ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 21st December 2019
Christmas begins in the Costa Cálida as the Region of Murcia awaits the imminent opening of Corvera airport
The end of the week coincides with the last day of autumn – winter officially begins at 23.23 on Friday night – but also, for a large proportion of the population of Murcia, with the first day of Christmas, as school holidays begin and the whole country prepares for a 2-week festive season which ends with the Three Kings celebrations on 5th and 6th January.
On Saturday morning TVs and radios in shops, bars and homes all over Spain will be tuned into the marathon El Gordo Christmas lottery draw, and in Murcia the spending on El Gordo tickets has risen again this year to around 93 million euros. That represents an average for each Murciano (including babies and young children) of 63.26 euros, and practically the whole population will have an eye or ear on the draw as it is broadcast live to the nation!
Meanwhile, as is to be expected, the news has been littered with articles relating to the festivities as Murcia gears up for Christmas: in Lorca there was a large crowd last weekend at the unveiling of this year’s main nativity scene in the Palacio de Guevara, a magnificent building which is preparing to fully reopen to visitors early in the New Year, Caravaca welcomed the arrival of members of the Spanish Navy’s Special Forces unit who yomped 150 kilometres in 30 hours to deliver a charity food donation, and Correos, the Spanish postal service, has installed special postboxes for letters to Father Christmas and the Three Kings!
But should you be in danger of getting carried away by the festive spirit, a sobering reminder: Christmas is calculated to push Spanish household electricity bills up by 25 per cent for a variety of reasons, so while you’re filling the Christmas stockings, the electricity companies are filling their boots!
The end of autumn 2018 also marks the last weekly news bulletin of the year from Murcia Today, as we will be taking a break before coming back to celebrate our 10th anniversary in the New Year. Until then, the team would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support, feedback and help over the last year, and to wish you a happy festive season and a prosperous New Year!
Airport and tourism news
The news in early 2019 is likely to be dominated by the long-awaited opening of the Region of Murcia International Airport in Corvera on 15th January, and this week plans have been announced to increase the car hire and shopping services in the terminal building.
Approval has been given for the terms of rental for premises occupying 60 square metres in the departure lounge to be used by an outlet for clothes, shoes, jewelry and accessories, adding to the contracts already awarded, and at the same time two more operating licences for car hire firms have been put out to tender. If they are snapped up it will represent competition for those already signed up to offer services at Corvera (Goldcar, Europcar and Hertz), and at the same time transport arrangements at the airport continue to take shape with the news that the Town Hall of Murcia has ratified the flat rate of 29 euros for taxi fares to and from the city centre which was agreed upon by cabbies over a month ago.
This reinforces the impression that no last-minute hitches are foreseen by Aena, the management company, as it prepares to close Murcia-San Javier to civilian flights in order to make way for Corvera, despite the fact that the final air safety certification from the air safety agency Aesa is still pending. This is one of the last boxes to be ticked before the roar of jet engines is heard at last over the Campo de Cartagena and it may seem that with only three and a half weeks to go Aena are cutting it a little fine, but the official line from both the company and the regional government is that “everything will be up and running in time for the opening”.
Still related to tourism, data published this week revealed that the dependence of Spain upon an economic sector which barely existed in this country 60 years ago is now such that in 2017 it accounted for 11.7 per cent of GDP, generating a staggering 137,020 million euros of economic activity and providing employment for 2.6 million people: no doubt the management at Corvera airport will be crossing their fingers for further growth in the next few years, particularly in the Costa Cálida!
Environmental news
Restricted motor vehicle access to Calblanque beaches to start after Easter in next year: the limit on vehicle numbers will be imposed at weekends from May to mid-October 2019.
267 cubic metres of debris collected from the beaches of the Mar Menor: following the heavy rain which washed debris from the Campo de Cartagena and natural floodwater channels into the lagoon in November, the manual cleaning brigade created by the regional government has collected most of the reeds and seaweed in Los Urrutias, La Manga del Mar Menor and Los Alcázares.
Parts of Sierra Espuña closed to the public for 6 months to protect endangered species: popular walking routes will remain open although areas near them will be out of bounds.
Fourth loggerhead sea turtle cured and re-released on the Murcia coastline this year: the three released in October have already travelled to north Africa and are now close to Sardinia!
Migration
Oceanographic research ship locates 44 African migrants, including 11 dead, one day out of Cartagena: the “Hespérides” oceanographic research vessel, which set sail on Wednesday on its annual mission to the Antarctic, located the small migrant boat off the coast of Almería at 01.50 on Thursday morning.
Still on the topic of unauthorized immigration into Spain, one of the 7 arrests made by the Guardia Civil in relation to a “travel agency” for migrants which brought 600 Moroccans into the country was in the Region of Murcia.
The network charged approximately 2,500 euros per person for its services and netted an estimated profit of over 1.5 million euros due to these “fees”: the migrants were “recruited” in the area of Larache on the Atlantic coast of northern Morocco, and then transported to the southern coast of Spain before being picked up and re-located to “safe houses” in the north of the country, mostly in the Basque Country and Catalunya.
Other items in the Murcia news this week
Music legends to play in Murcia next May! Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will top the bill at the Warm Up 2019 festival, and they will be followed by Bob Dylan at the bull ring in Murcia just one or two days later!
Lorca police stand in as midwives as woman gives birth in the city centre: four officers received medical instructions on the phone while the baby entered the world in Calle Floridablanca.
Salzillo’s figures of Judas and Jesus were carved from one tree trunk: the two figures by the master baroque sculptor which can be seen in the Museo Salzillo and parades on Good Friday every Easter are joined by the kiss of betrayal in “The Taking of Christ”.
Giant drilling platform arrives in Escombreras for breaking up: the 90-metre Transocean 706 has been towed across the Atlantic to Cartagena from Rio de Janeiro.
Two dead in spate of weekend road accidents in Murcia: the fatalities occurred in Cieza and San Pedro del Pinatar.
Murcia “loses” 10,000 British residents in 5 years: Brexit is only one of the factors behind the fall in the expat population of the Costa Cálida, reversing the upward trend which began with only 500 Brits in Murcia 20 years ago!
With huge uncertainty still surrounding the whole topic of Brexit, expats are still unsure what will happen in the future when Brits lose their automatic right as EU members to buy property, live and work in Spain, and indeed, the rest of Europe. The request by the British PM this week to her European counterparts to be "generous" towards their British residents regarding their status and terms under which they can continue residing in EU member states did little to reassure the millions of British Citizens living throughout the EU and watching the on-going parliamentary pantomime in the UK with disbelief. With less than 100 days to go before Brexit, there are countless concerned overseas residents, particularly business owners, watching Parliament heading off for a three week holiday and wondering if there's sufficient time left for the PM to take a reality check. Oh yes she will...... Oh no she won´t.......... no prizes for guessing where panto humour will score this festive season!
Just a shame that there's nothing remotely funny about the situation and how it will affect all of us living here in Spain.
Controversial fighter jet roundabout adornment unveiled in Beniaján: 43,000 euros were spent on installing what some see as an attractive but unjustifiable irrelevance.
Bids invited for 178-million-euro construction contracts on new Murcia motorway: the 22-kilometre road will ease traffic on the motorway around the north of the regional capital, currently the busiest stretch of road in the Region.
Murcia government debt hits all-time high: the government owes 6,300 euros for each inhabitant of the Region of Murcia.
Dramatic rescue in Cabo de Palos after woman falls down 30-metre cliff: a Guardia Civil officer plunged into the sea to save the woman from the Mediterranean near Cala Fría.
EU subsidy for more free wi-fi in Alhama de Murcia: 15,000 euros are assigned to the creation of new public wi-fi zones in Alhama as part of EU grants.
La Unión-Portmán road named among the most dangerous in Spain: in general the national network roads in Murcia are among the safest in the country.
Beware of fraudsters conning cash out of donators to the Red Cross and Jesús Abandonado: the two charities have reminded members of the public that they never canvas for cash during house calls.
Murcia and Spanish property news
If last week’s batch of data relating to the property market in Murcia were exceptionally positive, then this week’s news has been less spectacular but sufficient to reinforce the sense of optimism among professionals working in the sector in the Costa Cálida.
The number of mortgages finalized on new properties in Murcia during October was almost 20 per cent higher than in the same month in 2017, the 8th consecutive increase and confirmation of the upward trend which has led to a rise of 8.2 per cent over the last twelve months. Indeed, so significant is the increased confidence of the banks to lend against current market values of residential property in Spain that the running 12-monthly totals are now 72 per cent higher in Murcia than 4 and a half years ago, and 89 per cent higher in the whole of Spain!
In the country as a whole, meanwhile, the October increase was almost exactly the same as in Murcia at 20.4 per cent, and the only regions with less activity than in 2017 were La Rioja and the Balearics, despite the chaos and confusion surrounding regarding the jurisdictional tax which is paid on new mortgages in Spain during October.
The renewed confidence in the Murcia property market, where sales figures are up by 26.5 per cent this year, was reflected this week in the announcement that a project to build 400 new homes in Puerto de Mazarrón is to go ahead at last. The development is located next to the lighthouse and the Playa de la Isla, and the intention is to present the details of the promotion in January 2019.
Spanish news summary: Catalan separatist demonstrators involved in violent clashes with police while political leaders at last find a small piece of common ground!
The strained relationship between Catalunya and Spain has returned to the front pages of the Spanish press at the end of the year, and the week ended with scenes of violence and disruption in Barcelona to coincide with the Spanish government’s weekly Cabinet meeting being held in Barcelona.
The decision to call a Cabinet meeting in Catalunya on the anniversary of the regional election which was called after direct rule was imposed from Madrid was always likely to provoke an angry response from the extreme pro-independence CDR groups, who on Friday morning blocked main roads around the city as well as the AP-7 motorway as they attempted to “paralyse” Catalunya for the day. Later various arrests were made after riot police charged the demonstrators outside the Llotja de Mar building, where the Cabinet meeting took place under the protection of 1,500 officers of the law. Further protests are scheduled for Friday evening.
All of these demonstrations come the day after a rare meeting between the presidents of the Catalan and Spanish governments, Pedro Sánchez and Quim Torra, which resulted in a joint statement being issued in which the two men agree on “the existence of a conflict over the future of Catalunya”. While also conceding that there are “notable differences” of opinion on the causes and possible resolutions of that conflict, the statement also includes a commitment to “effective dialogue”, and the two men are due to meet again in January.
These words might not be very specific, but at least they come in a joint statement, which after the events of the last 18 months or so could be seen as significant progress.
Another sign that the tension may be being defused a little came the day before when the four self-styled “political prisoners” who had been on hunger strike in jail, protesting over their being held behind bars for over a year awaiting trial for alleged offences relating to the outlawed independence referendum in Catalunya last year, had abandoned their protest in response to an open letter signed by the five former presidents of the regional government of Catalunya. The letter, sent on Wednesday, encouraged the hunger strikers to look after their own “lives and health” in order to be able to take part fully both in their trials, which are scheduled to start in the near future, and in “the political future of the country”.
Elsewhere in Spain, it will be a far from joyful Christmas in fishing villages and town on the coast of Galicia, following a week of rough seas in which two fishing boats sank and at least four crew died, the Spanish press are warning that a no-deal Brexit could cause flagship airline Iberia to lose its EU flights unless modifications are made to its share capital structure, and a Dutchman has been arrested at a motorway service station in Tarragona after painting Jihadist slogans on the wall of his hotel room in Salou.
For more details on these and other stories in the Spanish news scroll down below…
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