying hours. We understand, however, that Blue Zones are necessary because parking must be rotational – you just can’t come along and park your car without moving it for a month, for instance. Nevertheless, in the contract that has already expired and is being renegotiated with the company, the times and areas will be reduced.

TSG: Very recently the Plaza de Madrid was turned into a Loading & Unloading area from a normal rotational Blue Zone… has this lost parking space been made up elsewhere?

Mayor: Of course, we swapped two areas on the recommendation of the Policía Local, who considered the existing L&U area too small and not central enough.

TSG: In a town like Almuñécar, where there are no big companies so that self-employed workers make up the vast majority of workers here, do you envisage any help for this sector?

Mayor: We shall try to support any proposal put forward by the business sector in Almuñécar. We are carrying out promotional campaigns, urging Almuñéqueros to spend in Almuñécar, where it is possible. If there’s something that you can’t find here, obviously you will have to look for it elsewhere, but where possible, support our local business when you do your shopping.

TSG: The bus service here hasn’t changed in 30 years – there is a deficient service between Salobreña and Nerja? Can the Town Hall demand a better service from the bus companies?

Mayor: Well, we could ask them but they operate completely outside our competence, basing the services on their viability studies. It seems that there isn’t sufficient demand to maintain a more ample service between Salobreña and Nerja (i.e, operating between Almuñécar and these two towns.) We are certainly not in a position to subsidize such a modification to the existing bus schedules.

TSG: How’s the PGOU going?

Mayor: We all know that the provincial approval of the PGOU was achieved but we are also aware that at the beginning of December the Regional Government approved a regional development plan, so the PGOU will now have to be adapted to that. The trouble is that the regional plan has been approved, but it has not been published, so we don’t know exactly what we are dealing with.

Whatever happens, however, I believe that our PGOU will be definitively signed, stamped and approved during this year, 2012.

TSG: Do you have any news concerning the work on the A-7 between Taramay and Lobres?

Mayor: It seems that certain complaints have been made, claiming that all work had been stopped, which have proved to be completely false…

TSG: Funnily enough, the same accusation was made by your party when the socialist were running the Ministry of Public Works in the Central Government, so it turns out that in both cases the claims were unfounded, which is good, I’m sure you will agree.

But do we have a definite termination date for this particular stretch of the A-7?

Mayor: Well, the new Central Government will have to make a detailed study of where things are and what money is really available, so until they have done that, I don’t think that there will be any announcement on this subject from them.

TSG: Live Music. in other tourist-orientated towns, bars and pubs don’t need to obtain a licence as long as it winds up before midnight – Could the same be permitted in Almuñécar?

Mayor: This is a suggestion, rather than a question?

TSG: Admittedly, it is.

Mayor: We see no inconvenience in that a pub or bar puts on live music as long as the neighbours aren’t put out by it…

TSG: Legally, you can make pretty much as much noise you want, as long as it isn’t after midnight, so if bars and pubs stick to that…

Mayor: OK we will consider it because we understand that any activity that can make Almuñécar more attractive as a tourist town is positive and we should all make an effort to work towards it.

TSG: Would you like to make any points that we haven’t covered?

Mayor: Well, I would just like to finish this interview by asking our citizens to be a little patient because we have taken up office in a very difficult time for all but despite this we are working flat out so that things work out; there are good projects in the pipeline. We shall do our very best with the few resources that we have to hand.

TSG: Thank you very much for your valuable time, Trinidad.

Mayor: You’re welcome, Martin.

Anyway, there was a litany of theft reports coming in from irate car owners over a short period of time, all using the same modus operandi.

Both police forces staked out the area where most of the thefts had taken place and lo, they caught the light-fingered lad red handed – allegedly. He did manage to run off, but he had already been identified so the Guardia went to his house and arrested him.

Once arrested it was discovered that he was also behind another theft – reportedly – on the 7th of January when after smashing a side window of a Citroën and gaining access, he was surprised by the car owner. On this previous occasion he also managed to beat a hasty retreat but not without leaving his shifty fingerprints, which is why after being arrested, the police could match the crime with the alleged culprit.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

According to José Manuel Fernández, who is the councillor for public works and the Rural Environment, four workmen, armed with heavy-duty strimmers, have been clearing the over-grown verges of this winding lane – the passing space is tight enough without encroaching bushes and shrubs.

The lane in question is 4-km long is regularly used by lorries, carrying rubble and building waste to build up the area that has been designated as the municipal scrambling track.

As well as this lane, the old loop of the N-340, which goes past the butano depot and the rubbish processing plant before joining the main road again just after the tunnel, is also having its verges cleared, as it is where the old-rubbish-tip road begins; i.e., just over the eastern entrance of the Cotobro tunnel.

All in all, the rural-lane network of La Herradura and Almuñécar are getting a good overhaul.

(News: Almunecar/Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

It has also been throwing some of its own, limited, financial resources into the task, says, the Councillor for Public Works and Maintenance, José Manuel Fernández Medina.

The Councillor explained that the work, up in the hills, bordering on the municipalities of Jete and Otívar, is aimed at providing a good, driveable surface for wheeled transport, together with the necessary signposting.

Nearly two kilometres of track is being sorted out, costing around 700,000 euros, at the hands of the construction company, López Porras. In the case of Gelibra, tarmac will be laid as far as the Molino area.

The lanes will be modified to have a minimum width of three metres in the case of Río Seco Alto, although it will be widened even further where there is no visibility; i.e, on bends, whereas the Gelibra lane the width will be around four metres. Obviously, this widening work will also entail stabilizing the cuttings etc.

As for the signposting, there will be a good sprinkling of speed limit ones (40 kph), as well as ‘Narrow Lane Ahead,’ not to mention “Turn back, you reckless fool!” just to scare the hell out of foreign visitors.

(News: Almunecar/Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Work began opposite the Punta de la Mona junction nearly a month ago and since then the mechanical diggers have been hard at work, placing boulders as building bricks for the retaining wall.

Mind you, Fomento took ten months to get round to starting it, after the hillside came down, blocking the westward lane. Ever since then drivers have had to thread through provisional lanes marked with bollards.

(News: Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Several irate car owners had already reported that somebody had stolen their side-view mirrors whilst their cars had been parked on the streets in Almuñécar before a routine, Guardia-Civil patrol stopped a van and upon looking in the back discovered the booty: 16 wing mirrors that the driver couldn’t justify as having bought.

When the police pressed the man further, he confessed to having removed them from parked cars. All of the car owners who had reported ‘mirror theft’ have had their missing appendages returned.

A reflection on the times perhaps. (Roughshod).

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)