PAU 26 has been Saved – We've Won!

Double click on picture to enlarge
Plan Key:
The Red shading shows land owned by the Council for its use.
The Blue shading shows land designated for Commercial purposes.
The Green shading shows Green Zones.

The Red area above the words PAU-26 is the area that was proposed for the Ecoparque and the land to the right (east) of this, between it and the Autopista, is where the illegal rubbish transfer dump was being operated.

Representatives of the urbanizations that surround the location of the illegal PAU 26 refuse transfer depot and the proposed site for the household rubbish recycling depot attended the meeting, called by Councillor Abadia on behalf of the PP ruled council, at 10:30 hrs on Saturday 31st October 2009 in the local Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) in Orihuela Costa that I previously mentioned.

There were three of the Partido Popular ruling government Councillors present, Snr. José A Aniorte Grau, Snr. Manuel Abadía Martíz, and Snr. Antonio Rodríguez Barberá.

The residents waited with apprehension to hear whether the promises given by the Mayoress (la Alcadesa) Monica Lorente during the Town Council Meeting on the 27th October would be honoured. There had been articles in the Spanish media (Diario Informacion and La Verdad) which indicated that they would be, but until it was officially confirmed it could only be hopes. The fears were still there

Clr. Abadía on behalf of the PP controlled council confirmed that:

• The PAU 26 parcel of land would cease to be used as an illegal refuse transfer depot with immediate effect.
• The proposed Ecoparque will not be sited in the PAU 26 area.
• All refuse will be cleared from the PA 26 green zone and that the land will be restored to it's previous natural state, with the replanting of pine trees and plants.
• The Council is seeking to find a permanent site for the Ecoparque and Planta Transferencia (refuse transfer depot) which is not within or close to any residential area.
• As a temporary measure, until the final site is chosen, an area of land in the undeveloped area of PAU 7 will be used for a planta transferencia. This location does not have housing close by.
• The Council is in discussion with several land owners of possible suitable sites for the development. It was explained that the plots of land owned by the Council were close to or within residential areas and that these were now considered as unsuitable.
  

A copy of the General Plan for Orihuela Costa was presented and explained to the meeting so that the community representatives could understand more fully the situation.

Clr. Abadia (centre left) explaining to the residents

The residents were very pleased to hear the confirmations given by the Councillor.

As a direct result of the presentation of the petition signed by more than 400 property owners to the Council, and the presentation of the 'Motion' in the Town Council meeting, the PP governing group has been forced to change it's previous decisions on this matter.

It is a resounding success for the power of the people in the urbanizations surrounding the PAU 26 Green Zone, with the assistance of the Central Liberal Renovador (CLR) party Councillor Pedro Mancebo, and Bob Houliston and Antonio Cerdan of the CLARO Party.

The residents have not only saved PAU 26 but they have also help to save other urbanizations within Orihuela Costa from having the mega rubbish centre (planta transferencia, ecoparque and transport depot) as a very close neighbour.

PAU 26 has been saved from a disaster – We won!

Edit: 2nd Nov:
Articles about the meeting have appeared in Diario Informacion and La Verdad , there are probably others as well.

Edit: 3rd Nov
The CoastRider paper publishes an article Victory for Rubbish Dump Residents .

Edit: 6th Nov.
The Round Round Town News publishes an article Victory for Dump Protestors

High Noon for PAU 26 Residents

The meeting promised by Monical Lorente, the Mayoress of Orihuela, to discuss and hopefully finalise the site for the development of the Planta Transferencia and the Ecoparque in the Orihuela Costa area is being held at 12 noon today (29th October) as reported in the Diario Informacion .

Included in the article is the following photograph of the PP Councillor Abadia showing the proposed layout of the developement. It is to cover an area of 14000 square metres.

El concejal Manolo Abadía, tras el proyecto de la planta de transferencia
E. G. BROTONS - Diario Informacion

How could the PP governed council even consider putting such a massive development as close as 50 metres from peoples' homes and in the centre of a substantial residential urbanized area?

Let us hope that common sense prevails, that the words of Monica Lorente mean what she said during the Council Meeting, and that a site is chosen within an industrial area, where such a development should be, away from residential property.

The Mayoress, Monica Lorente, promised to seek an immediate alternative site for the present illegal waste rubbish transfer point located in PAU 26

Following on from the presentation of the PAU 26 petition on the 22^nd October the subject was raised for a second time in five days with the presentation of a 'Motion' by the Central Liberal Renovador party Councillor Pedro Mancebo in the Town Council meeting (Pleno) held on the 27^th October.


A brief view into the Council Chamber, showing some of the Oposition parties councillors.

Over 40 residents, representing the urbanizations affect by the PAU 26 illegal tip and proposed 'ecoparque' development, and members of the Orihuela Costa CLARO party made the 30 kilometre journey to be present in the meeting to show support for Clr Mancebo.

As expected, the Partido Popular governing party used their outright majority to reject the proposal put forward in the motion, by Pedro Mancebo, to immediately close the illegal rubbish transfer point and dump.

However, before the vote on the motion which was rejected by the P P, the Mayoress, Monica Lorente, promised to seek an immediate alternative site for the present illegal waste rubbish transfer point situated in a green area in the middle of PAU 26 urbanisations. The debate on a Motion confirmed that the future 'ecoparque' will not be located on this site and she made a personal commitment that a meeting would be held between the Town Hall technicians and the political groups on Wednesday 28^th October to identify an alternative site for the waste rubbish transfer point.

She acknowledged that the residents in the PAU 26 area had been subject for too long to the noise, smells and disruption associated with the transfer point.

This work would proceed independently of the decision on the location of a future 'ecoparque'.

There was an unexpected turn of events later in the day when an invitation was made by PP Councillor Abadia, within whose remit of responsibility this problem lies, via Stefan Pokroppa a representative of the PP, to the residents to attend a meeting with him to discuss this matter.

A rather belated gesture on his part, brought about one assumes because of the commitment given in the Council Chamber by the Alcadesa (Mayoress).

The meeting has been arranged for 10:30 hrs on Saturday 31^st October 2009 in the local Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) in Orihuela Costa.

The residents have asked that Clr Pedro Mancebo (CLR) attend to help represent them at the meeting.

However having first received acceptance of his presence at the meeting, by Snr Pokroppa on behalf of Clr Abadia, this was later withdrawn by the PP. This is unacceptable to the residents and it is their wish that Snr Mancebo must be allowed to attend . It will be interesting to see what happens on the day of the proposed meeting.

Is this another twist and turn by the ruling PP in their failure to honour their commitments to the residents affected by the illegal tip?

PAU 26 Petition is Presented to the Town Hall

I have previously written about problem with the proposed Recycling Collection Depot - Entre Golf/PAU26 and the continued use of the PAU 26 parcel of land for a rubbish transfer depot. It is also referred to in other articles entitled Los Verdes Continue to Mislead , Los Verdes should read what I've actually written , and "If you want to find a solution, you need Los Verdes... .

As a direct result of the failure of Los Verdes, the Green Party, the environmental party, to support the residents in their campaign, we (the residents) looked for support and assistance from other political parties, namely the CLR (Central Liberal Renovada) who have Councillor Pedro Mancebo in the Town Council, and the CLARO party who whilst not having an elected representative on the council continue to work to help the residents of Orihuela Costa.

As a direct result of the help of these two parties today my wife, Natalie, and I were amongst representatives of 10 urbanisations surrounding the PAU 26 area of Orihuela Costa that presented a Petition in the Town Hall of Orihuela signed by over 400 residents and property owners protesting against the continued operation of an illegal organic waste rubbish transfer point, the threatened location of a huge solid waste dump and possible rubbish vehicle parking area, all in the middle of their urbanisations.

The present transfer point which has been operating illegally for many years is situated in an area designated as a Green Zone. The site operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The noise from the constant flow of dustbin lorries which transfer their contents to huge containers during the night and early hours of the morning, when the majority of the current activity takes place, allied with the often toxic smells, is a source of major disturbance for neighbours. In an official letter dated 25 September, 2007, Sr. Abadia, the Councillor for Infrastructure in Orihuela Town Hall, confirmed the illegality of the transfer point and gave assurances that it would be closed very soon and the area restored to its natural state.

Two years later and a new concessionary for the rubbish collection service – NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE.

There is also a current proposal by the Town Council to site a household refuse recyling depot on land adjacent to the plot currently used for the illegal transfer point. In Spain they like to call the recycling dump a 'Ecoparque' as it sounds better than what it actually is. The residents of the urbanizations surrounding area, some within 50 yards of the site, are asking the council not to allow the use of the land for a what would become a 'mega rubbish dump'


Presentation of the petition in the Ayuntamiento in Orihuela.

Anti-smoking Law Helps Waiters To Quit Smoking In Spain

Researchers from the Catalan Institute of Oncology have studied the impact of the law banning smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants on those working in these places. The results are positive - 5% of waiters have stopped smoking, and the number of cigarettes smoked by those who still smoke has fallen by almost 9%.

On 1 January 2006, a smoking ban came into force in public places in Spain. More than three years later, these health measures against tobacco smoking have borne fruit.

ScienceDaily (Oct. 20, 2009)

My name is Martina Scheurer - Los Verdes are re-organising the coastal group and I have taken over some duties again!

On the17th Oct. 2009 Los Verdes of Orihuela sent out an email from Martina Scheurer introducing herself to recipients of the Los Verdes mailing list in Orihuela Costa.

She began 'I am member of the Green Party of Orihuela (Los Verdes) since it was founded in 2003 and was nº 5 on the list for the last elections.
Some of you will remember me; others don’t know me at all.'

She goes on to say 'For private reasons I could not be very active during the past 2 years, but still followed the work of Los Verdes'

To say that she has not been very active is in my opinion an understatement in the least. In the two years prior to my resignation from Los Verdes on the 15th June 2009 I am not aware of Martina taking any active part in the work of the party in Orihuela Costa, in fact there was no mention of her involvement at all. The last time I am aware of her involvement was on the 27th May 2007 when Los Verdes failed to receive enough votes in the local election for Martina to be elected as a Councillor. As a member of the Orihuela Costa Working Group the only comments I heard about her from my erstwhile colleagues in the group were in my opinion less than flattering!

Martina continues 'At the present moment we are in the process of re-organising the coastal group and I have taken over some duties again'.

This must be an interesting time for Gérard Perret & Ulla-Britt Perret Lundberg, the remaining members of the Los Verdes Working Group in Orihuela Costa (after the resignation of myself and Natalie my wife) considering their fractious dealings on occassions in the past with Martina and their views about her as expressed to us on several occassions.

I have to wonder if this is a voluntary re-organisation of the coastal group or an imposed edict from the Executive Committee in Orihuela!

I am please to read that Martina will be carrying on the principle of the work I initiated and maintained, up to my resignation, through the Los Verdes in Orihuela Costa Blog; with her making the point 'I would like to create a Newsletter on a basis of may be twice a month (or more if necessary) to be sent out to all interested persons. The objective of this Newsletter would be to inform in short terms about: The activities of Los Verdes: The Agenda of the monthly Plenum of Orihuela (last Tuesday of each month): The decisions taken and who voted for/against the different matters: Initiatives created by Los Verdes: Forthcoming events etc'.

It's sad to see that since my resignation in June there have only been 7 news items (including 2 related to my resignation) posted for the readers of the Los Verdes in Orihuela Costa Weblog up to this date (19.10.2009) by the current editor (Ulla-Britt Perret Lundberg).

Has Los Verdes had so little to say to the English reading electorate in Orihuela Costa in the last three months?

I have to wonder about Martina's comment above (paragraph 3) 'but still followed the work of Los Verdes'(assuming she meant in Orihuela Costa) as to whether or not she was aware of the presence of the Weblog, the modern medium of news dispatch, or is she re-inventing the wheel with her newsletter idea..

What a pity that during her two year period when she 'could not be very active' Martina didn't feel able to act in any small manner in a similar way to her own current suggestion, 'Whoever wants to let me have information, complains or ideas to forward or wants to cooperate is more than welcome to contact me', by contacting me as the English Spokesman for the Orihuela Costa Working Group, and Editor of the Weblog. To me, her silence says a lot about her involvement or interest in the work of Los Verdes in Orihuela Costa during the last two years.

What is the true reason behind this return from the wilderness?
Has the Orihuela Costa Working Group of Los Verdes ceased to work properly?
Is Martina looking to be included on the Los Verdes election list for 2011, in a position higher than previously, in the hope of being elected as a Councillor?
Have Los Verdes of Orihuela began to realize their reputation and support on the Coast is beginning to ebb away?

UK Enjoys highest net income in Europe, but quality of life is poorest

Having read the article 'Britain has worst quality of life in Europe, study says' by Harry Wallop in the Telegraph, and a similar article entitled 'Britain is the worst place to live in Europe (despite our big pay packets)' by Laura Clark in the Mail Online, I thought it best to read the actual report by uSwitch.com entitled 'UK enjoys highest net income in Europe, but quality of life is poorest.

The opening paragraph reads, 'The UK and Ireland are the worst places in Europe to live, according to the latest uSwitch.com Quality of Life Index. While the UK enjoys the highest net household income in Europe, quality of life is the poorest, proving that there is more to good living than money. Long working hours, lower holiday entitlement and a high cost of living all contribute to a poor quality of life in the UK – and it’s not much better for the Irish either:'

As a current resident in Spain I'm interested in the comparisons of it and the UK. Out of the 10 countries included in the index Spain is ranked number 2 with the UK in last position at number 10.

In her comments about the report Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: “There is more to good living than money and this report shows why so many Brits are giving up on the UK and heading to France and Spain. We earn substantially more than our European neighbours, but this level of income is needed just to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table and our homes warm. It’s giving us a decent standard of living, but it’s not helping us achieve the quality of life that people in other countries enjoy.

“For too long the focus in the UK has been on standard of living rather than quality of life. As a result we have lost all sense of balance between wealth and well-being. The recession could prove to be a turning point, forcing us to re-evaluate our way of life, get back to basics and to the things that really count. Consumers are already beginning to do this – the Government and its policymakers would do well to follow suit.”

It would seem that the decision of my wife & I to retire to Spain is the right one at this time.

Fruit Juices Contain More Vitamin C Than Their Labels Indicate, Spanish Study Finds

ScienceDaily (2009-10-07) -- A team of pharmacists from Spain has established that the levels of vitamin C in many fruit juices and soft drinks are far higher than those indicated on their labels by the manufacturers. This finding has been possible owing to a new technique developed by the researchers to determine the content of vitamin C in these kinds of drinks.

Ascorbic acid or vitamin C is a natural antioxidant in fruits and vegetables, but the European Commission permits its use as an additive in juices, jams, dairy products and other foods. The involvement of this substance in the immune response and other biochemical processes such as the formation of collagen and the absorption of iron is well-known. However, high levels of ascorbic acid can cause diarrhoea and gastrointestinal problems, as a result of which scientists are attempting to determine the content of vitamin C in foods with greater and greater accuracy.

Mediterranean Diet Associated With Reduced Risk Of Depression

ScienceDaily (2009-10-06) -- Individuals who follow the Mediterranean dietary pattern -- rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and fish -- appear less likely to develop depression, according to a new report.