Salvem Parcent, Save Parcent

2007-03-04T07:20:00.000-08:00

MEPS VISIT PARCENT

'Veïns de Parcent' gave a warm welcome to the

delegation from the Petitions Committee of the

European Parliament. The group led by

President Marcin Libicki, joined by Vice President

Michael Cashman and David Lowe, head of

Secretariat, arrived in Parcent on the afternoon

of thursday 1st March. They were accompanied

by David Hammerstein MEP who travelled

as an observer, various assistents and interpreters.

They were met by a group from 'Veïns de Parcent',

carrying large photomontages of the effects the

building of the PAIs will have on the mountainside.

After showing the MEPS the area to be built on and

demonstrating the beauty of the landscape, the

delegation walked into the village where they

were met by a large crowd wearing 'soc de poble'

tshirts and a spontaneous applause.

After walking up through the village adorned with

'Salvem Parcent' banners, the delegation held a

meeting with 'Veïns de Parcent' where after a

short speech the floor was given to members of

the public to speak. We heard a number of very

moving comments from people who will be

affected by the PAIs, all of whom feared for their

loss of identity, in addtion to the loss of their

lands and their environment. Michael Cashman

summed up the position of the MEPS assuring the

crowd, which numbered 160, that the Petitions

Committee had taken their comments very seriously

and promised to investigate and do all they can

for the people.

The delegation then had a meeting with the Town

Council, which also included representatives of

the builders involved in each of the three PAI.

After presentations which the press remarked left

the Town Hall looking like an estate agents, Michael

Cashman directed a question at the Mayoress, asking

how many houses were to be built and what would

be the increase in population. According to press

reports the Mayoress appeared flustered and left

it to a representative of the construction company to

reply for her, stating that the 1500 houses of PAI

'El Repla' represented a population increase of

4,500. Michael Cashman's comment was that this

appeared unsustainable for a present population of

just 1000.

As the delegation left the Town Hall they were

met with a display of umbrellas from the waiting

crowd, a symoblic gesture recalling the fateful

night when we were left outside in the torrential

rain whilst the Town Hall voted for the PAIs.

The visit has been covered by national and Catalan

television, with reports from Parcent going out

three nights running. We have also had widespread

press coverage in Spanish and local English press.

'Veïns de Parcent' would like to thank the delegation

from the Petitions Committee for their visit to

Parcent. We have been encouraged and heartened

by their visit and hope that the investigation and

subsequent report into our petition will help to

bring about the scrapping of the PAIs and the

draft general plan that includes them, allowing

Parcent to start again to plan for a future that

allows the village to grow whilst retaining it's

emblamatic and beautiful mountainsides.

We would also like to thank our friend and

neighbour for so kindly letting us use her house

for the meeting and for those who donated cakes

and refreshments .

2007-02-27T05:11:00.000-08:00

MEPS TO VISIT PARCENT

A delegation from the Petition's Committee

of the European Parliament is to visit

Parcent on March 1st. The visit to Parcent

and 9 other villages in Alicante Province

was proposed during the debate of our

petition in the Petition's Committee last

November.

The delegation, which aims to investigate

the current situation of abuses of urban

planning legislation and breaches of European

laws, is headed by the President of the

Committee, Mr Marcin Libicki. He is

accompanied by British Labour MEP, Michael

Cashman, Vice President of the Petition's Committee.

They will be arriving in Parcent on the afternoon

of thursday March 1st and will be met by 'Veïns

de Parcent' by the Cooperativa building

after 4.30 pm, after which we will host a meeting

for the delegation to talk with petitioners,

allowing people to explain their worries and

complaints about the three PAIs which were

provisionally approved by Parcent Town Hall

on 30th January 2006.

The MEPs will then attend a meeting with the

Town Hall after which they will head for Benissa

where a public meeting is to be held in the

Sede Universitaria building, Calle Purissima 57/59

from 7pm till 9pm.

We invite all members of 'Veïns de Parcent' and

all interested in the problems of urban planning

in Valencia and in particular Parcent to

meet us at the Cooperativa Building and

attend our meeting with the MEPS to

demonstrate our oppostion to the Town Hall's

plans and our thanks to the Petition's Committee

of the EU for coming to Parcent to investigate our

complaint.

2007-02-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

DEFENSOR DEL PUEBLO BACKS
VEÏNS DE PARCENT'S PETITION

Veïns de Parcent held a press conference on
friday 2nd February to announce the report
issued by the Defensor de Pueblo, the national
Ombudsman based in Madrid, into the
petition presented by our association and
backed with 1700 signatures.
The Defensor de Pueblo confirmed both the
findings and the resolution adopted in November
by the Valencian Ombudsman (Sindica de Grueges)
stating again that the three PAI provisionally approved
by Parcent Town Hall should be suspended due to
the lack of a favourable water report from the
Confederación Hidrografica de Jucar. The report
also confirmed that neither the Town Hall or the
Mancomunidad de Regentes (the local water board)
has the authority to give this guarantee and backs
the Sindicas suprise that the Town Hall were
happy to approve the PAI without such a report.
This advice is not only given to Parcent Town Hall but also
Conselleria de Territorio who are charged with
examing the plans for approval. We thus wait for
the response of the Town Hall and Conselleria to
this new rejection of the PAI by a state institution.
However as neither the Town Hall or Conselleria
have responded to the original Sindic de Greuges
report issued in November, with a deadline of
30-1-2007, we have little faith that they will take
any notice of this new backing for the petition of
Veïns de Parcent. We once again urge Parcent
Town Hall to listen, not only to the people of Parcent
but to the Sindic de Greuges, the Defensor del Pueblo,
the TSJCV and the European Union.

2007-02-26T09:55:00.000-08:00

UMBRELLAS UP ON ANOTHER RAINY NIGHT

200 people join Veïns de Parcent
to remember the night of30.1.2006 when
Parcent Town Hall voted to provisionally
approve the three PAI.

Fortunately the weather was not quite so
ferocious as a year ago but the umbrellas
remained up as a symbolic protest at how
we were shut out of the Town Hall in torrential
rain on the night of 30.1.2006

The demonstration was attended by over 200
people, a great turnout for a cold wet night.
We once again walked the streets of Parcent, this
time stopping to read out the notice of what the
Town Hall have failed to inform it's citizens.
Namely the judgements of the Sindic de Greuges,
recommending the suspension of the processing
of all three PAI due to the lack of a favourable
water report from the competent water authority
and the two autos from the TSJCV, Doctine of Parcent
suspending the PAI 'El Repla'.
We then returned to the plaza to find the tomb
of Parcent surrounded by candles and vultures and
after laying the flag of SALVEM PARCENT, the date
of death was revealed to be ?????? and the vultures
kicked away. We afirm there is life yet in our village,
our fight is gaining momentum and there is hope
that we may yet save our village from the threat
of massive urbanisation.

The evening ended with our stoical and faithful
supporters braving the cold to listen to the tape
of our petition hearing in Brussels. All were very
interested to hear the intervention of the Mayoress
of Parcent and the clear response from the Euro
MPs present in the Committee. A very different
story from the one painted by the Mayoress in
the press on her return from Brussels!!!

2007-01-28T08:29:00.001-08:00

ONE YEAR ON

Parcent se’n recorda.

El 30 de gener del 2006 fou la data de l’aprovació provisional dels desastrosos PAI i de l’emmascarament amb el concert previ. Ha plogut molt des d’aleshores, però algunes coses no s’han fet públiques com cal.
Per això, “Veïns de Parcent”, siga quin siga l’oratge, farà públic allò que no ha explicat l’Ajuntament.

Dimarts 30 de gener 2007
19:30 hores
a la plaça del poble

: escoltarem el debat complet al Parlament Europeu (en castellà)

: ens MANIFESTAREM recorreguent els carrers explicant en un bàndol les

dues “doctrines Parcent” i la resolució de la Síndica

No faltes i no t’oblides del paraigües, tan si plou com si no

Parcent remembers.

On the 30th of January 2006 the disastrous Pais were provisionally approved, along with the concierto previo which masks them. It has rained a lot since then but there are still things that have not properly been made public.
So, whatever the weather, Veïns de Parcent will tell you what the Town Hall has kept quiet.

Tuesday 30th January 2007
19:30
in the village square

: we will listen to the complete debate of our petition in the European Parliament

: we will demonstrate, explaining publicy the two “doctrinas Parcent” and the report from the Ombudsmen.

Do not miss it and bring your umbrella, come rain or shine!

Parcent se acuerda.

El 30 de enero de 2006 fue la fecha de la aprobación provisional de los desastrosos PAI y del enmascaramiento con el concierto previo. Ha llovido mucho desde entonces, pero hay cosas que no se han hecho públicas debidamente.
Por eso, “Veïns de Parcent”, sea cual sea la meteorología, hará público aquello que no ha explicado el Ayuntamiento.

Martes 30 de enero 2007
19:30 horas
en la plaza del pueblo

: escucharemos íntegro el debate del Parlamento Europeo (en castellano)
: nos MANIFESTAREMOS recorriendo las calles explicando en un bando

las dos “doctrinas Parcent” y la resolución de la Síndica

No faltes y no te olvides del paraguas, llueva o no

2007-01-28T08:07:00.000-08:00

ENVIRONMENT MINISTERCRISTINA
NARBONA ENCOURAGES VEÏNS DE
PARCENT TO CONTINUE THEIR
FIGHT AGAINST THE PAIS.

La ministra Cristina Narbona anima a
Veïns de Parcent a continuar su oposición
a los PAI

After visiting the offices of Ballester

Veïns de Parcent hurried to the Benidorm

water purifying plant where the Environment

Minister , Cristina Narbona was opening a

new installation. We were delighted when her

representative invited two of our members

to meet the Minister. She confirmed

immediately that she was aware of the case

of Parcent, commenting that the recent Tribunal

judgements in Valencia were changing things.

She encouraged us to continue in our fight to

overturn the three PAI and the concierto previo

in which they are masked, adding that such

social action has resulted in many Town Halls

withdrawing unsustainable and unpopular plans.

We informed the Minister that we thought this

was unlikley in the case of Parcent as unfortunately

our Town Hall neither listens to the continual

oppostion of it's citizens, nor the Ombudsmen who

has recommended the withdrawel of the plans for

lack of a favourable water report from the CHJ,

nor the TSJCV who have twice provisionally suspended

the PAI 'El Repla' , nor the European Parliament who

are due to visit Parcent shortly to investigate the

breaches of European legislation and the action of

the Town Hall in approving the PAI on the last

night of the already discredited law LRAU.

We hope Parcent Town Hall will take the Minister's

good advice and withdraw the PAI and the concierto

previo, as has been the case in other municipalities.

Juan Nieto, Las Provincias

El colectivo Veïns de Parcent se ha propuesto llegar a donde sea necesario con el objetivo de que el equipo de gobierno del PP, que lidera la alcaldesa Mari Carmen López, paralice los tres polémicos PAI y el concierto previo de Parcent. De este modo, se desplazaron ayer hasta la ciudad de Benidorm con el objetivo de reunirse con los representantes de la empresa Ballester, relacionada con Terres de l’Horta SL, mercantil que construirá el PAI de El Replà. Lo que iba a ser un encuentro con los representantes de la constructora, cambio de sentido al comprobar que la ministra de Medio Ambiente, Cristina Narbona se encontraba de visita en Benidorm. Sin pensárselo dos veces, los miembros de esta agrupación vecinal, se fueron en busca de Narbona con el objetivo de transmitirle la situación urbanística que está atravesando esta localidad del interior de la Marina Alta. El portavoz de la plataforma, Joan Carles Poquet, explicó que la ministra ‘‘recordaba el anterior encuentro que ocurrió en el Parlamento Europeo en Bruselas los últimos 27 y 28 de junio”. Según contó Poquet, la titular de Medio Ambiente subrayó la “importancia de los nuevos pronunciamientos del Tribunal Superior de Justicia” de la Comunitat Valenciana (TSJ) en materia urbanística, concluyendo que “muchas cosas están cambiando”. Narbona añadió, según Veïns de Parcent, que “desde su Ministerio no se puede hacer mucho, pues prácticamente no tiene competencias en este tema particular nuestro, pero sí ha reiterado su preocupación y su apoyo”. Respecto a la reunión con el grupo Ballester, Poquet comentó que “el objetivo era entrevistarse con el presidente, señor Andrés Ballester quien, según Orlando Torregrosa, director adjunto y asesor de prensa, no estaba presente”. Por parte de la propia inmobiliaria propuso una entrevista para la semana que viene una vez concertadas las agendas. Desde la asociación entregaron al asesor de prensa un pliego de las noticias que han aparecido a lo largo de este año de protesta del colectivo vecinal, además de la documentación gráfica, que, según la empresa ‘‘estudiaremos debidamente’’. La mercantil aclaró que el proyecto no implica recalificación de terreno, pues ya es urbanizable.

2007-01-28T06:59:00.000-08:00

VEÏNS DE PARCENT DEMONSTRATE
OUTSIDE THE OFFICES OF BALLESTER
IN BENIDORM, PROMOTER OF PAI
'EL REPLA'

Veïns de Parcent travelled to Benidorm
to demonstrate outside the offices
of Ballester, the promoter of the largest
of the three PAIs threatening Parcent.
After a concentration which attracted
the attention and support of many passers by
two representatives of our association
asked to speak to President, Andres Ballester.
We were received by the head of communications,
Orlando Torregrosa who regretted that Señor
Ballester was not present but offered to arrange
a meeting for Veïns de Parcent with the Directors
of Ballester, in early February. He also accepted
a bulging file of press cuttings of the over 400
press reports our activities have received over
the last year. We pointed out to Señor Torregrosa
that such bad publicity was not helpful for
his company. We also delivered a letter asking
Ballester to officially withdrawthe PAI 'El Repla'
on the grounds that it has report from the Ombudsmen
recommending it's supsension due to lack of
a favourable water report from the CHJ, the two
Tribual rulings provisionally suspending the
project and the possibility of action from the
European Parliament over breach of EU legislation.
We further asked for assurances that the 201,ooo
euros Ballester have handed to the Town Hall will
not be returnable, should the PAI be withdrawn
or suspended, by whatever body.
We await their response.
We would like to thank Señor Alfred Botella,
Diputado in the Cortes Valencianas for the
EU-Els Verds, L'Entesa for accompanying
us to this demonstration and for his continual
support in the Valencian Parliament.

2007-01-06T09:07:00.000-08:00

CARTA DE “VEÏNS DE PARCENT”
A LOS REYES MAGOS

Queridos Reyes Magos:

Este año hemos sido muy buenos ciudadanos. Siempre nos han dicho que hay que rebelarse contra las injusticias y hacerlo de manera constructiva, que la democracia es participativa y que hay muchas maneras cívicas de participar. Y así lo hemos hecho. Os lo explicamos. El equipo de gobierno de nuestro consistorio no sólo empezó el año imponiéndonos 1.800 nuevas casas entre 3 PAI, sino que además, amplió la barbaridad en su concierto previo, el cual pretende multiplicar la población por diez. Después, simplemente han dicho que es por el interés general y que se trata de desarrollo sostenible. Son palabras fáciles de pronunciar pero eso nadie se lo ha creído, claro. No podía ser de otra manera, nos hemos opuesto con toda la contundencia que la ciudadanía puede expresar: concentración espontánea el día de la aprobación de loa PAI, manifestación con 2.000 personas, caminatas reivindicativas, charlas, proyección de documentales, participación en otras manifestaciones más generales, presentación de 1.700 firmas a la Síndica de Greuges, otras tantas al Defensor del Pueblo, 3.390 al Parlamento Europeo, 528 más alegando al concierto previo, todas de gente mayor de edad del pueblo o con propiedades en él, hemos presentado un contencioso-administrativo, hemos hecho un pasacalle por la sostenibilidad, etc. En toda nuestra historia, nunca habíamos estado tan activos como sociedad.

Poco a poco, nuestras quejas han tenido su repercusión y las instituciones van apoyándonos. Hoy en día la Síndica de Greuges nos ha dado la razón, desaconsejando la aprobación de los 3 PAI y riñendo a los concejales que votaron a favor. En cuanto a la justicia, ha aparecido la “Doctrina Parcent”, es decir, la suspensión cautelar de uno de los PAI por razones de desarrollo sostenible. Este auto judicial, pionero a nivel nacional, ha tenido una enorme trascendencia. Y por lo que respecta a Europa, el otro día viajamos a Bruselas y de 6 eurodiputados nos han apoyado 5. Es decir, que las cosas van por buen camino.

Pero el Ayuntamiento no nos ha hecho ni caso. Es por eso que vamos a pediros ya el primer regalo. Pero no es para nosotros. Es para los cuatro concejales del equipo de gobierno: un “Sonotone”. A ver si al fin nos escuchan, como es la obligación de los gobernantes.

Además, el Ayuntamiento nos ha acusado de actuar de mala fe, de ser maliciosos, manipuladores e incluso vándalos. No estaría de más que les trajeseis a cada uno de ellos un cepillo de dientes para limpiarse la boca de tantas falsedades. Por cierto, ellos sí que han mentido, manipulado y han actuado de manera maliciosa como se ha ido demostrando en estos meses. Por eso quisiéramos que dejarais en la “casa del pueblo” una máquina de la verdad y así la gente podría ver cuán exageradas serían las oscilaciones en el papel.

Tampoco estaría mal que les trajerais una paleta, un rastrillo y un cubo de playa; por ver si construyendo castillos en la arena se les pasa la irreprimible vena constructora que parecen tener. O si con eso pensáis que no es suficiente, también podéis traerles el famoso “Monopoly”, que en ese juego se pueden hacer casas y hoteles sin informes e incluso, hacerse ricos y arruinar a los demás, pero de manera virtual.

Pero sobre todo, lo que les tenéis que traer, es carbón. Montañas de carbón bien negro. Y nada del dulce. Tanto carbón como casas insostenibles quieren construir. Y por favor, no olvidéis a los promotores de los 3 PAI, que ellos tampoco demuestran tener ningún sentido moral ni ético. Sí, ya sabemos que son empresas y van a por la pela, pero no estaría de más que alguna vez aplicaran espíritu navideño a su manera de trabajar, como sí lo han evidenciado otros promotores del pueblo.

¿Y para nosotros? Nosotros nos conformamos con que los 3 PAI dejen de existir y que la población tenga un verdadero desarrollo sostenible. Todo así volverá a la normalidad. Y claro, traednos a todos leyes favorecedoras del interés general y no del particular.

Pero, por si las cosas han de ir paso a paso, queremos que la “Doctrina Parcent” sea pronto un auto firme, que se pronuncie el Defensor del Pueblo, que cuando vengan los eurodiputados escuchen la voz del pueblo y la de la naturaleza, que la alcaldesa no vuelva nunca más a ser alcaldesa, igual que todos aquellos que deciden mandar imponiendo. Y por si acaso, tráenos silbatos por si tenemos que salir de nuevo a la calle, porque mientras esto dure, no nos podemos confiar nada. Conservadnos, por favor, el espíritu crítico, de justicia y de interés general.

Ah, y para cada uno de los que han colaborado en nuestras protestas, traedles todo aquello que pidan, sobre todo a la gente del pueblo, porque Parcent se ha comportado de manera inmejorable y se lo merece todo.

CARTA DE “VEÏNS DE PARCENT”
ALS REIS MÀGICS

Estimats Reis Màgics:

Enguany hem segut molt bons ciutadans. Sempre se’ns ha dit que cal rebel·lar-se contra les injustícies i fer-ho de manera constructiva, que la democràcia és participativa i que hi ha moltes maneres cíviques de participar. I així ho hem fet. Us ho expliquem. L’equip de govern del nostre consistori no sols va començar l’any imposant-nos 1.800 noves cases entre 3 PAI, si no que a més, va ampliar la barbaritat en el seu concert previ, el qual pretén multiplicar la població per deu. Després, simplement han dit que és per l’interés general i que es tracta de desenvolupament sostenible. Són paraules fàcils de pronunciar però això ningú s’ho ha cregut, clar. No podia ser d’altra manera, ens hem oposat amb tota la contundència que la ciutadania pot expressar: concentració espontània el dia de l’aprovació dels PAI, manifestació amb 2.000 persones, caminades reivindicatives, xerrades, projecció de documentals, participació en altres manifestacions més generals, presentació de 1.700 signatures a la Síndica de Greuges, altres tantes al Defensor del Pueblo, 3.390 al Parlament Europeu, 528 més al·legant al concert previ, totes de gent major d’edat del poble o amb propietats en ell, hem presentat un contenciós-administratiu, hem fet una cercavila per la sostenibilitat, etc. En tota la nostra història, mai havíem estat tan actius com a societat.

A poc a poc, les nostres queixes han tingut el seu ressò i les institucions van recolzant-nos. A hores d’ara la Síndica de Greuges ens ha donat la raó, desaconsellant l’aprovació dels 3 PAI i renyant als regidors que van votar a favor. Quant a la justícia, ha aparegut la “Doctrina Parcent”, és a dir, la suspensió cautelar d’un dels PAI per raons de desenvolupament sostenible. Aquest auto judicial, pioner a nivell nacional, ha tingut una enorme transcendència. I pel que fa a Europa, l’altre dia varem viatjar a Brussel·les i de 6 eurodiputats ens han recolzat 5. És a dir, que les coses van per bon camí.

Però l’Ajuntament no ens ha fet ni cas. És per això que anem a demanar-vos ja el primer regal. Però no és per a nosaltres. És per als quatre regidors de l’equip de govern: un “Sonotone”. A veure si a la fi ens escolten, com és l’obligació dels governants.

A més, l’Ajuntament ens ha acusat d’actuar de mala fe, de ser maliciosos, manipuladors i fins i tot vàndals. No estaria de més que els portareu a cadascun d’ells un raspall de dents per netejar-se la boca de tantes falsedats. Per cert, ells sí que han mentit, manipulat i han actuat de manera maliciosa, com s’ha anat demostrant en aquestos mesos. Per això voldríem que deixareu en la “casa del poble” una màquina de la veritat i així la gent podria veure com d’exagerades serien les oscil·lacions al paper.

Tampoc estaria malament que els duguereu una paleta, un rastrell i un poal de platja; per veure si construint castellets a la sorra se’ls passa la irreprimible vena constructora que semblen tindre. O si amb això penseu que no és prou, també podeu dur-los el famós “Monopoly”, que en eixe joc es poden fer cases i hotels sense informes i fins i tot, fer-se rics i arruïnar als demés, però de manera virtual.

Però sobretot, el que els heu de dur, és carbó. Muntanyes de carbó ben negre. I res del dolç. Tant de carbó com cases insostenibles volen construir. I per favor, no oblideu als promotors dels 3 PAI, que ells tampoc demostren tindre gens de sentit moral ni ètic. Sí, ja sabem que són empreses i van a per la pela, però no estaria de més que alguna vegada aplicaren esperit nadalenc a la seua manera de treballar, com sí ho han evidenciat altres promotors del poble.

I per a nosaltres? Nosaltres ens conformem amb que els 3 PAI deixen d’existir i que la població tinga un vertader desenvolupament sostenible. Tot així tornarà a la normalitat. I és clar, porteu-nos a tots lleis afavoridores de l’interés general i no del particular.

Però, per si les coses han d’anar a poc a poc, volem que la “Doctrina Parcent” siga prompte un auto ferm, que es pronuncie el Defensor del Pueblo, que quan vinguen els eurodiputats escolten la veu del poble i la de la natura, que l’alcaldessa no torne mai més a ser alcaldessa, igual que tots aquells que decideixen manar imposant. I per si de cas, dugueu-nos xiulets per si hem d’eixir de nou al carrer, perquè mentre açò dure, no ens podem confiar gens ni miqueta. Conserveu-nos, per favor, l’esperit crític, de justícia i d’interés general.

Ah, i per a cadascun dels que han col·laborat en les nostres protestes, porteu-los tot allò que demanen, sobretot a la gent del poble, perquè Parcent s’ha comportat de manera immillorable i s’ho mereix tot.

2007-01-04T14:08:00.000-08:00

HOT PRESS

SECOND TRIBUNAL
RULING SUSPENDS
PAI 'EL REPLA' IN
REPEAT OF THE
DOCTRINE OF PARCENT

Veins de Parcent with a copy of the Tribunal
ruling, in front of threatened mountainside.

VEINS DE PARCENT today received the
welcome news of the supsension
of the PAI 'El Repla'. This ruling was made
by the Superior Tribunal of Justice in
Valencia in response to the case brought
against the PAI by Veins de Parcent,
acting together with and under the name
of the Parcent opposition grouping
CDP (Democratic Coalition of Parcent).

The ruling duplicates the suspension ordered in
the case against the same PAI brought
by the residents group from the 'El Repla', the
now famous 'Doctrine of Parcent'
quoting the same arguments regarding
sustainable development.

We await the hearing of both cases,
for now secure that no building can go
ahead whilst the cases are before the
courts. We thank all the supporters of
Veins de Parcent who have contributed
financially to allow us to bring this case
and point out that donations are still
being gratefully received. (see details
on Veins de Parcent website, link on this
page).

2007-01-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS CARTOONS
VIÑETAS DE 2006

Even last winter about 2000
people came to the demo
--Look, Ismael, how they love
me in the village!
-- But, mayoress, it is against us
--Well, then, they are only "four
cats"

Just after spring
came, she sent
the local police to
prevent the
collection of
signatures.
'Of course, they
are vandals.
They were
putting graffiti on
papers. ''

With the heat of summer, the mayoress
thought that she could be the Saviour
of Parcent. Much more miraculous
than multiplying the loaves and fishes,
was to multiply the population by 10.
'Who says the Draft Plan isn’t
sustainable? '

In the autumn, the
harvest began:
The Ombudsman agreed
with us over the 3 PAIs,
the Court handed down
the "Parcent Doctrine",
Europe supported us…..
--It’s all the same to me. I
have already told a
reporter quite clearly:
"I’m in charge here and
they do what I say".

Cartoons published in
Levante with the following
article.

Alacant BALANCE URBANÍSTICOLas cuatro estaciones de Parcent Los vecinos reflejan en un cómic la lucha por frenar la ejecución de losplanes de las 1.800 casasA.G.A, ParcentUna mañana de invierno la alcaldesa de Parcent, MªCarmen López, se despertócon un buen presentimiento. No sabía porqué pero pensó que la historia delpueblo iba a cambiar. Más tarde sus amigos los constructores le hicieron unavisita y le informaron que a partir de ahora Parcent dejaría de ser un«poblucho» para convertirse en un gran municipio próspero y al que suspropios vecinos envidiarían. Los ciudadanos del próspero Parcent no tendríanmanos suficientes para contar los billetes pero a cambio tenían quehipotecar el tesoro más preciado del pueblo, sus montañas. MªCarmen no se lopensó dos veces. Prosperidad, dinero, envidiaÉ todas las propuestas legustaron y dijo: ¡Vamos allá!. Y allá fueron. El PP aprobó en solitario el30 de enero de 2006 la propuesta de los constructores. 1.800 casasdistribuidas en 2 millones de metros cuadrados en El Replà, La Solana y ElCantalar. Además, se dio cuenta de una propuesta de un nuevo concierto previo quepretende multiplicar nuestra población por 10. La lluvia y el frío noimpidió a más de 200 vecinos del pueblo estar en la calle protestando por laaprobación de los 3 PAI. Este fue el principio de Veïns de Parcent. Poco antes de la llegada de la primavera, el pueblo de 1.000 habitantesestaba ya más que dividido. Los que sí querían el desarrollo urbanístico delpueblo y los que «engañados» según MªCarmen, eran seguidores de Veïns deParcent. Engañados o no 2.000 personas acudieron a la manifestación encontra de las 1.800 casas. No contenta con los gritos de los «cuatro gatos»,Mª Carmen, decidió enviar a la plaza del pueblo a la Policía Local paraevitar que el colectivo recogiese firmas en contra del desarrollo de losPAI. Veïns de Parcent consigue enviar casi 3.400 firmas al Síndic de Greugesy 3.390 peticiones al Parlamento Europeo. Llegado el verano la cosa se tranquiliza. Cuando uno está de vacaciones losánimos se apaciguan. Precisamente por esta razón la alcaldesa, convencida deque el concierto previo es sostenible aunque multiplique la población por10, decretó su exposición pública para que se publicase en el DOGV enagosto. Afortunadamente para unos y desgraciadamente para otros supublicación se retrasó y las alegaciones se pudieron presentar enseptiembre. Mientras tanto un recurso de Veïns de Parcent contra elconsistorio es admitido por el Tribunal Superior de Justicia. Los días cortos y la caída de las hojas comenzaron con la llegada del otoño.La situación seguía igual aunque los ánimos estaban muy caldeados. MªCarmenparecía más segura que nunca en el pleno de principios de mes de octubre. Laoposición decide abandonar la sesión y Veïns de Parcent se solidariza conellos. Pudo ser el abandono de los contrarios y el apoyo de los favorablespresentes en la sala lo que motivó en MªCarmen un ansia de poder un poco máselevada de los normal llegando a propasar los límites democráticos. Laprimera edil de Parcent «invitó» a un periodista a salir de la sala paraevitar que la opinión pública no se enterase de las cosas que allí iban aacontecer. Los ciudadanos que habitaron el pueblo en el pasado jamás hubiesen llegado apensar que Parcent llegaría algún día a ser noticia en los medios decomunicación nacionales. Once meses después de la aprobación de las 1.800casas se produce un hecho sin precedentes y Parcent es el protagonista. ElTSJ, a través de la demanda de Veïns de Parcent, ordena la suspensióncautelar del PAI «El Replà» por considerarlo insostenible y por haber sidoaprobado careciendo el pueblo de una PGOU. La «promoción» que hicieron los medios nacionales de Parcent seguro queatrajo la atención del Parlamento Europeo. Deciden coordinar una reunión conel comisario de medio ambiente y también viajar al pueblo para estudiar másde cerca el problema. Llega de nuevo el frío del invierno. A punto de cumplirse un año de laaprobación del proyecto más polémico del municipio nadie sabe lo que pasará.Lo que si está claro es que Parcent nunca volverá a ser el mismo.

One morning in winter the mayoress of Parcent, Mari Carmen López, woke up with a good feeling. She didn't know why, but she thought that the history of the village was about to change. Later on her friends the constructors came to visit and told her that from now on Parcent would stop being a mere hamlet and become a great and prosperous town and that their very neighbours would envy it. The citizens of this prosperous Parcent would not have hands enough to count their money, but in exchange they would have to mortgage the most precious treasure of the village – it's mountains. Mari Carmen didn't think twice. Prosperity, money, envy – all their proposals pleased her and she said "Let's go!". And off they went. The PP approved the constructors' proposal on their own on 30th January of 2006. 1800 houses distributed over 2 million square metres in El Repla, La Solana and El Cantalar.

At the same time, the people realised that there was a proposal for a new draft plan that intended to multiply the population by 10. The rain and the cold didn't stop more than 200 villagers from protesting in the street against the approval of the 3 PAIs. This was the start of "Veīns de Parcent".

Shortly before spring came, the village of 1000 inhabitants was even more divided. Those who wanted the urban development of the village and those, "deceived" according to Mari Carmen, who were followers of Veīns de Parcent. Deceived or not, 2000 people came to the demonstration against the 1800 houses. Not happy with the cries of the "four cats", Mari Carmen decided to send the Local Police to the square to stop the group from collecting signatures against the development of the PAIs. However, Veīns de Parcent managed to send nearly 3400 signatures to the Valencian ombudsman and 3390 to the European Parilament.

With the arrival of summer, things quietened down. When one is on holiday, ones nerves are calmer. Precisely for this reason the mayoress, convinced that the draft plan was sustainable even though it would multiply the population by 10, decreed its public exhibition so that it could be published in the DOGV in August. Luckily for some and unluckily for others, the publication was delayed and complaints were presented against it in September. At the same time, a case by the Veīns de Parcent against the town hall was presented to the High Court in Valencia.

Shorter days and falling leaves revealed the beginning of autumn. The situation continued the same though there was still a lot of bad feelings around. Mari Carmen appeared ever more sure of herself at the council meeting at the beginning of October. The opposition decided to abandon the room and Veīns de Parcent also, in support. Maybe it was this departure by those against her, and the support of those in favour who remained that brought on Mari Carmen's sense of power over and above the normal, even to going beyond democratic limits. The mayoress of Parcent "invited" a reporter to leave the room to prevent the public from knowing what was about to happen there.

The citizens who lived in the village in the past would never have dreamt that Parcent would, one day, be front page news in the national media. Eleven months after the approval of the 1800 houses, something happened that was without precedent and Parcent was the protagonist. The High Court of Valencia, through the case brought by the Veīns de Parcent, ordered the preventative suspension of the El Repla PAI because they considered it unsustainable and because it had been approved without the village having a General Plan. The "promotion" that the national press made of Parcent without doubt attracted the attention of the European Parliament. They decided to co-ordinate a meeting with the Commissioner for the Environment and also to travel to the village to study the problems at close hand.

The cold of winter arrived again. Nearly one year after the approval of the most polemic project ever in the municipality, nobody knows what will happen. What is very clear is that Parcent will never be the same again.

[

2006-12-20T04:36:00.000-08:00

VEINS DE PARCENT WIN
THE SUPPORT OF THE
PETITIONS COMMITTEE.
OUR PETITION REMAINS
OPEN AND A DELEGATION
OF EURO MPS IS TO VISIT
PARCENT

VEINS DE PARCENT PRESENT
OUR PETITION IN THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
IN BRUSSELS

Members of Veïns de Parcent travelled
to Brussels on 28.11.2006 to present
our petition to the European Parliament.
We were invited to speak on behalf of
the 3390 petitioners who had backed
the petition to the Parliament presented
in April this year.

After presenting our case
the Mayoress of Parcent was invited to
speak, followed by the response from
representatives of the Environment
Commission and the Commission dealing
with Internal Market.
A number of Euro MPs then spoke in the debate,
including Joan Calabuig (Spanish PSOE),
Neil Parish (UK Conservative), Michael
Cashman (UK Labour), Sir Robert Atkin
(UK Conservative) and Ines Ayala (Spanish
PSOE). All the above mentioned MEPs
argued that the petition continue to be investigated,
with only the PP MEP from Spain speaking
against. Amongst the contributions were
comments from Neil Parish that the petition
be dealt with before the bulldozers arrived
and questions from Sir Robert Atkins to
the Mayoress of Parcent asking if it were
indeed true that she sent the police to stop
people signing the petition, a serious act
(detailed previously in this blog), and if it
were also true that the Counciller for urban
planning who voted for the PAIs was related
to the major property owner of the largest of
the three PAIs and at the time of the vote
also an agent acting for the developer.

Michael Cashman proposed that in addition to
keeping the petition open the Committee
seek an urgent meeting with the Environment
Commission to discuss the impact of such
plans on the Environment and why petitions
such as ours are not responded to with more
urgency. This meeting was agreed to by the
Chairman Mr Martin Libinski. Michael Cashman
further proposed that Parcent be included in
a fact finding mission to Alicante and Valencia
so the Euro MPs can see for themselves the
impact such developments will have on the area
and to further study the arguments put forward
in our petition. This visit was agreed to and
Veins de Parcent have now received written
confirmation that this visit will take place.

We want to thank all those who have supported us
in bringing our petition to the European Parliament
and the MEPs and staff in the Parliament who
spoke in our favour and continue to help us to
ensure that Parcent Town Hall and the developers
will be unable to proceed with developments that
break European law.

2006-11-13T07:15:00.000-08:00

PARCENT MAKES
NATIONAL NEWS
IN HISTORIC RULING

This weekend´s papers have
been full of news of Parcent.
The judgement from the Tribual
Superior de Valencia suspending
the PAI de Repla and calling into
question the policy of using PAI
as a means of determing urban
planning has been covered in
national newspapers and radio.
It has been referred to as
the 'Parcent doctrine' and is
been taken up by Valencian
politicians as ammunition in
their fight against the planning
policies of the PP led Valencian
Government.
'Veins de Parcent' are delighted
with these developments and
offer their thanks to the Association
of Neighbours and Residents of 'El
Repla' for their continuing fight
against not only the PAI affecting
their homes but the two remaining
PAI threatening Parcent and the
support they have always given
to all 'Veins de Parcent' initiatives.
Below is a copy of the press release
issued by the Association, written
by their President Mark Harrison, a
successful local author whose latest
mystery novel based in Parcent is
due to be published shortly.

'Veïns de Parcent' would like to
add that this is just one battle in
our continuing fight. Whilst
we welcome the suspension of
the PAI de Repla and the judgement
of the Tribunal we now turn our
attention to the PAIs affecting
El Cantalar and La Solana and
we will be continuing our efforts to
have all three PAI and the general
plan including them overturned
so that the village can start anew
to plan, with the open consultation of
all Parcent residents, a sustainable
future for our village.

Press release from the Asociación
de Vecinos y Residentes del Sector
Repla, Parcent.

Unprecedented Court Ruling Questions Planning Rules

The tiny village of Parcent in the Jalon Valley hit the headlines again this week. A landmark ruling from the Superior Court of Justice in Valencia has brought into question the whole principle of city planning procedures in the Valencian Community and raises doubts about the future of Valencia’s controversial planning laws.

The case was brought to the court by a group of mainly British and Dutch residents who were affected by a Programme of Integrated Performance (PAI) approved by the Council of Parcent in January this year, just days before LRAU was abolished. The plan to construct 1500 houses on mainly open countryside and pine forest would have effectively doubled the population of the village. Under LRAU, it would also have meant that existing residents of 50 homes constructed in the 1980’s would have been forced to pay for new infrastructure and forfeit land.

In a hard-hitting judgement, the court’s ruling suspends the plan for La Repla in its entirety. It accepts the residents’ contention that the PP controlled council was in breach of proper procedures, contravened residents’ rights, and would have left them defenceless against the developer, Terras de L’Horta SL (part of the Ballester Group).

The ruling goes much further, however. In a decision which is without precedent in Valencia, the court questions the “riotous” development of the Valencian Community through the use of PAI’s to reclassify millions of square metres of rustic land. It goes on to criticise, using Parcent as an example, the “disturbed development” of communities without proper and adequate planning.

The court affirms that development on this scale is excessive and requires a planning process that “weighs the integrated needs of the municipality and its sustainable development”. It suggests that PAI’s are not a suitable means to achieve this end and that it requires a much more careful and considered process that examines the sustainability of development and its impact on the community.

The suspended PAI for the Repla area of Parcent is one of three provisionally approved by the council in the face of massive opposition from both the Spanish and European residents of the village. All three plans were approved in the absence of a properly considered and consulted General Plan (PGOU) for the area. A draft PGOU was adopted by the council in July this year, but this was seen as little more than an attempt by the ruling PP to justify decisions which they had already taken.

The ruling follows last week’s highly critical report from the Valencian Ombudsman which criticised the council for approving the plans without a favourable report from the Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar (Water Authority) and called for all three PAI’s to be suspended. The court’s decision is a major blow for Parcent’s beleaguered PP councillors, led by Mayor, Mari Carmen Lopez Fernandez and Ismael Reig Poquet (brother of one of the major landowners in La Repla) who have persistently ignored the people of Parcent as expressed in two petitions signed my more than half the population.

Commenting on behalf of the residents of La Repla, Mark Harrison said:

“I am delighted by the decision. It vindicates our claim that the town hall acted improperly by rushing through plans for urbanisation on a massive scale. The decision offers hope to all those people in Parcent, including many of our Spanish neighbours, who have campaigned against the destruction of vast areas of beautiful countryside.

Perhaps now, finally, the council will think again. Instead of exploiting Valencia’s unjust planning laws, usurping people’s rights and working hand-in-hand with the developers, they should start afresh by listening to what the people say. If that happens then this will be a victory for democracy – something that has been sadly lacking in Parcent for the past four years.”
ENDS

2006-11-12T04:36:00.000-08:00

HUNDRED ‘PARCENT’ APPROVAL

Residents get ombudsman’s backing to block overbuilding
By Roy Wickman

Parcent residents fighting massive building plans in the village believe they have won a major battle this week.
A report by the Valencia Region ombudsman has backed their complaints that the three ‘PAI’ urbanisation development projects are unsustainable.
The projects aim to build 1,800 houses on the hillsides around the town, which would quadruple the village’s population. But the report calls on the Valencia government to turn down the development plans because there is no favourable report from the Júcar water confederation guaranteeing drinking water supply for the increased population.
The lobby group Veïns de Parcent against the development plans held a press conference on Wednesday insisting the independent report on complaints about the projects must now be taken into account. Residents have sent the ombudsman’s results to the council, the Valencia Region planning department, the environment ministry and the Júcar water board.
In the meantime, the Veïns association has called on the authorities to suspend judgement while the European Commission considers the case.
Lobby group member Jacqueline Cotterill said: “This is a very important judgement for Veïns de Parcent, with the public backing of an impartial ombudsman and vindication of the collectives continuing to fight against the plans.
“We feel that our association is a very good example of the effectiveness of local campaigning and how British residents are working alongside their Spanish neighbours to protect their rights and environment.”
rwickman@cbnews.es

2006-11-11T03:04:00.000-08:00

MORE GREAT NEWS FOR
PARCENT.

The Tribunal Superior de Justicia
Valenciano has supspended the PAI
'El Repla' until a hearing takes
place into the case bought by the
association of property owners. In a
landmark judgement the Tribunal
questioned not only the case
bought before them but the urban
planning policy being carried out
by the Valencian Government saying
that such plans are not compatible
with sustainable development.

Un tribunal cuestiona la política urbanística valenciana al paralizar unplan de 1.500 casas

La resolución judicial dice que el urbanismo sin planificación impide el desarrollo sostenible
SARA VELERT - Valencia EL PAÍS - España - 11-11-2006

La urbanización de millones de metros cuadrados de suelo al margen de los planes generales de ordenación urbana no es compatible con un desarrollo sostenible. Así lo advierte el Tribunal Superior de Justicia valenciano en un auto sin precedentes que paraliza un plan urbanístico en Parcent, una localidad alicantina de un millar de habitantes que, con 1.496 viviendas nuevas como mínimo, triplicaría su censo de población. El tribunal afirmaque una actuación de esta dimensión requiere una planificación que pondere"las necesidades integrales del municipio, y su sostenible desarrollo". La resolución judicial no sólo cuestiona el desaforado desarrollo urbanísticode la Comunidad Valenciana a golpe de programas de actuación integrada (PAI) que reclasifican millones de metros cuadrados de suelo rústico. El autocritica en general, a través del ejemplo de Parcent, los crecimientos desmesurados de los municipios sin una planificación adecuada.La Sala de lo Contencioso-Administrativo del Tribunal Superior de Justicia(TSJ) valenciano suspende cautelarmente un PAI aprobado el pasado 30 de enero por el Ayuntamiento de Parcent, gobernado por el PP, y su adjudicacióna la empresa Terra de L'Horta, SL. El plan prevé el desarrollo de un millón de metros cuadrados y la construcción de 1.496 viviendas. El auto notificado ayer sostiene que ordenar esa superficie con un PAI "es excesivo, ya que una actuación de tal naturaleza exigiría una instrumentación de carácter más general, donde pudieran ponderarse las necesidades integrales del municipio y su sostenible desarrollo". En esa línea, destaca que "se trata de un municipio de poco más de 1.000 habitantes y la actuación cuando menos pretende integrar una población que duplica este número".Parcent todavía se rige por normas urbanísticas subsidiarias de principiosde los años noventa, ya que su plan general de ordenación urbana (PGOU) estáen redacción. El Ayuntamiento ha aprobado al margen del PGOU otros PAI y ha ignorado las protestas de la plataforma vecinal de Parcent contra un desarrollo urbanístico que elevaría a 10.000 los habitantes de este pequeño pueblo.Una veintena de ciudadanos británicos que residen en la zona afectada por el PAI de El Replà recurrieron la aprobación y pidieron la suspensión cautelar del proyecto, al considerar que se vulneran sus derechos como propietariosde casas consolidadas desde hace años y con las licencias en regla. El diseño del proyecto no implica el derribo de sus casas, pero sí de garajes, piscinas o jardines. La ejecución del PAI, además, supone un nuevo repartode cargas urbanísticas que deberán pagar en metálico o en terrenos. El tribunal, que no entra en el fondo de la cuestión, apoya la suspensióncautelar porque en la tramitación del PAI "se ha prescindido" de trámites esenciales de la normativa urbanística, y hasta un 40% de los propietariosdel sector afectados no fueron avisados del proyecto, lo que comporta una clara indefensión. El Ayuntamiento, además, hizo caso omiso de un informe que encargó al Consejo Jurídico Consultivo de la Comunidad Valenciana, y que instaba a detener el PAI ante las irregularidades en su tramitación, como recoge el recurso presentado por los abogados Jaume Sendra, Gisela Giner,Jonathan Lambert y Bernardo Hernández, asesores también de la organización Abusos Urbanísticos No. Finalmente, el auto destaca que el PAI no es el instrumento adecuado paraejecutar el importante crecimiento previsto en Parcent. En la ComunidadValenciana son decenas los municipios que han aprobado o proyectan crecimientos que multiplican su población y reclasifican suelo rústico noprevisto en sus planes generales de ordenación urbana. La Comisión Europea ha dado un ultimátum a la Generalitat para que cambie la legislación urbanística, que no se ajusta a las directivas comunitarias y ha llevado aBruselas las quejas de 15.000 afectados en situación similar a la de losvecinos de Parcent. Los PAI "han sustituido en la práctica los planes generales, que son los que marcan las directrices del desarrollo", destaca el abogado Jaume Sendra, que considera que el auto del TSJ valenciano supone"un punto y aparte" frente al "desarrollo salvaje" sin protección suficientede los derechos de los ciudadanos y del interés general. El urbanismo insostenible se extiende también por otras autonomías, con proyectos como el de Las Navas del Marqués, donde un juez ha paralizado las talas de pinos en una zona en la que un promotor pretende construir un complejo urbanístico de 1.600 chalés, hotel y campos de golf y ha talado 5.000 pinos en zona protegida. La Junta de Castilla y León también dio luz verde a la construcción del Parque Arlanzón, en el municipio del mismo nombre, y que incluye 640 chalés, hotel, campo de tiro y piscina cubierta, entre otras instalaciones. De las 220 hectáreas de suelo público, 76 están protegidas como monte público y lugar de interés de la Unión Europea.

2006-11-09T03:26:00.000-08:00

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES REPORTING
ON RECOMMENDATION OF
SINDICA DE GREUGES TO
SUSPEND THE BUILDING PLANS
IN PARCENT

PRENSA 9.11.2006

LEVANTE
URBANISMO
La Síndica de Greuges exige a Parcent que suspenda los PAI por no tener agua garantizada

La institución reprocha al consistorio que necesita un informe de la CHJ que garantice el suministro a las 1.800 nuevas casas.La defensora tacha de irresponsable el apoyo de los ediles del PP a los planes.

Cèsar Palazuelos,
Parcent

La Síndica de Greuges ha dado un espaldarazo a la asociación Veïns de Parcent a través de la contestación que la institución ha realizado a las quejas presentadas por los vecinos que están en contra de los tres PAI que construirán 1.800 nuevas viviendas en una población que no supera los 1.000 habitantes. «Esta institución quiere llamar la atención del Ayuntamiento de Parcent y la Conselleria de Territorio para que no se apruebe este macroproyecto urbanístico sin que se acredite la existencia de recursos hídricos suficientes». Acreditación que por el momento no ha tenido lugar. En este sentido, la defensora del pueblo valenciano reprocha al consistorio gobernado por la popular Mari Carmen López que «sin el informe favorable de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Xúquer (CHJ), esta institución no entiende cómo los miembros de la corporación -en referencia a los cuatro concejales del PP que apoyaron los planes- han podido desplegar un ejercicio responsable del voto sin conocer cuestiones tan trascendentales como si existe agua suficiente». De este modo, la Síndica en funciones, Emilia Caballero, no acepta el informe de la Comunidad de regantes que fue remitido por el ayuntamiento y en el que se aseguraba «que se cuenta con los caudales suficientes para atender a los futuros desarrollos incluso muy por encima de los previstos en los tres planes parciales que nos ocupan». Es más, para la Síndica «la obligatoriedad de acreditar la existencia de recursos hídricos suficientes mediante un informe vinculante de la CHJ resulta justificada por la gravedad de la situación en la que se encuentra la Cuenca del Xúquer, sin apenas reservas de agua». La capacidad de dicha cuenca está, según la misma institución, al 11,7%, unas cifras que «resultan verdaderamente alarmantes y deben ser tenidas en cuenta por el Ayuntamiento de Parcent y la Conselleria de Territorio». El anuncio de la respuesta de la Síndic lo hizo ayer el portavoz de la asociación Veïns de Parcent, Joan Carles Poquet, quien aseguró que «ahora podemos afirmar con rotundidad que estos PAI son ilegales» por lo que pidió «un proceso que comience de cero». En este sentido, desde la entidad conservacionista consideran que el dictamen de la Síndica, que es «un apoyo de una gran magnitud y reafirma nuestra lucha», puede servir en caso de que el ayuntamiento rechace finalmente los planes urbanísticos. «Podría ayudarnos para no tener que indemnizar a los promotores». Unos constructores que dieron 300.000 euros al ayuntamiento precisamente para que compre el agua que debe abastecer a los PAI y sobre la que ahora la defensora del pueblo ha dicho que no está asegurada.

La Síndic insta al Consell a que vete PAI sin el informe del agua
E. M. - Alicante
EL PAÍS - 09-11-2006

La Síndic de Greugues en funciones, Emilia Caballero, insta al Ayuntamiento de Parcent (Marina Alta) y la Consejería de Territorio a que no autoricen tres macrourbanizaciones en el municipio (en total, 1.8000 casas), "sin que se acredite la existencia de recursos hídricos suficientes". Caballero "no entiende" cómo los concejales han aprobado el proyecto "sin conocer cuestiones tan trascendentales como si existe agua suficiente para abastecer las necesidades derivadas de estos tres programas de actuación integrada".
El Ayuntamiento presentó sólo un informe de la Comunidad de Regantes en el que aseguraba tener suficientes caudales, pero la Síndic recuerda que la Ley de Aguas detalla que debe ser la confederación competente en esta materia.
La contestación de la Síndic a la Plataforma Vecinos de Parcent, que presentó 271 quejas, 200 firmadas por residentes del municipio, a propósito de los tres PAI aprobados por el Ayuntamiento de la localidad, presidido por el PP, en enero de este año, concluye recomendando al Ayuntamiento y a la Consejería de Territorio que "se acuerde la suspensión de la tramitación de los programas El Replà, El Cantalar y La Solana, y que no se aprueben mientras no haya un informe favorable de la Confederación del Júcar".
Estos proyectos en cuestión se levantarían sobre una superficie de dos millones de metros cuadrados y conlleva 1.800 nuevas viviendas. La Plataforma advierte de que de ejecutarse estas urbanizaciones la población residente en Parcent se elevaría a 10.200, frente a los 1.050 habitantes actuales. Un crecimiento "a todas luces insostenible", según el colectivo. La plataforma apunta que estos programas urbanísticos son rechazados por informes técnicos.

Las Provincias
La Confederación del Júcar no ha acreditado que haya agua suficiente para 1.800 nuevas casas

La decisión del PP de dar vía libre a 1.800 nuevas casas en Parcent sin saber si habrá suficiente agua para abastecer a la gente que allí residirá nadie lo entiende. Este macroproyecto urbanístico no ha obtenido el informe favorable de la CHJ y el Síndic de Greuges recomienda a Ayuntamiento y Consell que suspendan estos proyectos.
JUAN NIETO/ BENISA

‘‘Estimamos oportuno recomendar al Ayuntamiento de Parcent y a la Conselleria de Territorio y Vivienda que se acuerde la suspensión de la tramitación de los programas de actuación integrada de El Replà, El Cantalar y la Solana y no se aprueben definitivamente hasta que no se obtenga el informe favorable de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar que acredite que hay recurso hídricos suficientes’’. Así de contundente ha contestado la Síndica de Greuges, Emilia Caballero, a las 1.700 quejas remitidas por los vecinos de Parcent que están en contra de que se desarrollen casi 2 millones de metros cuadrados y se construyan 1.800 nuevas casas en este municipio. Los programas urbanísticos están pendientes de la aprobación definitiva de Territorio. Coincidiendo con el Día Mundial del Urbanismo, la plataforma vecinal Veïns de Parcent convocó ayer a la prensa con el objetivo de informar sobre la respuesta dada por el Síndic de Greuges de la Comunitat referente a las 1.700 quejas presentadas por Veïns de Parcent. Negligencia Según el portavoz de la asociación, Joan Carles Poquet, el organismo valenciano ha tildado de “negligente” la actuación del gobierno local por lo que “la Síndica se ha mostrado en claro desacuerdo a la política urbanística que pretenden llevar a cabo el concejal de Urbanismo, Ismael Reig y la alcaldesa María del Carmen López”. Poquet matizó que las razones esgrimidas por la asociación para que se paralicen los proyectos urbanísticos son muchas, pero antes de examinar e nuestros argumentos, la Síndica solicitó al Ayuntamiento de Parcent una copia del informe de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar, que exige la Ley de Aguas, para comprobar si se podría garantizar que hay recursos hídricos suficientes para satisfacer las demandas de estos proyectos urbanísticos. La sorpresa de la Síndica llegó, explicó Poquet, cuando comprobó que no existe tal documento, por lo que no está garantizado el suministro de agua de las futuras viviendas. Para la Síndica, esta razón es más que suficiente para considerar que “no es necesario estudiar el resto de alegaciones por lo que desaconsejamos la tramitación de los tres PAI”, dijo Poquet. Emilia Caballero asegura en la contestación a los vecinos que “el Ayuntamiento se excusó en un informe de la Comunidad de Regantes que asegura que cuenta con caudales suficientes. Pero este órgano carece de competencia legal alguna por lo que se hace imprescindible un informe de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar”. Además, la Síndica recuerda “la gravedad de la situación en la que se encuentra la cuenca del Júcar, que según el Ministerio de Medio Ambiente a fecha de 24 de octubre, está tan sólo al 11,7% de su capacidad”. Según el portavoz de Veïns de Parcent, las palabras de la Síndica son que “esta institución quiere llamar la atención del Consistorio y de la Conselleria de Territori i Vivenda para que no se apruebe este macroproyecto urbanístico’’. Para los vecinos la contestación de la Síndica de Greuges confirma que el Ayuntamiento ha actuado de forma ‘‘negligente’’.

OPINIóN de los Vecinos
‘‘Es una actuación urbanística ilegal’’

El portavoz vecinal, Joan Carles Poquet, aseguró que el Consistorio ha antepuesto los intereses de las promotoras a los de los vecinos. Poquet recordó que “el pleno en el que se aprobaron de manera provisional los tres PAI’s se convocó un día antes que se eliminara la LRAU y con una fuerte oposición vecinal”. Desde Veïns de Parcent matizaron que “ahora podemos decir bien alto que los tres PAI’s del PP son ilegales por lo que solicitamos al Ayuntamiento y al Consell que los rechace y se inicie un nuevo proceso de ordenación urbanos que garantice un crecimiento sostenible”. Como colectivo vecinal se mostraron “contentos e ilusionados porque una institución con tanto prestigio nos ha dado la razón”. Ahora, se espera que al menos el Consell haga caso de la recomendación de la Síndica y paralice los planes de actuación integrada que multiplicará por diez la población de Parcent. Si el Consell decide paralizar los tres PAI’S, Veïns de Parcent considera que “no se debería de indemnizar a las promotoras ya que se convertirían en proyectos ilegales

2006-11-08T09:00:00.001-08:00

'VEÏNS DE PARCENT' RECEIVE
REPORT FROM SINDIC DE
GREUGES, VALENCIAN
OMBUDSMAN, IN RESPONSE
TO THE PETITION LODGED
BY 1700 PEOPLE IN APRIL
press conference 8.11.2006

Veïns de Parcent have received
the report issued by the Sindic de
Greuges in response to our petitions
regarding the provisional approval
of the three PAIs at the council
meeting of 30.1.2006.

The Sindica de Greuges, Sra Emilia
Caballero Alvarez, has focused on
one of many irregularities detailed
in our petition, namely water and has
issued a very clear statement.
After discussing the laws governing
the necessity for a favourable water
report from the Confederaciòn
Hidrografica de Jucar and the
negative response from Parcent
Town Hall and Conselleria in Alicante
when asked to supply this document,
the Sindica concludes that without
it the PAI should be suspended.

Veïns de Parcent are delighted that
such a prestigous, legal institution
with the remit of defending citizen's
rights as the Sindic de Greuges
have supported our petition and
we now hope and trust that
Parcent Town Hall and Conselleria
take note of the Sindic's judgement
and announce the suspension of
the processing of the three PAI
in question in Parcent.

COPY OF REPORT FROM
SINDICA DE GREUGES
================
Ref. Queja nº 060429
================

Estimada Sra.:

En relación con la queja que nos confió, se ha dirigido resolución al Excmo. Ayuntamiento de Parcent y a la Conselleria de Territorio y Vivienda de la Generalitat Valenciana, en los siguientes términos:

“Dña. Jacqueline Claire Cotterill y numerosos vecinos más se dirigen a esta Institución manifestando que el Ayuntamiento de Parcent, en sesión plenaria de fecha 30 de enero de 2006, aprobó provisionalmente los tres programas de actuación integrada arriba referenciados, a pesar de la existencia de diversos informes técnicos y jurídicos en contra, concretamente:

a) Informe del Consejo Jurídico Consultivo de la Comunidad Valenciana de fecha 8 de junio de 2005.
b) Informe del Secretario de la Corporación de fecha 26 de enero de 2006.
c) Concierto Previo firmado por el Ayuntamiento y la Conselleria en julio de 2003, donde, al parecer, se desaconsejó cualquier tipo de construcción en la zona del Cantalar y el Coll de Rates (incluida en el PAI “El Replà”)
d) Estudio de impacto ambiental encargado por el Ayuntamiento en el año 2002.

Entre otros muchos motivos de oposición, los vecinos afectados nos indican que estos tres programas van a afectar a un total de 1.939.888 m2, donde se proyecta la construcción de unas 1.800 viviendas, y todo ello, sin contar ni siquiera el municipio de Parcent con un Plan General de Ordenación Urbana, ya que en la actualidad rigen unas Normas Subsidiarias que no están homologadas.

Con carácter previo al examen de las distintas razones aducidas por los vecinos para oponerse a la aprobación de estos tres programas de actuación integrada, solicitamos al Ayuntamiento que nos remitiera una copia del informe favorable de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar por el que se acreditara la existencia de recursos hídricos suficientes para satisfacer las demandas requeridas por estos proyectos urbanísticos (art. 25.4 RDL 1/2001, 20 de julio, Ley de Aguas, modificado por la disposición final 1.3 de la Ley 11/2005, de 22 junio, de Modificación del Plan Hidrológico Nacional).
En contestación a esta importante cuestión, el Ayuntamiento nos dice que dicho informe “se requiere de forma previa a la aprobación definitiva de los planes. En nuestro caso, dicha aprobación corresponde a la Comunidad Autónoma. De hecho, los acuerdos adoptados por el Pleno imponen a los adjudicatarios la solicitud de todos los informes sectoriales preceptivos. Así, esta Corporación entendió que la Ley no exige en absoluto el informe favorable de forma previa a una mera aprobación provisional y, además, condicionada, de planeamiento.”

Partiendo de estos elementos fácticos, al parecer, en la actualidad, los tres programas de actuación integrada no han obtenido el informe favorable de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar y se encuentran pendientes de aprobación definitiva por la Conselleria de Territorio y Vivienda.

Esta Institución quiere llamar la atención del Ayuntamiento de Parcent y la Conselleria de Territorio y Vivienda para que no se apruebe este macro proyecto urbanístico sin que se acredite la existencia de recursos hídricos suficientes.

Sin el informe favorable de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Jucar, esta Institución, dicho sea con todos los respetos, no entiende cómo los miembros de la Corporación –los concejales del Ayuntamiento- han podido desplegar un ejercicio responsable del voto a la hora de acordar la aprobación provisional, sin conocer cuestiones tan trascendentales para emitir un voto afirmativo o negativo, como si existe agua suficiente para abastecer las necesidades derivadas de estos tres programas de actuación integrada.

El Ayuntamiento nos dice en su informe que “la Comunidad de Regantes –Institución dependiente de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar-, ha asegurado que se cuenta con los caudales suficientes para atender los futuros desarrollos incluso muy por encima de los previstos en los tres planes parciales que nos ocupan”.

No podemos compartir esta postura municipal. El art. 25.4 de la Ley de Aguas exige claramente que sea la Confederación Hidrográfica quien emita el informe favorable y no una comunidad de regantes, la cual carece de competencia legal alguna en este sentido.

Respecto al momento procedimental en el que jurídicamente resulta obligado obtener el informe de la Confederación Hidrográfica, recordemos que la Ley de Aguas, cuando exige este informe en el art. 25.4, habla de aprobación de actos o planes sin distinguir entre aprobación provisional o definitiva, por lo que, aplicando el viejo aforismo “donde la Ley no distingue no debemos distinguir”, esta Institución aconseja la conveniencia, apelando al sentido común, de que se obtenga el informe favorable del organismo de cuenca antes de que el Ayuntamiento adopte el acuerdo de aprobación provisional.

Efectuamos esta apreciación para manifestar que el deseo de esta Institución no es, en modo alguno, sustituir, desplazar o entorpecer el ejercicio legítimo de la competencia que ostenta el Ayuntamiento de Parcent y la Conselleria de Territorio y Vivienda para decidir la aprobación o el rechazo de este proyecto urbanístico.

Nuestra intervención pretende coadyuvar y colaborar con ambas Administraciones Públicas, manifestando todas aquellas cuestiones que, a nuestro juicio, deben ser tenidas en consideración para garantizar la legalidad, acierto y oportunidad de las decisiones administrativas que todavía se encuentran pendientes de adopción, esto es, la aprobación definitiva de los tres programas de actuación integrada.

Asimismo, esta Institución quiere dejar constancia de que en ningún momento se pretende impedir o dificultar la construcción de las viviendas que necesite el municipio de Parcent para garantizar su desarrollo económico y social, sino que lo que se pretende, como no podría ser de otra manera, es controlar la actuación de las Administraciones Públicas para que se respete la normativa urbanística y ambiental y, en definitiva, que las decisiones públicas se ajusten a todas las exigencias legales.

Entre estas exigencias legales, hay que notar que resulta de todo punto necesario obtener, antes de acordar la aprobación definitiva de los programas de actuación integrada “El Replà”, “El Cantalar” y “La Solana”, el informe favorable de la Confederación Hidrográfica para acreditar la existencia de recursos hídricos suficientes para satisfacer las demandas requeridas por este importante proyecto urbanístico (art. 25.4 RDL 1/2001, 20 de julio, Ley de Aguas):

“Las Confederaciones Hidrográficas emitirán informe previo, en el plazo y supuestos que reglamentariamente se determinen, sobre los actos y planes que las Comunidades Autónomas hayan de aprobar en el ejercicio de sus competencias, entre otras, en materia de medio ambiente, ordenación del territorio y urbanismo, espacios naturales, pesca, montes, regadíos y obras públicas de interés regional, siempre que tales actos y planes afecten al régimen y aprovechamiento de las aguas continentales o a los usos permitidos en terrenos de dominio público hidráulico y en sus zonas de servidumbre y policía, teniendo en cuenta a estos efectos lo previsto en la planificación hidráulica y en las planificaciones sectoriales aprobadas por el Gobierno.

Cuando los actos o planes de las Comunidades Autónomas o de las entidades locales comporten nuevas demandas de recursos hídricos, el informe de la Confederación Hidrográfica se pronunciará expresamente sobre la existencia o inexistencia de recursos suficientes para satisfacer tales demandas.

El informe se entenderá desfavorable si no se emite en el plazo establecido al efecto.

Lo dispuesto en este apartado será también de aplicación a los actos y ordenanzas que aprueben las entidades locales en el ámbito de sus competencias, salvo que se trate de actos dictados en aplicación de instrumentos de planeamiento que hayan sido objeto del correspondiente informe previo de la Confederación Hidrográfica.”

Por su parte, el art. 19.2 de la Ley valenciana 4/2004, de 30 de junio, de Ordenación Territorial y Protección del Paisaje (en adelante, LOTPP) dispone que “la implantación de usos residenciales, industriales, terciarios, agrícolas u otros que impliquen un incremento del consumo de agua, requerirá la previa obtención de informe del organismo de cuenca competente, o entidad colaboradora autorizada para el suministro, sobre su disponibilidad y compatibilidad de dicho incremento con las previsiones de los planes hidrológicos, además de la no afectación o menoscabo a otros usos existentes legalmente implantados.”

Este precepto autonómico, reformado en la LOTPP a través de la disposición adicional 8 de Ley 16/2005, de 30 diciembre, Urbanística Valenciana, parece introducir la posibilidad de que el informe de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar pudiera ser sustituido o desplazado por el redactado por una “entidad colaboradora autorizada para el suministro”.

Sin embargo, el art. 41.1 del Decreto 67/2006, de 19 de mayo, Reglamento de Ordenación y Gestión Territorial y Urbanística, aclara la cuestión al matizar que el informe de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar es insustituible, como no podría ser de otra manera para no vulnerar la competencia estatal en materia de aguas. Además del informe de la Confederación, si se quiere, se podría obtener otro informe emitido por la llamada “entidad colaboradora autorizada para el suministro”.

El referido art. 41.1 señala que “la implantación de usos residenciales, industriales, terciarios u otros que impliquen un incremento del consumo de agua, requerirá la previa obtención de un informe del organismo de cuenca competente. Asimismo, se podrá obtener informe de una entidad colaboradora autorizada para el suministro. El contenido de estos informes deberá determinar la cantidad y calidad de los recursos hídricos disponibles para dicha actuación.”

La obligatoriedad de acreditar la existencia de recursos hídricos suficientes mediante un informe vinculante de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar, al margen de venir exigida por la Ley de Aguas, también resulta justificada por la gravedad de la situación en la que se encuentra la Cuenca del Júcar, sin apenas reservas de agua.

El Ministerio de Medio Ambiente ha publicado con fecha 24 de octubre de 2006 unos datos que son escalofriantes. La reserva hidráulica está al 40,5% de su capacidad total, encontrándose la Cuenca del Júcar sólo al 11,7%. Estas cifras resultan verdaderamente alarmantes y deben ser tenidas en cuenta por el Ayuntamiento de Parcent y la Conselleria de Territorio y Vivienda.

Finalmente, antes de concluir queremos señalar que, aunque esta Institución carezca de competencias legales para dirigir recomendaciones a la Administración General del Estado (art. 12 Ley 11/1988. de 26 de diciembre, del Síndic de Greuges), en este caso, al Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y a la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar, ya que las mismas corresponden al Defensor del Pueblo del Estado, no obstante, remitiremos una copia de la presente resolución para su conocimiento y efectos oportunos, ya que al no haberse solicitado el informe a la Confederación, se están desconociendo las competencias exclusivas del Estado en materia de aguas.

En virtud de todo cuanto antecede, y atendiendo a las consideraciones expuestas en punto a la defensa y efectividad de los derechos y libertades comprendidos en los Títulos I de la Constitución y del Estatuto de Autonomía de la Comunidad Valenciana, de conformidad con lo dispuesto en el 29.1 de la Ley 11/1988, de 26 de diciembre, reguladora de esta Institución, estimamos oportuno recomendar al Ayuntamiento de Parcent y a la Conselleria de Territorio y Vivienda que, en el ámbito de sus respectivas competencias, se acuerde la suspensión de la tramitación de los programas de actuación integrada “El Replà”, “El Cantalar” y “La Solana”, y no se aprueben definitivamente, mientras no se obtenga el informe favorable de la Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar acreditativo de la existencia de recursos hídricos suficientes.

Lo que se le comunica para que, en el plazo máximo de un mes, nos informe si acepta estas recomendaciones o, en su caso, nos ponga de manifiesto las razones que estime para no aceptarlas, y ello, de acuerdo con lo prevenido en el art. 29 de la Ley 11/1988, reguladora de esta Institución.

Para su conocimiento, le hago saber, igualmente, que, a partir del mes siguiente a la fecha en la que se ha dictado la presente resolución, ésta se insertará en la página web de la Institución.”

Una vez recibamos el preceptivo informe al respecto, de nuevo nos pondremos en contacto con Vd.

Atentamente le saluda,

Fdo.: Emilia Caballero Álvarez Síndica de Greuges e.f. de la Comunitat Valenciana

2006-11-08T08:53:00.000-08:00

ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN LEVANTE IN
RESPONSE TO PARCENT MAYORESS
WRITTEN BY 'VEINS DE PARCENT
SPOKESPERSON J. C. POQUET

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF GABRIEL MIRO CAME BACK TO PARCENT?

What would happen if today the gentleman Sigũenza, the alter ego ofGabriel Miró – traveller, lover of the countryside and local customs –returned to Parcent? What story would he tell afterwards in "DelVivir" (On Life, that novel about our village) and in "Años y leguas"(Years and leagues – the second of his books that refers to Parcent,written 20 years later)? How would he describe this time a morningwalk up the Carrascal, the "smoky mountain" that looks like "a goodman, plump, dressed in grey, lying down with his stomach in the air"?What would he say these days about people's problems?It would not now be 20 years that separate us from his first journey,but a whole century and all that that century has brought about.Today he would no longer find lepers hiding themselves away from thelocal people, but neither would he find the same serenity in thecountryside. He would know that now, for many citizens, the fear isnot of the ancient illness but of the new "masters", those that rule,those who, when they have the power, think that Parcent is theirs andthey can do what they like with it. The menace at present isspeculation, an overwhelming speculation, that wants to convert theCarrascal, our legendary and loved mountain, into an warren of houses,flats and semi-detached buildings. Pure cement. Need for it? None.They say it is progress but it is just the zeal of a few to fill theirpockets. "The great pines were marked for the merchant's axe" (Años yleguas). As for the mountainside, as always, who has asked itsopinion? Or the people's either, the ones who live here. They atleast have changed; they are no longer resigned to defending theirland by spitting as the leper Batiste tried to, when in "Del Vivir",they threatened to up-root his miserable but admirable tobacco plants. Nowadays they speak out, demonstrate, complain, and know how muchtheir signature is worth, especially if they all sign together. Butthe authorities listen more to money that to the citizens. It makesno difference whether they are in the majority, whether they havedemonstrated many times, whether it will destroy the evolution of thesort of life style that delighted Sigũenza so much. They threaten tomake us put up with a sea of concrete that will remain for all timeand be lived in by who knows who, people who, in the improbable bestof situations, will be from the north and seeking a peaceful life in avillage that in the past inspired a writer, and which, if all goesahead, will certainly never again inspire anyone. And those who comelooking for the good life, will feel disillusioned and deceived. Andthey will end up going back to where they came from, leaving us, thenatives, who live in a place that is at once real and fantastic, in amost pitiful state of anxiety over our uncertain economic, social,cultural and environmental future. Or perhaps, horribly andirreversibly certain.A little while ago, the mayoress of Parcent wrote an article givingher opinion on the recent motion of censure by the CoaliciónDemocrática de Parcent (CDP), the only opposition party. It isobvious that the governing body of the Town Hall is not doing thingswell and her given opinions tried to dodge the issue, manipulate anddeflect attention from what is important. According to her there isno public movement, that we are "four cats". Not at all, madammayoress, for you have more than half the villagers against yourconcept of development and how to govern. And the facts back us up: ademonstration with 2000 people according to all the media, petitionswith 1700 signatures to the Spanish ombudsman and the same again tothe Valencian one, and nearly 3400 to the European Parliament. Yes,we know that many of these people are not from Parcent; but take noteof how serious our problem is that everyone wants to help us. Butwhat do you say about the 528 complaints {about the draft GeneralPlan] from the adult population of Parcent and those who have housesand/or land here? Remember that there are not even 1000 inhabitantsand the electoral roll only has 520 people on it. [this is the figurefor Spaniards only – there will be 2-300 Europeans with the right tovote]. These are the "few, very few"?Well, let's go bit by bit. We realise that we are not sure when wereply to you in this article of opinion if we are referring to thesame Council Meeting. Was only town planning discused, as you claim?We thought that it was mainly about management. But as you thoughtthat it would be about town planning, you brought a nice speech fromhome and simply read it out without realising that you were answeringa different matter. This is the danger of making a written replybefore you have heard the question. It also seems that you did notunderstand what the opposition councillor said to you. You onlyunderstood that, if they won the election, they would "take on thePAIs". What he actually said was that they would have to take on theconsequences of this disastrous (according to public opinion)administration. In other words, if in the future the public wanted tooverturn decisions taken, they would do so whatever the finalconsequences.In your opinion column (nearly a copy of your Council Meeting speech)you say that we are the CDP. Madam, we are an association with nopolitical links. Remember, please, that among us are PP voters, fromyour party. We are appreciative people and we support those whosupport us: here, the CDP; in the Valencian Cortes, the EU and PSOE;in Europe, mainly the Greens, etc. As you see, everyone except the PPas a party; and again we remind you that so do many of your voters.We hope that this gives you pause for thought.You also said that we base our criticism on insults and that we arevandals. We remind you that we condemn any action that is notpeaceful and so we cannot understand where you got this from. Whatyou are trying to do is turn yourself into a victim and deflectattention. As always. You accuse us also of being manipulators.Concerning us you state "that no one wants development, that no onewants to legalise the still illegal houses, and that no one wants theservices and infrastructure which, through the pressure of the TownHall, the developers will have to carry out" (to this sentence youhave forgotten to add "as is their obligation under the law".) Stupidcomments. Is this not manipulation? We have many times suggestedalternatives. Your problem is that you do not understand the conceptof sustainable development or at least you want to cover it over."Change the word destruction for modernity and progress and everyonewill back you". This could be your slogan. But here things haveturned out badly for you. Look, you converted this article of opinionand the Council Meeting into a speech on the supposed achievements(one notices that we are in the pre-election period….). But youforgot to add you have generated the largest social movement in allthe democratic era, a concept that we do not know if you understandproperly. Remember that you threw a journalist out of a CouncilMeeting for taking photos and recording a public meeting? There is noneed to say that we manipulate the press. They can see for themselveswhat is happening.Madam mayoress: that of "in Parcent everybody knows each other" soundspretty bad. It only needs your councillors to say: "I know where youlive, who you work for and at what time your children come out ofschool". Please, change your tune. Do things as they should be done. Do not change the order of the steps to follow to make them seemethical and legal. Yes, we are referring to Local Agenda 21, thedraft plan, the General Plan and the wretched PAIs. Come down fromyour ivory tower, open up your ears and listen to the people, act withcommon sense and work for the public interest. It's about time youdid.It is undeniable that if certain people had been born before Miró, hewould never have written "Del Vivir". Madam mayoress and company, itis good that you have bought the house where this writer stayed (ahostal in which, I am sure, one can now find no trace of that stay).But we wish to ask you a question. What would be his priority if, topay him homage, we said to him: shall we preserve the house or themountain?. We quote once more his own words: "Yes, the countrysidelooked at him sorrowfully; they were going to take away itspeacefulness, its uniqueness, its dream", "- Love me, understand me!– it asked". (Del Vivir)

¿Qué pasaría si Gabriel Miró volviese a Parcent?

JOAN CARLES POQUET

Qué pasaría si hoy el caballero Sigüenza, aquel alter ego de Gabriel Miró, viajero, amante del paisaje y de las costumbres, volviese de nuevo a Parcent? ¿Qué relato haría después en Del vivir (esa novela sobre nuestro pueblo) y en Años y leguas? ¿Cómo volvería a describir una mañana de excursión al Carrascal, la «montaña de humo» que parece «un buen señor, gordo, vestido de gris, tumbado, panza en alto»? ¿Qué diría ahora de los problemas de la gente? Ya no serían veinte años los que lo separarían del primer viaje, sino todo un siglo y lo que el siglo ha conllevado. Hoy ya no encontraría leprosos escondiéndose del paisanaje público, pero tampoco encontraría el paisaje con la misma serenidad. Sabría que, para muchos vecinos, ahora el miedo no está en la antigua enfermedad sino en los nuevos «señoritos»: aquellos que mandan, aquellos que siempre, cuando han mandado, han pensado que Parcent es suyo y que pueden hacer con el lo que quieran. La amenaza es ahora la especulación, la más dura especulación, aquella que pretende convertir el Carrascal, nuestra mítica y amada montaña en un hormiguero de chalets, bloques de viviendas y adosados. Cemento en estado puro. ¿Necesidad? Ninguna. Afirman que es el progreso pero es el afán de algunos de llenarse los bolsillos. «Los pinos grandes estaban señalados por el hacha del mercader» (Años y leguas). Y a ella, a la sierra, como siempre, no se le ha pedido opinión. Pero tampoco al pueblo, a los habitantes. Eso sí, la gente ha cambiado; ya no sólo se resigna a defender su terreno con escupitajos como antes el leproso Batiste, cuando en Del vivir, le amenazaron con arrancar sus raquíticas pero dignas plantas de tabaco. Ahora hablan, se manifiestan, se quejan, saben cuánto puede valer su firma y más si las firmas se unen. Pero los gobernantes escuchan más al dinero que a sus vecinos. Da igual que éstos sean más, da igual que lo hayan demostrado en muchas ocasiones, da igual que vaya a destrozarse la evolución de aquel estilo de vida que tanto apreciaba Sigüenza. Amenazan con obligarnos a soportar mares de hormigón que quedarán para todos los siglos y serán habitados por no se sabe quien y que, en el improbable mejor de los casos, se tratará de gente del norte que busque la vida sosegada de un pueblo que en un pasado inspiró a un escritor y que, si todo va hacia delante, seguro que ya nunca más inspirará a nadie. Y quien llegue buscando esta buena vida, se sentirá decepcionado, engañado. Y terminará volviéndose a su lugar de origen, dejándonos a nosotros, los de aquí, que vivimos en un lugar al mismo tiempo real y fantástico, en la más lastimosa desesperación por un futuro económica, social, cultural y medioambientalmente incierto. O más bien, asquerosa e irremediablemente cierto. Hace poco, la señora alcaldesa de Parcent escribió un artículo de opinión respecto a la reciente moción de reprobación de la Coalició Democràtica de Parcent (CDP), único partido de la oposición. Es palpable que el equipo de gobierno del ayuntamiento no está haciendo las cosas bien y en el artículo de opinión intenta lanzar balones fuera, manipular y desviar la atención de lo que es importante. Ahora resulta que aquí no existe ningún movimiento social, que somos cuatro gatos. Pues no, señora alcaldesa, tiene a bastante más de la mitad del pueblo en contra de su concepción urbanística y de gobernar. Y a los hechos nos remitimos: manifestación con 2.000 personas según todos los medios de comunicación, 1.700 firmas en el Defensor del Pueblo, otras tantas en el Síndic de Greuges, casi 3.400 en el Parlamento Europeo. Sí, ya sabemos que mucha de esta gente no es de Parcent; fíjese cuán grave es nuestro problema que todos nos quieren ayudar. Pero ¿y qué nos dice de las 528 alegaciones de gente mayor de edad censada en el pueblo o con casa y/o tierras en él? Recordamos que no somos ni 1.000 habitantes y que el censo electoral es tan sólo de 520 personas. ¿Ésos son los «pocos, muy poquitos»? Pues bien, vayamos por partes. Reconocemos que no estamos seguros al contestarle en este otro artículo de opinión, porque es que no sabemos si nos referimos al mismo pleno. ¿Es que sólo se habló de urbanismo según como usted dijo? Que nosotros sepamos, se habló principalmente de gestión. Pero como usted creía que se iba a hablar de urbanismo se trajo el discursito desde casa y simplemente lo leyó no dándose cuenta de que estaba contestando a otra cosa. Es el peligro de llevar las respuestas escritas antes de escuchar las preguntas. También parece que no entiende lo que dijo el concejal de la oposición. Sólo usted entendió que si ganaban las elecciones iban a «asumir los PAI». Lo que se dijo es que se asumirían las consecuencias de esa desastrosa gestión según la opinión del pueblo. Es decir, que si el pueblo dice en un futuro que se vuelva atrás, se volverá atrás hasta las últimas consecuencias. En su artículo de opinión (casi copia del discursito del pleno) dice que nosotros somos la CDP. Señora, somos una asociación sin ninguna vinculación política. Recuerde, por favor, que entre nosotros hay votantes del PP, su partido. Lo que pasa es que somos gente agradecida y apoyamos a quien nos apoya: aquí, la CDP, en las Cortes, EU y el PSOE; en Europa, sobretodo Los Verdes, etc. De hecho, todos a excepción del PP como partido; si bien queremos recordar que sí lo hacen muchos de sus votantes. Esperamos que esto suponga algún tipo de reflexión. Dice también que basamos nuestra crítica en insultos y que somos vándalos. Le recordamos que condenamos cualquier actitud no pacífica y por tanto no sabemos a qué viene eso. Lo que quiere es intentar convertirse en víctima y desviar la atención. Como siempre. Nos acusa, además, de manipuladores. Respecto a nosotros afirma «que nadie quiere el desarrollo, que nadie quiere legalizar las viviendas fuera de ordenamiento y que nadie quiere los servicios y las infraestructuras que por imposición de este ayuntamiento ejecutarán los promotores» (a esta frase, se le ha olvidado añadir «como es su obligación por ley»). Comentarios estúpidos. ¿No es eso manipular? Son muchas las veces las que le hemos ofrecido alternativas. Lo que le pasa a usted es que no entiende el concepto de desarrollo sostenible o al menos lo quiere enmascarar. «Cambia la palabra destrucción por modernidad y progreso y todos te apoyarán». Ese podría ser su lema. Pero aquí las cosas le han salido mal. Mire, usted convirtió ese artículo de opinión y el pleno en un discurso de sus supuestos logros (cómo se nota que está en precampaña electoralÉ) Pero se le olvidó añadir que ha conseguido generar la mayor movilización social de toda la democracia, concepto que, por cierto no sabemos si entiende bien: ¿Recuerda que expulsó a un periodista de ese pleno por hacer fotos y grabar ese acto público? No hace falta que diga que manipulamos a los periodistas. Ellos ya ven lo que pasa. Señora alcaldesa: eso de que «en Parcent nos conocemos todos» suena un poco mal. Sólo hace falta que sus concejales digan: «se dónde vives, con quién trabajas y a qué hora salen tus hijos de la escuela». Por favor, cambien su planteamiento. Hagan las cosas como corresponde. No alteren el orden de los pasos a seguir para parecer que se ajustan a la ética y a la legalidad. Sí, hacemos referencia a la Agenda 21 Local, al concierto previo, al Plan General y a los dichosos PAI. Bajen de su torre de marfil, abran bien las orejas y escuchen al pueblo, actúen con sentido común y trabajen para el interés general. Ya es hora. Seguro que si cierta gente llega a nacer antes que Miró, nunca se hubiera escrito Del vivir. Señora alcaldesa y compañía, está bien que hayan comprado la casa donde se hospedó el escritor (hostal del cual, por cierto, ya no se puede reconocer nada de aquella estancia). Pero le queremos hacer una pregunta. ¿Cuál es la prioridad que daría él si para homenajearlo le dijeran: conservamos la casa o la montaña? Citamos de nuevo sus letras: «Sí, el paisaje mirábale pesaroso; iban a quitarle su calma, su distinción, su sueño», « - ¡Amadme, comprendedme! - pide» (Del vivir). *Portavoz de la asociación Veïns de Parcent

2006-09-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

CONVOCATÒRIA

Sabeu que ara hi ha una proposta
de Concert Previ diferent a la que
es mostrava en aquella famosa oficina
d’informació sobre urbanisme que
va obrir l’Ajuntament?

Sabeu que les al·legacions que es van
presentar a eixa oficina no tenen cap
validesa legal?

Sabeu que ara sí és el moment i l’última
oportunitat per a presentar al·legacions
a la proposta de Concert Previ que es
pretén tramitar i que queda molt poc de temps?

Probablement no. Ara que s’ha publicat
l’anunci oficial en el DOGV i que sols tenim
de termini fins el 29 de setembre,
l’Ajuntament ha callat: ni ràdio, ni premsa,
ni bàndols. Sols un full en el tauler d’anuncis.

Si voleu saber com està l’urbanisme hui en dia

VENIU A LA REUNIÓ
que farem el proper
DIJOUS 21 DE SETEMBRE
A LES 20 HORES
AL CLUB DE CONVIVÈNCIA

ARA ÉS L'HORA,
DEMÀ SERÀ TARD

CONVOCATORIA

¿Sabéis que ahora hay una propuesta
de Concierto Previo diferente a la que
se enseñaba en aquella famosa oficina
de información sobre urbanismo que
abrió el Ayuntamiento?

¿Sabéis que las alegaciones que se
presentaron en esa oficina no tienen ninguna
validez legal?

¿Sabéis que ahora sí que es el momento
y la última oportunidad para presentar
alegaciones a la propuesta de Concierto Previo
que se pretende tramitar y que queda
muy poco tiempo?

Probablemente no. Ahora que se ha
publicado el anuncio oficial en el DOGV y
que sólo tenemos de plazo hasta el 20 de
septiembre, el Ayuntamiento ha callado:
ni radio, ni prensa, ni bandos. Sólo una hoja
en el tablón de anuncios.

Si queréis saber como está el urbanismo
hoy en dia

VENID A LA REUNIÓN
que haremos el próximo
JUEVES 21 DE SEPTIEMBRE
A LAS 20 HORAS
EN EL CLUB DE CONVIVENCIA

AHORA ES EL MOMENTO,
MAÑANA SERÁ TARDE

2006-09-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

MEETING
Did you know that there is a proposed
General Plan for Parcent different to that
which we were shown in the office for
information about town planning opened
by the Town Hall?

Did you know that the allegations
presented in this office are not legally valid?

Did you know that NOW IS THE LAST
OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT
ALLEGATIONS against the proposed
General Plan and very little time is left?

Probably not. Now the proposed General
plan has been officially published we have
only until 29th September to register our
complaints.The Town Hall has kept this very
quiet, no radio announcements, no press, no
‘bandos’. Only an announcement on the board
in the Town Hall.

If you wish to know more information about
the current situation regarding the building plans

COME TO THE MEETING TO BE HELD
THURSDAY 21 SEPTEMBER AT 8
AT THE ‘CASA DE CONVIVENCIA’

2006-09-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGIES
FOR BEING UNABLE TO UPDATE
MY BLOG AND BRING YOU
INFORMATION ABOUT THE
VITAL CAMPAIGN WORK BEING
DONE BY 'VEINS DE PARCENT'

2006-07-11T05:22:00.000-07:00

VEÏNS DE PARCENT PRESENT A FILM BY
PÀU SOLER AND JORDI LLORENÇ,
'REFLEXIONS ON URBANISING IN THE
MARINA ALTA, A VICIOUS CIRCLE'
TIME - 22.00 FRIDAY 14TH JULY
PLACE - PARCENT TOWN HALL

VEÏNS DE PARCENT OFRECE UN
DOCUMENTAL DE PAU SOLER Y JORDI
LLORENÇ EL VIERNES 14 DE JULIO
A LAS 22:00 h EN EL AYUNTAMIENTO
DE PARCENT.

VEÏNS DE PARCENT OFERIX UN
DOCUMENTAL DE PAU SOLER Y
JORDI LLORENÇ EL DIVENDRES 14 DE
JULIOL A LES 22:00 h A L'AJUNTAMENT
DE PARCENT.

2006-07-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

VEÏNS DE PARCENT VISIT EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT IN BRUSSELS

VISITA DE VEÏNS DE PARCENT AL
PARLAMENTO EUROPEO EN BRUSELAS

Joint press conference with campaign groups
from all over Spain

VISITA DE VEÏNS DE PARCENT AL
PARLAMENT EUROPEU A BRUSELAS

GREEN MEP DAVID HAMMERSTEIN
SUPPORTS VEINS DE PARCENT

DAVID HAMMERSTEIN SEATED WITH
MICHAEL CASHMAN UK MEP LABOUR

Veïns de Parcent visited Brussels last week
as guests of the EuroMp for the Spanishh Green
Party, David Hammerstein. On tuesday 27th we
attended a conference organised by the Greens,
along with representatives from campaign groups
from all over Spain, including Gran Canaria, Seville,
Madrid, Murcia, Valenica, Andalucia and Alicante.

The theme of the day's conference was Urban Abuses
in Spain and we were addressed by speakers from
the European Regional Department, the
Department of Environment , the European
Ombudsman, specialist lawyers fighting corruption
in Andulacia, the European Investment Bank, Green Party
lawyer from the Petitions Committee and
Michael Cashman, UK MEP who spoke on the
particular problems relating to Valencia.

We joined in a group press conference where all
participating groups held up the name of their
towns and we then spoke to press representatives
from Euro press, Spanish press and radio. Our visit
was widely covered in Levante, Las Provincias,
Europa press and local radio.We attended meetings
with various Euro Mps who have pledged to support
our campaign in the European Parliament. These
include David Hammerstein and Michael Cashman,
along with Jean Lambert of the UK Greens Party and
Maria Sornosa and Joan Calabuig, EuroMps
representing the PSOE grouping from Valencia.

On the wednesday morning Veïns members organised
a brief meeting with national Environment Minister
Cristina Narbona, who advised us and other groups
to send documentation to the newly appointed fiscal
who has powers to investigate urbanismo and corruption.
We also met with Kjell Sevon, the lawyer who has been
advising us on the process of our petition and
Mr David Lowe, head of the Petitions Committee
Secretariat. They informed us that the petition is now
admitted and being looked at seriously as yet another
complaint regarding the LRAU and LUV land laws.
We are hopeful that the petition will be addressed in
committee soon.

We returned to Parcent encouraged by the support
we encountered in Brussels, with new contacts to pursue.
We now have the support of MEPs from various
political parties, Labour, Liberal and Greens in Uk ,
PSOE, Verdes and National Parties in Spain. We
remain open to support from all parties so if anyone
has a personal contact with their UK MEP please let
me know and we will send them information.

2006-07-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

1700 SIGNATURES BACK
'VEÍNS DE PARCENT' PETITION
TO 'DEFENSOR DE PUEBLO'

PICTURE BY FARLEY LAPENNA

Veïns de Parcent have delivered their petition
to the Defensor de Pueblo in Madrid. 1700
people signed the petition which repeats the
complaints already being investigated by
the Provincial Ombudsman.

1700 FIRMAN EL PETICIÓN ENTREGADA AL
DEFENSOR DE PUEBLO IN MADRID

2006-06-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

APOLOGIES FOR NOT
UPDATING THE BLOG

2006-06-14T06:10:00.000-07:00

SALVEM PARCENT BANNERS FLY AT
VALENCIA DEMONSTRATION AGAINST
UNCONTROLLED URBANISATION

2006-05-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

SUCCESSFUL DAY IN JALON
UN EXITO EN JALON
UN EXIT EN XALO

'Veïns de Parcent' had a fun and lucrative day
on sunday at the Jalon Valley Help spring fair.
We were well supported by everyone visiting
the fair and by friends coming to help and buy.
The cakes and cocas were sold out and were
enjoyed by everyone and we did a good trade
in books and bric a brac kindly donated by
Veïns supporters. We raised over 800 euros
for campaign funds and I would like to thank
all those that helped to make that possible,
donating cakes, items for sale and their own
time to man the stall. We hope to repeat our
success at Pedreguer rastro so anyone who
would like to volunteer to help please contact
me via the blog (below) or the 'Veïns de Parcent'
email address. VeinsdeParcent@hotmail.com
Thanks again for all the support we are
receiving and please keep it up!

2006-05-27T00:28:00.000-07:00

PICTURES, CAKES AND T SHIRTS

Here are a few more examples of the pictures
we have for sale on our stall at the Jalon
Help Fair in Jalon on sunday 28th May.
They have been painted by artists in the
village to help our fundraising efforts and will
be for sale along with home made cakes, jams
bric a brac and our new t shirts. Please come
and buy.

2006-05-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

'VEÏNS DE PARCENT' FUNDRAISER

'Veïns de Parcent' are having a stall at
the Jalon Valley Help Spring Fair in Jalon
on sunday 28th May to raise funds for
our campaign costs. We will be selling
bric a brac, homemade cakes, 'Veïns de
Parcent' tshirts and works of art painted
by members of our association. We are
looking for help to either man the stall
or provide decent items for sale or to
bake us a cake. Anyone able to help
please contact me via the comment
link below and I will reply.

As well as the bringing we hope you will
all come to the fair and support us (and
Jalon Valley Help) by buying our goods and
have a fun sunday out in the Jalon Valley.
Below are examples of some artworks for sale.
(Enlace a blog en castellano - al lado
www.veïnsdeparcent.blogspot.com)

Título: Nit entre el cel i la mar
Acrílico
Medidas 27x23
Precio 35 €

Título: Poble Coster
Acrílico
Medidas 21x27
Precio: 40 €

Título: 6 y 4
Acrílico y técnica mixta
Medidas 21x26Precio 30,00€

Título: Bodegó
Acrílico
3 piezas: 1 de 30x60 y 2 de 30x30
Precio 170 €

2006-05-17T06:35:00.000-07:00

HANG-GLIDING FROM
'COLL DE RATES'

Moltes gràcies a Juanba per les

fotos de la caminada, podeu vore les

totes en el comentari del dia 4 de

Maig. Va ser un dia espectacular de sol

i calor i tots van disfrutar de la muntanya.

Muchas gracias a Juanba por las
fotos de la caminata, podeis ver
las todas en el comentario del dia
4 de Mayo . Ha sido un dia
espectacular, de sol y calor y
todos han disfrutado de la montaña.

Many thanks to Juanba for sending me
such lovely photos, you can see them all
on the comment of May 4th. Sunday
was a spectacular day, hot and sunny and
everyone enjoyed being out on the mountain.
Thanks to all who participated.

2006-05-12T01:34:00.000-07:00

EURO MP MICHAEL CASHMAN
SUPPORTS 'VEÍNS DE PARCENT'
Euro Mp Michael Cashman has featured
in Spanish and English newspapers this
week backing petitions made to Europe
over the abusive Valencian land law, LRAU.
He gives his support to our petition, as
reported this week in the following article
from Round Town News.

Photo European Parliament

Europe Hits Back Over Land Grab
Written by Jack Troughton
Thursday, 11 May 2006
Surrounded by more than 15,000 complaints received by the European Parliament, he vowed to continue to fight for the rights of thousands of 'desperate' victims affected by the LRAU.And the MEP for the West Midlands has also sent a personal message to the 2,697 people who signed a petition organised by the 'Neighbours of Parcent' against plans to build nearly 1,800 new homes in countryside surrounding the tranquil village.The three urbanisations received outline planning permission on January 30th this year, sparking a massive campaign of protest in the area. Mr Cashman, who led a fact-finding mission to Valencia last summer, told the Neighbours of Parcent, "You have my full support.
PRESSURE"We will do all we can to keep the pressure on the authorities in Valencia."The Valencian Government and Housing Minister, Rafael Blasco, have sought to deflect criticism and discredit protests against the controversial laws. The authority claims Europe was making a concerted and unfair attack on its construction and tourism industries. In a letter to Valencia, Marcin Libicke, the Chairman of the European Parliament's petitions committee, noted, "Local authorities continue to abuse the rights of citizens to their legitimately acquired properties." And he wrote that as the LRAU was replaced by the LUV in February - legislation already criticised by the EU - 34 plans were rushed through before the deadline, "at the last minute and without proper consideration." Mr Libicke confirmed that his committee continued to receive petitions from people suffering under the land grab laws, "the latest from Parcent, which we will be investigating."
FIGHTHis colleague Mr Cashman, the committee's first Vice-Chairman, has led the fight for justice for Spanish and other European nationalities affected by the legislation. "Mr Blasco claims the EU is exaggerating as to the severity of the problem concerning the LRAU in Spain," he said. "We most definitely are not." The former actor said more than 15,000 petitions were received from people directly affected by the "abusive implementation of this law" and "we are acting on their behalf in order to ensure justice is done." And Mr Cashman promised both victims and the Valencian Government, "The European Parliament will not rest until this issue is resolved. If that means going to the European Court of Justice, so be it."
On Sunday the 'Neighbours of Parcent' has organised another mountain walk to show people the area's natural beauty. The 15km route over El Carrascal is said to be fairly difficult and for experienced walkers. People interested in taking part should meet in the village centre at 8.15am and the walk is expected to take five hours.

2006-05-11T03:45:00.000-07:00

PETITION PROGRESS

Our petition signing campaign is beginning to
take effect and we are hopeful that we will
shortly see more progress.

The petition to the Sindic de Greuges in
Alicante has been admitted for investigation
and the Ombudsmen has ordered Parcent
Town Hall and the Housing Department in
Alicante to supply documents. This process
can take some time as if the documents are
not supplied on the required date they are
then solicited again, but eventually Parcent
Town Hall will have to supply the documents
and justification for their actions to the
Ombudsmen.

The petition to the 'Defensor de Pueblo' in
Madrid is being prepared for sending at
the end of May. If anyone has not signed they
can do so online at www.nosevende.org, the
website of the newly formed national
federation of civic groups fighting abuses
of urban planning of which 'Veïns de Parcent'
is a founding member. If anyone wishes to
sign or collect signatures on printed forms they
can contact me via the contact below and I
will supply petition forms. Remember we
have only one more week.

Our European Petition is being noticed. Whilst
still awaiting official notification of the next
procedure we have received a copy of letter
sent from Mr M . Libick, President of the Petitions
Committee in Brussels to Señor Victor Campos,
Vice President of the Consell (Valencian Government).
This letter, which has been widely publicised in
Spanish and English press, states that the
European Union will continue to bring pressure
to bear on Valencia to reform it's abusive plans
laws and specifically mentions Parcent, adding
that our case will be investigated.

This is fantastic news for our campaign and
we are continuing to lobby Euro Mps to
support our petition. If anyone has any
personal contact with their Euro Mp please
inform them of the petition, or write to them
personally asking for support for 'Veins de Parcent'.
Euro Mps email addresses can be found on the
EU website, www.europarl.eu., under list of
MEPS, look for country and then local area.

2006-05-04T02:04:00.000-07:00

MAY 14TH PARCENT

WALK ON EL CARRASCAL FOR
EXPERIENCED WALKERS, ROUTE
PRV 158

CAMINATA PEL CARRASCAL PER
A GENT ACOSTUMADA A FER
SENDERISME

CAMINADA POR EL CARRASCAL
PARA GENTE ACOSTUMBRADA
A HACER SENDERISMO

2006-05-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

FONT DE LA FOIA

LA COVA DELS COLOMS

EL CARRASCAL

VISTA DE PARCENT

'Veïns de Parcent had a misty start to their
Mayday walk to the 'Font de la Foia'. Luckily
the sun came out and the group decided to walk
on from the font to the Caves higher up the
mountain. Another enjoyable day!

El dia va començar nublat però el sol no va
tardar en ixir i Veïns de Parcent van poder
disfrutar d'un bon dia. Després d'arribar a la
"Font de la Foia" van decidir pujar fins a la
"Cova dels Coloms". Un altre bon dia!!!!

El dia empezó nublado, pero el sol no tardó en
salir y Veïns de Parcent pudieron disfrutar de
un buen dia. Después de llegar a la "Font de la
Foia" decidieron subir más arriba hasta la
"Cova dels Coloms". Otro dia divertido!!!!

2006-05-03T06:59:00.000-07:00

DISCULPES

Gracies pel comentari Carxe. Tens tota la raó, m’encantaría publicar el blog en valencià y en castellà ja que Veïns de Parcent representa a un poble valencià. Demane disculpes i espere que trobe a algú pronte que m’ajude a traduir-lo al valecià i al castellà perque encara que el parle perfectament em costa d’escriure. La pagina web si que estará en tots els idiomes pronte. Vos convidem a participar en la nostra pròxima caminata del dia 14 de maig. Podreu trobar mes informació sobre aquesta en la pagina de Veïns de Parcent o aquest blog en els proxims dies.

DISCULPAS

Gracias por el comentario Carxe. Tienes toda la razón, me encantaria publicar el blog en castellano y en valenciano ya que Veïns de Parcent representa a un pueblo valenciano. Pido disculpas por esto y espero que encuentre a alguien pronto qu eme ayude a traducirlo al castellano y al valenciano porque aunque yo lo hablo perfectamente me cuesta escribir. La pagina web si que estará disponible en todos los idiomas pronto. Os invitamos a participar en nuestra proxima caminada del dia 14 de mayo. Podreis encontrar mas informacio de esta en la pagina web de Veïns de Parcent o en este blog en los proximos dias.

2006-04-29T02:58:00.000-07:00

WALK WITH US ON MAYDAY

Our Easter was walk was postponed due to
heavy rain and we are now planning the same
walk to Font de la Foia on Mayday. The weather
forecast is good, it should be a lovely sunny day
so pack a picnic and join us for an easy walk
up the mountain. We are leaving from the
Cooperativa Bar in the village at 9.oo, the walk
should take 2 to 3 hours with stops for picnic
and fun for the children.

2006-04-21T04:35:00.000-07:00

PICNIC ON THE MOUNTAIN

Veïns de Parcent have organised
a walk and picnic for this sunday
23rd April. We will be walking to
the 'Font de la Foia' a traditional
picnic spot for the village where
families can rest and enjoy the
mountain whilst the children
play. We are leaving from the
Cooperativa Bar in the village
at 9.00 and the 5km walk and
picnic is planned to last 3 to 4 hours.
Whilst enjoying the beauty of
our mountainside we hope that
visitors will become aware of the
size of the building plans we are
campaigning against and join us
in our fight to protect our natural
heritage.

We hope to see you on sunday!

2006-04-08T02:21:00.000-07:00

2697 PEOPLE SIGN EUROPEAN PETITION
PRESENTED BY 'VEÏNS DE PARCENT'

PHOTOGRAPHIC IMPRESSION OF THE
CONSEQUENCES OF THE LARGEST
PAI AT 'EL REPLA' PARCENT

'Veïns de Parcent' have presented their
petition to the European Union. The petition,
supported by 2697 signatures makes the case
that Parcent Town Hall violated the Treaty
of the European Community by passing the
three PAIs at the council meeting of 30th
January 2006 using the LRAU law, 2 day
before the implementation of the new law
LUV.

LRAU had been discredited by the European
Parliament in its Fourtou Report published
15th December 2005 in which it was
specifically recommended that no new
PAIs be approved before the implementation
of the new law LUV.The Valencian Governemnt
was already in receipt of infringment proceedings
regarding the LRAU initaiated by the European
Parliament for non fulfillment of various
directives. In addition Parcent Town Hall
was also advised not to proceed by the Valencia
college of Lawyers and Architects and by
the its own Secretary.

'Veïns of Parcent' believe that Parcent Town
Hall deliberately rushed through the building
plans on the penultimate day of LRAU in
the knowledge that the new law LUV would
make acceptance of those plans much more
difficult and thus have breached European law.
We are advised that we have a good case,
especially as the Valencian Government is
under pressure from the European Union
not only over LRAU but also as LUV still
fails to meet European standards in the
area of public procurement.

The petition will be supported by EuroMP
for the Green Party David Hammerstein
and we are currently contacting other
Spanish and European MEPs to ask for
their support. If anyone has contact with
their English MEP please forward me their
details (via contact link below blog; click and
follow instrutions) and I will send them a
copy of our petition.

2006-04-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

SUPPORTING DEMONSTRATION
IN VALENCIA 1st APRIL 2006

Whilst we were busy in Murcia, other members
of Veïns de Parcent were in Valencia actively
supporting other collectives at a demonstration
organised by 'Compromis per territori' against
the high tension electricity cables proposed by
Iberdrola and the Valencian Government. These
cables will pass over many Valencian communities
with consequent fears for health as part of
a network planned to stretch from France
to Morroco. As one reason for the necessity for
such increase in availability of power is the

proliferation of PAIs planned in Valencia we

felt motivated to support the campaign against

the cables, a campaign backed by numerous

affected municipalities and by judicial sentences

such as that of the 'Juzgado Contencioso-

Administrativo No. 5 of Valencia.

2006-04-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

'VEÏNS DE PARCENT' JOIN NATIONAL
CAMPAIGN AGAINST URBAN PLANNING
ABUSES

Three members of 'Veïns de Parcent' travelled
to Murcia on saturday April 1st to take part
in the formative meeting of a new national
campaign to fight the rampant spread of
urbanisation in Spain. The meeting was
chaired by the group 'Murcia no se vende'
and was attended by members of citizens
protest groups from all over Spain, including
Valencia, Alicante, Murcia, Almeria, Malaga,
Seville and Madrid. Many representatives were
invited as a result of the February conference
held in Madrid by the Green Party which led to
a discussion of the need for a national forum and
the subsequent organising of saturdays reunion.

After a long day of debate during which many
pertinent issues were raised, a committee was
formed and the name 'no se vende' adopted
as a working title. The idea of 'NOT FOR SALE'
being relevant to all, not just referring to our
land but our politicians who are presently
proving themselves to be easily corrupted,
especially in the area of urban planning.

The national grouping will eventually be legalised
as an association but in the meantime will function
with a coordinating committee.

At the closing session a statement of aims and
complaints was prepared amongst which
featured the call for a moritorium of contentious
building projects, urgent investigation into
suspected cases of corruption, particularly in
light of the scandal in Marbella, a united effort
to bring pressure to bear on local and national
government and justices to uphold the current
laws protecting the environment and implement
new laws giving the citizens more protection and
a voice in the development of their towns and
villages.

The issue of corruption was a constant theme,
the majority of representatives believing that
Spain needs a new culture of urban planning
that respects local culture and identity and a
move away from the idea that Spain can only
prosper under a tide of cement with corruption
oiling the wheels.

'NO SE VENDE' is currently developing a
website which will be linked here when
possible and will be planning activities
to further the debate and protest.
We are pleased that Veins de Parcent
is part of this new initiative and continue
to believe that working together will
benefit us all in fighting this national
threat.

2006-03-27T06:46:00.000-08:00

' VEINS DE PARCENT' DELIVER
270 SIGNED COMPLAINTS
TO VALENCIA OMBUDSMAN

Four members of 'Veins de Parcent'
travelled to Alicante on monday
27 March to deliver 270 signed
complaints to the Valencia Ombudsman.
We were welcomed by 'Sindic de
Greuges' staff and our petitions
were registered.

Of the 270 petitions submitted, 200 were
signed by residents of Parcent, a number
collected in just a week. This again
confirms our belief that the
public opposition in Parcent to the
proposed building plans is growing.
Ever more people are willing
to publicy state their discontent,
not only with the plans but the
manner in which our Town Hall
rushed them through using the
disgraced and now obsolete LRAU
law. We are still receiving petitions
for the Valencia Ombudsman which
will be forwarded and are now collecting
signed petitions for an identical
complaint to be sent to the Spanish
Ombudsman in Madrid. (El defensor
del pueblo). Anyone who would like
to complete this petition can contact
me for information via the comment
option at the end of the blog. I would
like to thank everyone who has supported
our petition campaign and urge them
to continue to help us when necessary.

2006-03-27T05:40:00.000-08:00

FREEDOM OF SPEECH UNDER
THREAT IN PARCENT!!

'Veins de Parcent' are used to our posters being
torn down and leaflets removed from doors and
torn up but our right to freedom of speech
was threatened further this weekend.
On saturday when walkers returned from
the mountain bringing placards through
the Medieval Fair being held in the village
we were threatened with the 'Guardia
Civil'. Our members remained as peaceful
and calm as always and we spent the afternoon
selling plants and t shirts and collecting
signatures for our petition to theEuropean
Parliament and complaints to the Ombudsman.

On sunday we again manned our stall, set up
in front of a private house as the Town Hall
had refused our application for an official
stall, despite two other village associations
being allowed space. We continued to sell
our plants but attracted much more attention
for our petitions as we had displayed
placards showing shocking photomontages
of an impression of how the mountain will
look before and after the planned building.

At lunchtime the village police woman came
to ask us to stop collecting signatures, on
the order of the Mayoress. We asked to see
a written order. The police woman later
returned to demand that we stop and for
a representative of 'Veins de Parcent' to
sign as responsible for the act. Within minutes
up to a 100 people came to the stall and
60 of us signed as responsible for the collection
of signatures. The act of a PP Mayoress
preventing the collection of signatures when
the PP is doing exactly the same all over Spain
(against the Catalan statutes) was an example
of how out of step our local governing party
really is.

This is just the latest attempt by our Town
Hall to curtail our freedom of expression.
Today they tried again, by holding a council
meeting at 8am, unheard of in the village.
Fortunately our supporters are early risers
and will not be thwarted by such risible
attempts to stop us voicing our concerns.
The council meeting was full of members
of 'Veins de Parcent' who heard a motion
to hold a referendum on the building plans
turned down by the ruling PP majority.

2006-03-27T03:38:00.000-08:00

170 PEOPLE ENJOY WALK ON
'EL CARRASCAL'

'Veins de Parcent' were joined by walkers from Parcent, local villages, Denia and Altea on saturday. On a beautiful day 170 people including families, children and grandparents walked the perimeter of the largest PAI, 'La Repla' where it is planned to build 1496 houses. The walkers were joined by local botanist Joan Pellicer who pointed out local plants and explained the eocsystem of the sierra. Whilst enjoying the natural beauty of the mountain everyone became aware of the enormity of the area planned for building and the walk was a poignant reminder for many of why we must keep campaigning.

2006-03-23T01:16:00.000-08:00

'VEINS DE PARCENT' PROTEST
SPOILS POLITICIAN'S DAY OUT

Up to 100 people gathered yesterday
in Parcent in a hastily convened protest
and successfully stopped a party of
PP politicians from officially opening the

newly paved villlage square. The group,

headed by the President of the'Diputación de

Alicante' José Joaquin Ripoll included the PP

Mayors of Ondara, Benissa, Benitaxell and Ràfol

d'Almúnia along with provincial diputodos and

the ex Mayor of Benichembla. They were

due to celebrate the new plaza at 4pm, before

moving on to other villages but 'Veins de

Parcent' spontaneous protest outside the Hotel

owned by Councillor for Town Planning Ismael

Reig kept the politicians inside the hotel till 5.15.

They left to a catcall of boos and whistles making

a swift exit from the village in their chauffeur

driven cars past banners and placards proclaiming

our slogan 'SALVEM PARCENT'.

'Veins de Parcent' would like to thank everyone

who turned up at such short notice on a working

afternoon. Yet again we have proved the local

opposition to the building plans despite the constant

denials from the Mayoress that our campaign

numbers no more than 'cuatro gatos' ( 4 cats!).

The petition against the PAI's, our extremely

successful demonstration, the numbers daily adding

their signatures to our European petition and

this immediate response to our call to join us in the

street and protest continue to show the growing level

of support for our campaign to stop the building plans.

We hope that our growing numbers will help

overcome the fear that some people have

to voice their disapproval when faced with

intense pressure from the governing party in

Parcent. We believe that freedom of speech,

honesty and justice will prevail and help us win

our battle to save our mountain and protect

our village from the threat of intensive

urbanisation.

Please join us, we hope to see many people

enjoying the mountain walk this saturday

and welcome any help in running the

campaign or contributing to financial costs.

2006-03-22T02:13:00.000-08:00

MOUNTAIN WALK 25th MARCH

'Veins de Parcent' have organised a walk
around the perimeter of the largest of the
three building plans. The walk, leaving the
village 'Cooperativa Bar' at 9.30 on saturday
25th March is intended to show people
the barbaric extent of the proposed
development whilst enjoying a morning
out on the mountain. We will be joined by

local Doctor and renowned botonist Joan Pellicer
who will be explaining the ecology and
plant life of the area. The walk is easy and
will last about three hours and will be both
fun and educational for children. We suggest
you wear sensible clothing, take sun cream
if it's a nice day and water and a snack.
So please come and join us and appreciate in
person the natural beauty of El Carrascal and
why we are all so motivated to save it.

The pictures show 'Veins de Parcent'
members clearing the walk and recovering
the 'Font de les Cabres', or 'Goat's Spring'
from the overgrowth of the past three years
during which time it has been left abandoned.

2006-03-12T01:22:00.000-08:00

SALVEM PARCENT. SALVEM PARCENT
http://www.veinsdeparcent.info

Over 2000 people joined us on saturday to demonstrate against the plans to build 1800 houses on El Carrascal. It was a fantastic turnout and we want to thank everyone for coming and supporting us. Not only did local people and local villages demonstrate but campaign groups from Ondara, Benissa, Calpe, Adsubia, Monovar, Vall de Llaguar and Alicante joined us adding their own protest to ours.

The demonstration was also supported by local and provincial politicians including Euro MP David Hammerstein (greens) who continues to work hard for us.

After marching through the village decked with 'SALVEM PARCENT' banners we held a rally in the village square where our manifesto was read out by Estella Comes (in Valenciano) and then in English, for the hundreds of english residents attending. The text of the Manifesto is printed below. We also collected hundreds of signatures to add to our petition to the European Parliament calling for the annullment of the council meeting at which the plans were approved and thus the plans themselves as using the obsolete LRAU law is a breach of the Treaty of the European Community. The demonstration was covered in all local and provincial press, 2 national Spanish newspapers, Spanish and English language radio programmes and this evening a report will be broadcast on our local television channel. We thank everybody for their support and will continue to work hard to publicise our protest and ask you all to help us in any way possible.

MANIFESTO

Today we have taken to the streets of Parcent to protest at the passing of three PAIS at the Pleno of the 30th January which if completed will pose a grave attack on our environment, the sustainability of our village and its traditional way of life.

How can the town council talk of sustainable growth and protection of the mountain when what they propose is to build over the remaining pine groves, replacing trees with three story housing. How can they say we have no serious arguments and we are misinformed when impartial technical reports oppose the plans, including that of the Secretary of the Town Hall of Parcent.

Mayoress, you are misinformed when you ignore the 465 signatures , 70% of Parcent voters who freely and knowingly signed their opposition to these destructive plans and in favour of a General Plan. You are misinformed when you call sustainable growth an increase of population from 1,000 to 10,000. You are misinformed when you forget your own promises. You are misinformed when you call us three or four uncontrolable elements. Mayoress, enough of your contempt, it’s time to treat all the citizens of Parcent with respect and above all listen to us.

We demand

The anullment of the pleno of 30th January

The annulment of the 3 PAIs, or at least a referendum so the citizens of Parcent can have their say on such a vital issue in anonymity.

The study of existing proposals for sustainable growth of Parcent

The drawing up of an impartial General Plan to allow for logical urban growth and activity.

and Lastly – The freezing of all monies paid by the promoters to the Town Hall, with the intention of returning these monies when the PAIs are thrown out.

Friends and companions, Parcent could become an example of the terrible destruction rampant urbanisation is causing our province and country or it could remain ,to quote our Mayoress, a small, picturesque and peaceful village. We call for

An end to the lies and An end to property speculation
A say in deciding our own futures
Stop destructive developement and Save our Villages

2006-03-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

GREEN EURO MP DENOUNCES PARCENT
TOWN COUNCIL
David Hammerstein, Euro MP for the Spanish Green Party denounced the building plans passed by Parcent Town Council in the European Parliament this week, pointing out that to use the obsolete LRAU law two days before the implementation of the new Valencian land law (LUV) is in breach of various European directives.
'It is scandalous that they have rushed though these projects taking advantage of the holes in a law that currently has a case proceeding of infraction of European directives.' states Hammerstein.
He further criticises the municipal government of Parcent adding
'not only are they laughing at the European Parliament who approved a resolution against the LRAU land law, they are also laughing at the rights of the citizens.'

Tomorrow David Hammerstein and a number of local and provincial politicians will be joining the citizens of Parcent and surrounding areas. We are raising our voices to protect our rights; our right to free speech, our right to demonstrate and protest and our right to live in an unspoilt environment, in a village developed for the interests of the people and not for the pockets of the speculative construction industry. We ask our Town Council to listen to us!

2006-03-06T07:45:00.000-08:00

JOIN THE DEMONSTRATION IN
PARCENT MARCH 11th

Veïns de Parcent have organised a demonstration to protest against the 3 PAIs approved by the Town Hall on 30th January 2006 and the threat faced by all local communities in the face of rampant urbanisation. We will be meeting at the entrance to the village at 4.30 Saturday 11th March, where a march will take place through the village ending in a meeting in the 'plaza' where our manifesto will be read out.

The demonstation will be attended by people from Parcent and all surrounding villages, local politicians, ecological groups, residents groups, and the Euro Mp for the Green Party, David Hammerstein. National television, radio, local and national press, both Spanish and English are expected to cover the event.

We invite all those able to attend to join us and protest against the outrageous plans to destroy our mountain and our way of life. We call for an end to intensive urbanisation and the development of plans allowing for more sustainable and environmentally friendly urban growth.

2006-03-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

MESSAGES OF SUPPORT

Nick Clark has sent me this mail describing his memories of running up the Coll de Rates together with his sketches. Thanks Nick, a reminder of a lovely summer in Parcent.

This vividly relives my thrill of finding a way up the zig zag path for the final bit of the journey up to the look out point. It also flooded me with sentimental thoughts about how fantastic it is to be up there and I realise how fond I am of going out and about - feeling priveledged to know my way round - wondering around at times to find a new route coming across bee hives, evidence of wild life... jumping over the spikey plants that cut your legs, stopping in the shade of a small tree. Looking out for wild boar in the foothills... The long winding road back down, nodding with acknowledgement at the cyclists going up, the prospect of that cold water from the well - or the shade of the pine trees that line the football pitch (best shade of all) ... racing through the woody bit on the way back -because of the slope it was easier to sprint than jog! Passing the really nice barman from bar Guay. And then there's the glow of sitting down with you lovely lot - with a cold beer and looking up way to the distance and (smugly!) thinking - was I really was up there earlier? Wow I was and it was brilliant!Good luck

Helen Czudej has sent you a link to a weblog: We strongly support the campaign to save Parcent. We have spent many happy hours with our friends in the village over the last ten years and feel a sense of tremendous sadness and loss for the potential destruction of yet another corner of traditional Spain. Good luck.

.

2006-03-03T06:38:00.000-08:00

GREEN PARTY CONFERENCE ON URBAN PLANNING ABUSES IN SPAIN

Member of Veïns de Parcent travelled to Madrid this week to take part in a Conference organised by David Hammerstein, Spanish Euro MP for the Green Party. The conference dealt with the issues of intensive urbanisation in the whole of Spain, from the building on Mediterranean coastal areas to golf courses in Murcia, motorways in areas of outstanding natural beauty in Andalucia and desecration of the sierras of Madrid. A fascinating speech by Alejandra Gómez Céspade, Professor of Criminology at Malaga University spoke of the links between rampant construction and organised crime, particularly the laundering of black money. Kjell Sevon, Judicial Assesor for the Greens at the Petitions Committe of the European Parliament spoke of the many petitions received by the European Parliament dealing with urban planning irregularities in Spain. Three out of every four such complaints received are from Spain.

At the end of the conference David Hammerstein and Kjell Sevon held a meeting with members of citizens groups from all over Spain at which the problem of Parcent was raised and options for taking action against the building plans discussed. Not only was this meeting helpful but we also found it very motivating being with people from all over Spain involved in similar campaigns. At the end of the meeting it was proposed we form a national federation to air our complaints on a national level which we hope will put much more pressure on local and national government.

2006-02-26T06:29:00.000-08:00

Demonstration in Valenica 25.2.2006

On saturday a group from 'Veïns de Parcent' travelled to Valencia to join in a demonstration organised by 'compromís pel territori'. The demonstration was joined by over 100 different groups each with their own local fight against unwanted and destructive development. Although the reality of the scale of the threat facing so many Valencian communities was sobering we were also encouraged to see people mobilising to fight back and we made many useful contacts with different groups. After hearing speeches from different campaigns, including a speech from a 'Veïns de Parcent' member, the march proceeded through Valencia to the 'Corts Valencianes' where the organisers read a proclamation of intent to keep on campaigning and motivating all present to add to the numbers. As always the more people prepared to protest and work to protect their environments the more chance we have of succeeding.

BLOG RESPONSE

I have received many positive emails in response to the blog, people have been shocked by the threat to Parcent and many are offering to help in any way they can. Blog technology is still new to me and many others so I am hoping that in time you will all start to add your comments and we can share with everyone what you all think about the proposed development plans and your memories of Parcent. GET BLOGGING!

2006-02-24T09:03:00.000-08:00

PARCENT 25.02.2006

Almond blossom time, the valley is covered in a blush of pink and white.

Thanks Jenny for this photograph

2006-02-19T05:09:00.000-08:00

EL CARRASCAL, PARCENT, ALICANTE

This is the view I wake up to every day from my house in the small Alicante village of Parcent. This beautiful mountain side that defines our village is currently under the threat of destruction by the agressive plans to build 1700 houses on its slopes. Not only will our natural heritage be lost but our village will be changed forever.

Parcent is a village with a population of around 1000. It is about 20 minutes inland from the Costa Blanca so is a popular place for tourists to come in summer and enjoy the tranquility of the mountains away from the bustle of the coast. Many Europeans have bought homes here and the village has a foreign resident population of about 20%. I moved here 16 years ago, have raised my children here and have been made very welcome by the locals.

The building plans passed by our Town Hall if built will increase the village population fourfold. We believe the village can not assimilate this increase in its numbers. We do not have the infrastructure in place, the school, medical services and social services will be unable to cope. We are worried that 1700 new houses with pools will exhaust our water supply, already burdened and threatened by drought. But perhaps worst of all the very nature of Parcent will be lost, it will no longer be a Valencian village with its culture, traditions and language that we all love and cherish but will become an enclave surrounded by a transient foreign population who although always welcome will so outnumber the locals that Parcent as we know it will no longer exist. We are fighting back against this abuse.

FUNERAL FOR PARCENT. PROTEST AT COUNCIL MEETING

WHEN PLANS WERE APPROVED 30.1.2006

VEINS DE PARCENT

We have formed an association to campaign to have the plans withdrawn and a new General Plan produced allowing for the sustainable development of Parcent. 'Veins de Parcent' is made up of people from all walks of life, political persuasion, young, old, Spanish or foreign residents, all united and determined to protect Parcent. We ask for your help. I will be using this blog to tell everyone what is happening with our protest movement and to invite anyone who has ever been here to send me their opinions. I'd also love to receive photos, artwork or any writing about the area that we can post and share and show the world what a fantastic place Parcent is and why we need to save it from the speculators.

Please join us and spread the word, the more people we have supporting us the more chance we have to stop the building. For more information please visit our website www.veinsdeparcent.info THIS BLOG WILL BE PUBLISHED IN SPANISH AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!! ESTE BLOG SE PUBLICARÁ EN CASTELLANO CUANTO ANTES!!