ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 5th October 2018
Corvera airport hogs the headlines
As the date for which the opening of the new Region of Murcia International Airport in Corvera approaches the subject continues to occupy many of the headlines in the Costa Cálida, and this is likely to be the case at least until the 15th January next year.
The week began with reactions to the news that taxi drivers who are licensed in the municipality of Murcia will be granted exclusive rights to provide pick-up services at the airport, with the Mayor of San Javier calling for an “extraordinary solution for an extraordinary situation”. He points out that the situation in San Javier is unprecedented in Spain, with one airport closing down to make way for another in a neighbouring municipality, and hopes that 6 of the 18 San Javier taxi drivers who are currently licensed to operate at the airport on the shore of the Mar Menor can be granted similar rights at Corvera. At the moment, the taxi drivers working in the Murcia municipality will be the only drivers licensed to work within the airport.
Taxi drivers’ disputes aside, there are still various administrative hurdles still to be overcome before the first flights at Corvera in January, with permits needed from organizations belonging to various national government Ministries, but an article published in regional newspaper La Verdad last weekend reports that 9 of the 24 companies providing ancillary services at Murcia-San Javier airport will definitely be transferring their activities to the new airport in January. These are the companies with long periods still to run on their current contracts with airport management company Aena, while the other contracts at Corvera either have been or will be put out to tender.
Then, on Friday of this week, Aena announced that more steps had been taken to prepare for the opening of the airport in January, with contracts having been awarded for security, cleaning, minor building work and meteorological services among others. The cleaning and security contracts will be in force first at San Javier and then at Corvera, and conditions are specified to ensure that workers' terms of employment will remain unchanged.
But perhaps the most interesting news regarding Corvera came in comments made on Tuesday by Jaime García-Legaz, the former head of Aena, who stated that he believes that the new Region of Murcia International Airport in Corvera “will be a success” but at the same time advised that in his opinion more investment should be made to attract airlines to operate from the infrastructure through “incentives” during the first couple of years.
At the moment most of the airlines currently operating from San Javier have not yet confirmed routes from Corvera, indeed British Airways are now re-routing passengers booked to fly into San Javier this coming spring into Alicante, and Ryanair are refusing to make a firm commitment to passengers trying to book, and many travellers are expressing frustration on social media that there is still so much uncertainty about routes for next year.
TOURISM NEWS
British instagrammers invited to Murcia to promote tourism in the Costa Cálida: six guest Instagram account holders raise the profile of Murcia among over 230,000 followers!
British visitors to Spain spent 3.39 million euros per hour in August! There were fewer international tourists this August in Spain but their spending increased slightly, with the number of UK and German visitors dropping but the figure for France rising significantly.
Tighter clampdowns on undeclared holiday rentals in the Costa Cálida: the Murcia government aims to legalize holiday rentals, guaranteeing quality and the declaration of income, and the taking on of more staff and the development of new technological tools will make it possible to double the number of inspections performed. In addition, new technology will be in use to identify and monitor tourist rentals in collaboration with platforms such as AirBnb, Homeaway and Wimdu.
MIGRATION
The steady flow of migrants crossing the Mediterranean and heading for the coastline of the Region of Murcia has continued over the last week, 56 being brought ashore in Cartagena and Cabo de Palos on Monday morning after being intercepted at sea.
By Tuesday the figure had risen to 73, including ten who were apprehended after they had reached dry land, and then another nine were intercepted early on Wednesday morning 9.5 miles to the south of Cabo Negrete, close to the bay of Portmán.
Once the immigrants are taken into custody it is the responsibility of the police to establish their identities and countries of origin so that repatriation proceedings can be set in motion.
The authorities in the Region of Murcia are on the alert for the possibility of many more incidents of this kind over the coming weeks, and it should not be forgotten that last October a surge in the migratory flow heading north towards the EU saw resources overstretched in the Costa Cálida as 656 Africans were brought ashore during the month.
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS
Spanish government prolongs drought status in the Segura basin
The current drought in Murcia was first recognized in May 2015, and with the amount of water currently available in the reservoirs of the Segura standing at only 22 per cent of capacity, more than at this time last year but less than in early October 2016 and only just over half of the ten-year mean for the time of year, it has been extended for another year (unless the water reserves rise considerably).
This news comes after the end of an unusually warm and wet September in the Region of Murcia, with average temperatures being the second highest this century and more than double the usual rainfall. But the September storms were not enough to make any significant contribution to the reservoirs, and although the 2017-18 hydrological year produced almost average rainfall central government experts have recommended another transfer from the Tajo basin in northern Spain during the month of October.
More positive environmental news this week concerns the recycling of over 10,000 tons of electrical and electronic goods were recycled in Murcia last year, more than double the amount reached 2 years previously and an average of 6.88 kilos per inhabitant: this exceeds the national average across Spain and is well above the target set by the EU (4 kilos per person).
Similarly, a contribution to the fight against plastics contamination has been made by the 3,500 clean-up activities at beaches, recreational areas and other locations so far this year, with a total of 82 tons of plastic and other waste having been collected (much of it by schoolchildren).
But more worrying news concerns the area of El Hondón, alongside the A-30 motorway and the railway line as they enter Cartagena, which has been named among only six sites in Spain with potentially risky levels of radioactivity in the soil. For many years a large fertilizer factory operated on this land, polluting the air and soil in eastern Cartagena, and the publication of the list by the Nuclear Safety Council will underline the need firstly to fence the area off securely, and then to decontaminate the land before the Town Hall can even consider setting in motion its plans to convert it into housing and green zones.
Lo Pagán marina improvements will contribute to the recovery of the Mar Menor: a 75-metre floating multi-purpose jetty which will be installed at the northern end of the lagoon is designed in such a way as to reduce any waves inside the harbour while at the same time protecting the environment by ensuring that the natural currents within the Mar Menor are not interfered with.
Murcia red deer population trebles in ten years: roaring can be heard in the mountains of Moratalla and Cehegín as the rutting season begins!
NATIONAL COURTS TO INVESTIGATE CAMPOSOL
Spain’s national Court of Auditors has agreed to investigate certain questions related to possible irregularities committed during the planning and construction of the residential development of Camposol, following the publication in February of this year of the findings of the Murcia regional parliamentary committee which was set up to investigate the long-running problems on the development.
Those under scrutiny in the forthcoming investigation will be the Town Hall and the company which promoted Camposol, Justo y Manoli, especially in relation to a fine of 3.6 million euros which was imposed on the latter by the Higher Court of Justice in 2010 for building 724 homes without obtaining the requisite licence: the Town Hall failed to implement the sentence.
It may yet be that key figures in Justo y Manoli and the local council at the time of the irregularities could face criminal charges, even though previous investigations have failed to establish grounds for criminal cases, although the arguments about who is to pay for the works which must be undertaken to correct the irregularities still rumble on.
As always, it must be stressed that the major issues relate to specific areas which are well documented and the majority of properties are not adversely affected.
OTHER STORIES IN THE MURCIA NEWS THIS WEEK
Cehegín rider becomes the first female world motorcycle racing champion: a great day for Murcia sport last Sunday as Ana Carrasco from Cehegín made motorcycling history and cyclist Alejandro Valverde was proclaimed world cycling road race champion.
Motorized wheelchair user dies in San Javier road accident: police report that a collision with a 4-by-4 last Friday evening sent the wheelchair flying 20 metres.
Gang of armed robbers arrested in Fuente Álamo: three men and one woman have been linked with at least five crimes in the Campo de Cartagena, Alicante and Tarragona.
Historic Torre Pacheco coat of arms recovered after 47 years missing! The intention is to return the 16th century masonry to the church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Torre Pacheco.
Alarm in the centre of Murcia as the 17th-century Almudí palace trembles! Staff working inside feared an earthquake as furniture rattled and tables moved on Tuesday morning.
Slime play materials withdrawn from sale in Murcia due to high boron content: the children’s products were all imported to the Region of Murcia from China.
Two injured in spectacular Cartagena road accident: their car spun off the road at the Santa Ana exit of the A-30 motorway on Wednesday.
Two dead in horrific motorway crash near Jumilla: four others were injured including one who lost a leg in the accident on the A-33 in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Making a Difference donates wheelchairs and walking frames to the social services in Mazarrón: the expat-run charity aims to help those in need in the municipality of Mazarrón.
Unemployment up slightly in September in Murcia and the rest of Spain: a typical end-of-summer increase does nothing to hide the overall downward trend throughout the country, although fewer jobless are reported in La Rioja and Castilla-La Mancha at the start of the grape-picking season.
Sadness in Lorca as Franciscan monks leave after 550 years in the city: the historic city of Lorca lost one of its remaining links with the Middle Ages as the annual fiestas came to an end on Sunday 30th September, as the monks of the Franciscan Order said goodbye to the Convento of the Virgen de las Huertas.
Naval mine brought ashore at the fishing port of Mazarrón: Spanish navy divers identified the device and later carried out a controlled explosion.
2.0 earthquake just off the coast of Cartagena: only a handful of people reported feeling the tremor on Wednesday morning.
Murcia woman hospitalized after using bleach with ammonia to clean her house: a woman died in Madrid earlier this year after inhaling a similar combination, and the emergency services unit are repeating their advice concerning the prevention of intoxication.
Over a third of men aged 30 to 34 in Murcia still live with their parents: flying the nest is not the done thing for the current generation of young Murcianos!
MURCIA AND SPANISH PROPERTY NEWS
More good news has emerged this week regarding the property market in the Region of Murcia, arguably the best coming from leading property valuation firm Tinsa, who report that during the third quarter of 2018 the average market value of housing in Spain was 4.9 per cent higher than during the equivalent period last year.
There is still a good deal of variation from region to region but it is encouraging to see that Murcia was among those with the sharpest increase, recording a year-on-year rise of 7.9 per cent while in the regional capital the figure rose by 11.1 per cent! This strengthens the impression that in the Costa Cálida as a whole the rate of appreciation in property values may be accelerating, and with interest rates still close to a record low this could make it an ideal time to consider purchasing Murcia property!
Elsewhere, the government reports that the 14.6 per cent July increase in property sales was accompanied by a rise of 14.6 per cent in the number of mortgage loans taken out in the whole of Spain during July, and in the Region of Murcia the increase was 13.1 per cent. But the stand-out feature of the July data is that the amount of loan capital involved in these loans reached almost 73.5 million euros, the highest figure reported since September 2011, causing the average loan capital to shoot up to just a shade under 100,000 euros! This is surely just a one-off statistical blip, as for many months the average has been around 80,000 euros, but the really significant aspect of the data is that the amount of mortgage activity is now 66.8 per cent higher in Murcia than 4 and a half years ago.
A year has now passed since the tumultuous events in Catalunya last October, when a chain of controversies culminated with a unilateral declaration of independence made in the Catalan parliament on 27th October, and this week has seen the issue heat up to close to boiling point again.
On 1st October, to mark the anniversary of the partial holding of an outlawed independence referendum, thousands of activists belonging to “Committees for the Defence of the Republic” staged demonstrations which caused severe disruption to road and rail travel. But some anger was also vented by the more radical separatists at Quim Torra, the president of the re-constituted regional government, for his perceived failure to continue the “process” of separation from Spain, and on Tuesday he responded by issuing an ultimatum to the Spanish national government led by Pedro Sánchez. In a thinly disguised threat to bring down the PSOE government, Sr Torra implied that unless Sr Sánchez allows an independence referendum, the Catalan separatist MPs in the national parliament will withdraw their support for the PSOE, making it impossible to govern.
The response from Madrid was quick to arrive, with Pedro Sánchez stating that he will not be making any offer of such a referendum either now or ever, and it soon emerged that Sr Torra had taken it upon himself to speak for the PDeCAT and Esquerra parties although he is not a member of either.
But if that led to confusion, there was even more surprising news to come, with the revelation that Quim Torra had sent a letter to around 40 world leaders asking them to mediate in negotiations with Pedro Sánchez, among them Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Xi Jinping (the President of the People’s Republic of China) and even Pope Francis. This, along with speculation that Sr Torra’s predecessor, Carles Puigdemont, stood a chance of being awarded the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, lent an almost surreal air to proceedings.
However, it is reported that no replies to Quim Torra’s letter have yet been received, and the Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their campaign to defend wartime victims of sexual violence.
Elsewhere, General Franco is still in the news, as his seven grandchildren attempt to throw spanners in the works while the government moves ahead with plans to exhume the former dictator’s remains from the Valley of the Fallen monumental burial site. The exhumation was approved in parliament on 13th September, but now Franco’s descendants are demanding that the former dictator should be re-buried in the cathedral of La Almudena in Madrid at a service with full military honours. Their demand is based on a law which was passed in 2010, but it would be completely alien to the current government’s attitude to grant the privilege, and in addition there will some reluctance to convert La Almudena, an important tourist attraction, into a place of pilgrimage for Francoist supporters.
In Madrid, meanwhile, there is some consternation over the fact that social security offices are asking beggars and buskers to declare their earnings, while at national government level there has been a good deal of comment on social media concerning Carmen Montón, who served as Minister for Health in the government for just 95 days before being forced to resign amid a scandal over her Masters degree, and has made a formal request for the 4,700-euro-per-month indemnification pension to which she is entitled.
Elsewhere, there was another murder as the escalation of the “drug war” violence in Andalucía continued, and two deaths from natural causes, one merely sad and the other utterly tragic, have caught the eye of the national press. One concerned a Ukrainian immigrant whose mummified body was found on her bed after no-on even noticed her absence for eight years, while the other is the death of a 21-month-old toddler who died after her father absent-mindedly forgot her in the car outside her kindergarten and travelled to work on public transport. Police attempted to question the 43-year-old, but such was his grief, despair and panic that it proved impossible.
For more details on these and other stories scroll down below…
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