Agenda 21: On Brexit, Mass tourism, unemployment, poly bags, general plan and heritage
Chris Jones
Note: This has nothing to do with tax residency. In Xàbia you can sign up at the Portal del Clot Help desk.
Details about the campaign in English can be found on: http://www.ciudadanosextranjeros.es/actividades.php?lang=en
Madrid warns of “negative consequences” of Brexit on Spain
March 10th
It’s going to be a so-called hard Brexit: for the European Union, for the United Kingdom, and for Spain. That is the finding of an internal report produced by the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy for the Brexit commission headed by Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría – a document which warns of the impact on Spain of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU. The Spanish economy will “suffer the negative consequences” of the departure of one of the country’s leading trading partners from the bloc. The situation of British nationals resident in Spain and that of Spaniards living in the United Kingdom is also a matter for concern: Brexit will lead to “innumerable repercussions” for more than one million people, says the document seen by El Pai's. For full story see: El País in English
Expat groups start to organise on Brexit
March 10th
EuroCitizens organised a roundtable at the European Parliament offices in central Madrid attended by British expats, Spanish citizens, politicians, academics and journalists, all of whom are equally as concerned by Brexit, and who were there to hear a panel of experts discuss what the process could mean for them and for their countries’ joint futures. Eurocitizens, one of many campaigning groups to have sprung up across Europe ever since British voters decided that they wanted out of the 28-country club. The organization, run by long-term residents of Spain, says it is not trying to turn the clock back on the Brexit vote, but rather campaign to preserve the rights of Britons in Spain and Spaniards in the United Kingdom, during what will no doubt be an extremely long-drawn-out negotiation process as country extricates itself from the EU. Here are some of the figures released by Eurocitizens: Spain is the number-one destination for British nationals living outside the UK; British nationals permanently resident in Spain 308,821 (France: 185,344); Properties owned by British nationals in Spain: 110,373; British nationals who are employed (65%) or self-employed (35%) in Spain: 59,529; British retirees who receive a UK pension and live in Spain 107,980 ; Spaniards on Erasmus+ programmes in the UK: 5,651 For full story see: El Pais in English.
Municipal vegetable allotments up for allocation
March 10th
The Xàbia Department of the Environment is reviving the municipal allotment project has awarded a first batch of plots next to CEIP Trenc d'Alba. These municipal allotments offer residents the opportunity to grow their own vegetables whilst at the same time converting empty land in non-polluting spaces, conducive to biodiversity and improve the environmental quality of Xàbia. Eleven allotments have been allocated, eight of which have been awarded to individuals who applied for them and fulfilled the requirements to be successful, such as being registered as a resident in Xàbia, unemployed or retired, etc. Of the remaining plots, two have been given to the neighbouring school whilst the third has been allocated to users of the TAPIS occupational workshop, an organisation which promotes the socio-labour integration of certain groups with problem with social marginalization through therapeutic support and pre-employment training. Councillor Doris Courcelles (Environment) explained that 24 plots remain vacant and that the application period will be opened for all interested parties to register their applications. These plots will be directly awarded or there will be a draw if there is more demand. During this new stage of management individual water meters have been installed on each allotment and users will pay for actual consumption rather than paying a flat a fee. Full story on: Javeamigos
Ports Authority to repair harbour wall
March 10th
The Ports Authority will spend €250,000 on emergency repairs to some 80 metres of the harbour wall near the Tango cove which was severely damaged duirng the winter storms. It is in the process of obtaining the necessary money from the contingency fund at the Generalitat Valenciana. The authorities are now processing environmental permits and will be looking for a contractor to start the repair work as soon as possible which will be carried entirely from the land and would not interfere with normal activity in the port. For full story see:Javeamigos
Costas to restore Portet Beach
March 7th
The Ministry of the Environment (coasts) is to bring in 8000 tons of sand to rebuild Moraira's Portet beach after it was severely damaged by last winter's storms. The work, starting this week, will take around 10 days and during that time access to the beach will be restricted during working days. The idea is to replace the sand that was lost and re-establish the sedimentary balance by reconstructing the beach profile, without affection the marine ecosystem. From: Las Provincias
Marina Alta launches regional plan for employment
March 7th
On Tuesday, eighteen of the 31 municipalities and thirteen business and other entities signed the Regional Agreement for Employment and Local Development, a tool that this region had until today lacked, though it is widespread in other areas in the Comunidad. In addition to the eight municipalities that are part of Creama, the pact includes ten other municipalities of the Marina Alta and various social agents such as the Chamber of Commerce of Alicante, CC.OO., Cedma, Fevecta , Jovempa, Marina Alta Emprende, UGT, UNED of Denia, Aehtma, IES PV and Xarxa Joves. Creama, as a body with experience and implementation in the region, will manage the process of diagnosis, planning, action plan monitoring and evaluation. The agreement aims to coordinate resources to promote employment and prepare proposals agreed by all signatories to reach legislators to harmonise the regulations to the needs of the territory. from :La Marina Plaza
New General plan for public viewing in April
March 5th
The Department of Town Planning and Works has presented its annual review, a report on all the management carried out during 2016 from the issues of licences to the processing of files or planning applications. The review highlighted the work being carried out on the revision of the General Plan for Urban Planning with 23 meetings to follow up work and two visits to the Ministry of Urban Planning to coordinate the process. Councillor Isabel Bolufer (Urban Planning) explained that the drafting team has already presented the technical document of the preliminary version of the PGOU and that, if everything goes to plan, it will be able for public viewing in April. For full story see: Javeamigos For background information on this long-running story see: General Plan
The Superior Court of Justice protects Montgó agricultural landscape
March 5th
The agricultural "Colonias", a series of extensive dry stone terraces created on the Montgó in 1922 constitute a value in itself, not only as witnesses to a bygone era but also because of the landscape and environmental contributions they make to the natural park if they are preserved in the form in which they were conceived. The Montgó Natural Resource Management Plan (PORN)already states this, but it has now also been endorsed by the courts. A ruling of the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) of the Comunitat Valenciana concluded, among other things, that in the "Colonias": "in no case can actions be accepted for the covert construction of housing intended for residential use and without connection to the conservation of cultural heritage which the Colonias themselves constitute. From: La Marina Plaza
Xàbia warns the Culture Department about heavy machinery on Roman archaeological site
Feb 22nd
Xàbia has given notice to the Department of Culture of the presence of heavy machinery on one of the most valuable archaeological sites of the municipality, the first century Roman site located in the San Rafael finca, Punta de l'Arenal, property of the family of a former Francoist minister, Mariano Navarro Rubio. The heavy vehicles belong to the company managing the new marina in the Canal de la Fontana which will have a capacity for 300 moorings. After the last storms, "Marina Nou Fontana" has been obliged to dredge the channel and place the sand and sediment on the Punta de l'Arenal so that the waves can return it to the sea. The problem is that in order to carry out this operation, the trucks have been crossing the finca, whose ground has been compressed in an area of great historical value. The company does not have a permit from the Director General of heritage. from La Marina Plaza (Ed's note: A later report said that an inspector from the Department of Culture had found no significant damage to the site)
Xàbia begins to draft a new plan for the prevention of forest fires
Feb 22nd
Xàbia has begun to work on a new municipal forest fire prevention plan, to face up to the potential risk of the losses that the actual urban lay-out of the municipality poses, particularly where it affects areas with a high housing density. The Town Hall has engaged Medi XXI Gabinet de Solucions Integrals, a specialist and recognised Valencian company to assist in the process. Ferran Dalmau, the engineer responsible, explained that as Xàbia has 2,500 hectares of forest, it is necessary to focus on the areas of urban/forest interface (areas of contact between forest zones and urbanisations) and assume that for varying reasons (intentional, weather conditions, negligence, etc.) that there will be fires and that it is everyone's responsibility to be prepared to deal with them.
Dalmau spoke about the four key areas that need to be assessed: planning, forestry management- both from the public administration side and also from the citizens themselves applying new concepts such as pyrogardening – a good supply of hydrants and the creation of firewalls and training citizens so that in the event of a fire that they are helpful and do not hinder the work of the professionals. For full story see: Municipal fire prevention plan 2017
Unemployment in Xàbia below national and regional averages
Feb 22nd
Unemployment in Xàbia rose to 1,808 at the end of January, up 19 on the previous month. However the general rate of 10.8% and rate for under 25's at 5.64% remail below both the regional and national averages. Unsurprisingly the Services sector, which includes restaurants, bars and hotels and accounts for almost 80% of all employment contracts issued in Xàbia, saw the biggest rise, climbing 35 to 1,340, almost 75% of those registered as out of work. For full story see: Javeamigos
Charging for carrier bags to be mandatory in Spain from 2018
Feb 17th
ALL shops in Spain will be required by law to charge a minimum of five cents for plastic carrier bags – and in some cases, could end up applying prices of up to 30 cents. The environment ministry led by Isabel García Tejerina says free plastic bags will be banned from January 1 next year in an attempt to cut their use, in line with the European Directive of 2015 which all member States are obliged to apply progressively. A recent survey has shown that 87.5% of Spanish shoppers bring their own bags with them to the supermarket. For full story see: Think Spain
Local Initiative to support entrepreneurs
Talk introducing the project on Feb 27th
Feb 17th
An initiative called Marina Alta Emprèn is underway. It was promoted by the Escola de Negocis Innovadors i Digitals (ENID) to promote the creation of new businesses in the region, with financing from the municipalities of Denia, Xàbia, Pego, Pedreguer, Orba and Xaló, as well as "Denia & Marina Alta Tasting Life". The objective is to provide support to entrepreneurs to develop their business ideas and create their own companies, so that they are successful and sustainable over time. The program lasts eight months, during which selected teams will get a space to work in coworking Knowhere (Dénia), La Nau LAB (Pedreguer) and Javea. They will be able to promote their capacities in a creative and enterprising environment in addition to the possibility of relating and sharing space with other entrepreneurs and projects. Any interested party can register until March 5th filling out the form on ( www.marinaaltaempren.com ). Phase 1 or ideation will be carried out during March and April. Participants will have totally free personalised consultancies, courses and conferences to develop their idea. Once this phase is finished, the selection team will choose the best projects for the next phase. This Phase 2 or accelerator will run from May to November (August will be off), and will go deeper into creating a viable business. There will be personalised consultations regarding company formation and the corresponding courses and conferences. At the end, there will be a final presentation of projects to potential investors and potential customers. The calendar of courses and conferences can be seen on the web ( www.marinaaltaempren.com ) or on the Facebook page of Marina Alta Emprèn ( www.facebook.com/MarinaAltaEmpren ). The programme will be presented at talks throughout the region, and on February 27th at 7:30 p.m. in Xàbia. From: La Marina Plaza.
Experts warn of the impact of mass tourism on the landscape of the Marina Alta
Feb 17th
Farmers, herdsmen, hunters, conservationists and experts, who met in Xaló during a new session of the Denia & Marina Alta Tastinglife project, believe that environmental tourism can help the recovery of the rural landscape. However, they advocate that it is a "responsible and sustainable", tourism of "nature or ecotourism" driven by local companies and more in tune with local agents. The impact of tourism "has caused an imbalance that threatens traditional activities and the rural landscape". In addition, "the abandonment of crops which has added drastically to the reduction of livestock and the increasingly frequent presence of uninformed, disrespectful leisure tourism". Cattlemen regret the loss of local abbatoirs - they have to travel 80km to get their cattle slaughtered; hunters ask for the use of private land to breed native prey and hunt in a safe way; traditional agriculture needs to be promoted and linked to the local market. Land banks and catalogues of agricultural and livestock products are good tools for "the reunion between the powerful tourist sector of the coast and the deteriorated primary sector of the interior of the Marina". From :La Marina Plaza
XABIA EDUSI Definitive documents now available on: Fent Xàbia
Feb 16th 2017
The definitive documents of the EDUSI project are now online in PDF format to read and download. Most are in Castellano. EDUSI stands for "Estrategias de Desarrollo Urbano Sostenible Integrado" - Strategies for integrated sustainable urban development. For details about this project see: EDUSI Integrated sustainable Urban development. Xàbia's application for funds will, hopefully be considered sometime in 2017, now that Spain has a formal Government. (Ed)
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Cullen Hightower