This page provides the Mojacar Local News in English brought to you by Levante Lifestyle magazine
Open air gymnasium
The local authority in Vera has put in motion a project for an open-air gymnasium aimed specifically at the elderly, which is likely to be located in the Rambla del Algarrobo park on the outskirts of the town. The gym is to be equipped with apparatus for gentle exercises to improve mobility and muscle tone and definition, complete with instructions on their use.Town Hall backs club plans
The local authority in Turre is in negotiations with the Junta de Andalucía on setting up municipal rugby and cricket clubs on the site of the old football ground.Youth arrested with pen gun
Police in Baza detained a 21-year old from Mojácar after a pen gun was discovered in his vehicle during a routine traffic patrol. The officers also discovered a small quantity of marijuana in his car.Village playground “forgotten”
The Mojácar Moves parents’ association criticised the local authority for delays in a children’s play area project in the village. The association complained the beach area had been “inundated” with playgrounds in recent years while “inexplicably the village has been forgotten.” Later in the month the association presented the local authority with a petition in favour of the playground with 600 signatures.
Mojácar Moves has also called for a municipal youth centre, a demand which the local authority claims is currently impossible due to a lack of cash in the municipal coffers, and a lack of finding from either the provincial or regional governments for the projects.Much demanded pavement
Work began on a pavement joining the public fountain in Mojácar Pueblo with the Santa María area of the municipality near the cemetery on the road leading to Turre. Local residents in the area have long demanded the pavement, which should be completed by October.Caravans banned from beaches
The local authority in Mojácar unanimously backed a ban on caravans and motor homes camping out overnight on municipal beaches. Vehicles of this kind are only allowed to park on the beaches between 8am and 8pm, and must go to one of the local camping and caravan sites for the night or to the area set aside for this purpose by the local authority between the beach and the village.Boosting fire fighting service
The Junta de Andalucía will build nine new fire stations in the province between now and 2019. The regional administration decided the current fire fighting service made up of a total of 154 fire fighters is insufficient to cover the needs of the population.Social and cultural activities under one roof
Social and cultural activities in Turre have come together under one roof with the inauguration of the new multiple uses centre. Located in the old market square, the centre houses a library, day centre, health centre, Guadalinfo centre and a multiple uses hall.Earth moves in Olula
An earthquake measuring 2.3 on the Richter Scale, with the epicentre in Olula del Río, was registered just before midnight on 27th May, two hours after a tremor measuring 1.6 on the Richter Scale in Carboneras.Q for quality
The El Ancón, Las Marinicas and Los Barquicos beaches in Carboneras have been awarded with the Spanish Institute of Tourism Quality Q quality recognition.
Blue Flags flying
European Blue Flags for quality will fly on the Marina de la Torre and Venta del Bancal beaches in Mojácar this summer and on San José beach in Níjar. The Piedra de Villazar and Descargardor beaches in Mojácar and Aguamarga beach failed to qualify for Blue Flags this year.Motorway worker run over by steamroller
A 39-year old road maintenance worker died after he was run over by a steamroller on the A-7 motorway. The accident occurred during resurfacing works on the road near the Vera turn-off.Algarrobico saga continues
Ecologists in Action, Friends of the Cabo de Gata Natural Park and Salvemos Mojácar roundly rejected the suggestion from the promoter behind the controversial Algarrobico hotel that works on the building should restart. The environmentalists dismissed Azata del Sol’s arguments set out in a letter to the Junta de Andalucía that opening the hotel could help alleviate the crisis in the property sector, claiming that rather than attracting visitors to the area, the structure is “bad publicity”. However, the Carboneras Trade and Catering Business Association gave its “total support” to Azata, claiming the hotel would assist in economic and tourism growth in the municipality, benefit small and medium-sized businesses and create jobs.Drug busts
Guardia Civil detained four people on charges of selling drugs in Mojácar. The Guardia launched an investigation after observing an unusually high number of comings and goings close to the home of two of the detainees and in a supermarket and telephone booth centre managed by the pair in Mojácar Playa. The authorities also seized 175 grams of hashish, plastic wrappers for cocaine, two pairs of scales and 1,100 euros in cash.Rod rocks Almería
Veteran British rocker Rod Stewart wowed a 6,000 strong crowd at Almería city’s Mediterranean Games Pavilion, belting out classic hits such as It’s a Heartache, Do you think I’m Sexy and Hot Legs during the two-hour show. There was a noticeably strong British showing for the concert, Stewart’s only appearance in Spain during his 2008 Rocks His Greatest Hits tour.Vera claims Junta should compensate Priors
The Junta de Andalucía should compensate British couple Helen and Len Prior for the demolition of their villa in La Loma in Vera, the local Town Hall maintains. The Andaluz Party-led local authority voted in favour of making a legal claim against the Junta over the demolition of the Priors’ home on 9th January, with the opposition votes of the PP and PSOE council members. The move followed the Priors’ claim against Vera Town Hall for 690,000 euros compensation.
The Town Hall claims there were a series of irregularities in the report the Junta submitted to the court, which had an important influence on the judge’s conclusion the building should be torn down. This included the argument that as the Priors’ villa was alongside other 18 properties there was the risk of an urban nucleus was being created.
Vera Town Planning councillor, Francisco Vázquez, said the Junta acted “arbitrarily against the municipal license conceded by the Town Hall”, adding that in his view the property complied with all town planning regulations.Rod rocks Almería
Veteran British rocker Rod Stewart wowed a 6,000 strong crowd at Almería city’s Mediterranean Games Pavilion, belting out classic hits such as It’s a Heartache, Do you think I’m Sexy and Hot Legs during the two-hour show. There was a noticeably strong British showing for the concert, Stewart’s only appearance in Spain during his 2008 Rocks His Greatest Hits tour.
Vera claims Junta should compensate Priors
The Junta de Andalucía should compensate British couple Helen and Len Prior for the demolition of their villa in La Loma in Vera, the local Town Hall maintains. The Andaluz Party-led local authority voted in favour of making a legal claim against the Junta over the demolition of the Priors’ home on 9th January, with the opposition votes of the PP and PSOE council members. The move followed the Priors’ claim against Vera Town Hall for 690,000 euros compensation.
The Town Hall claims there were a series of irregularities in the report the Junta submitted to the court, which had an important influence on the judge’s conclusion the building should be torn down. This included the argument that as the Priors’ villa was alongside other 18 properties there was the risk of an urban nucleus was being created.
Vera Town Planning councillor, Francisco Vázquez, said the Junta acted “arbitrarily against the municipal license conceded by the Town Hall”, adding that in his view the property complied with all town planning regulations.Junta claims Town Hall responsible
A press statement from the Junta de Andalucía maintained the regional Government had the authority to check whether autonomous community legislation was being applied at municipal level, and that it was the courts which decide on the legality of administrations’ actions and which issue rulings. The statement also said the obligation to comply with a court ruling lay in the first instance with the administration behind the action, and that if it failed to comply, the Junta’s provincial delegation would intervene.
The Junta said the Government Municipal Commission resolution of 25th June 2003 authorising the Priors’ property was one of the acts annulled by the Inspection General Management “for not complying with the law.” The Junta also said that after Vera Town Hall had been informed the demolition order was definite in May 2004, the local authority included the La Loma zone “in the future General Plan for Urban Development as a reason for not annulling the licence.”
The courts rejected the argument for not carrying out the demolition, and in March 2006 a 10-day period was given for the demolition, which the Town Hall failed to carry out. As a result the Junta’s Public Works delegation intervened, “carrying out as a subsidiary the demolition which had been ordered.”
The Junta said it “regretted” that such a drastic measure had had to be taken, but stressed it could not be held liable for the demolition.Scrap ends in nasty fall
A man suffered serious injuries when he plummeted down a hillside in Mojácar village during a scuffle with youths. The fight broke out in the early hours of the Saturday of the Moors and Christians weekend celebrations close to a furniture shop on the main road leading down to the football ground. Police detained three youths.Fishing fleets strike over fuel prices
The fishing fleets based in Carboneras and Garrucha ports joined an indefinite strike on 28th May, protesting over a more than 100 per cent increase in fuel prices while the prices their catches fetch on the market have not changed. The fishermen insisted the Government take “urgent measures” in the face of falling profitability in the industry.Haulage sector strike creates chaos
The national haulage sector strike over rocketing fuel prices created scenes of chaos across the province. On the first day of the strike action hundreds of lorries staged go-slows on the A-7 motorway, causing long tailbacks. There were long queues at service stations as drivers rushed to fill up, and while the garages started running out of diesel, supermarket shelves were emptied of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish.
On the third day of the strike 200 trucks from three haulage cooperatives in the Almanzora Valley formed a protest convoy, travelling 35kms from Albox’ Transport City to the motorway and as far as the border with Murcia.Running battle between police and farmers
A demonstration by several thousand farmers in front of the Treasury Delegation offices in Almería city centre turned into a running battle with the security forces after protestors began throwing courgettes and aubergines at the police cordon protecting the building and tried to push through the barriers. The police fired rubber balls into the crowd, who responded by hurling plastic crates, metal rubbish bins and even traffic signs. At least 21 people were injured, including 13 police officers and members of the press.
The protest had been organised by the COAD and ASAJA agricultural unions to demand the national Government introduce a tax reduction for provincial fruit and vegetable producers.
A press statement from the Junta de Andalucía maintained the regional Government had the authority to check whether autonomous community legislation was being applied at municipal level, and that it was the courts which decide on the legality of administrations’ actions and which issue rulings. The statement also said the obligation to comply with a court ruling lay in the first instance with the administration behind the action, and that if it failed to comply, the Junta’s provincial delegation would intervene.
The Junta said the Government Municipal Commission resolution of 25th June 2003 authorising the Priors’ property was one of the acts annulled by the Inspection General Management “for not complying with the law.” The Junta also said that after Vera Town Hall had been informed the demolition order was definite in May 2004, the local authority included the La Loma zone “in the future General Plan for Urban Development as a reason for not annulling the licence.”
The courts rejected the argument for not carrying out the demolition, and in March 2006 a 10-day period was given for the demolition, which the Town Hall failed to carry out. As a result the Junta’s Public Works delegation intervened, “carrying out as a subsidiary the demolition which had been ordered.”
The Junta said it “regretted” that such a drastic measure had had to be taken, but stressed it could not be held liable for the demolition.
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