Parking in your own Driveway

For those who have asked about the above theme, At this moment I have heard nothing either from the Police our the Town Hall´s Technico Dept regarding this. I am having a meeting with the Mayor this morning and I will bring it up at the meeting.. I do know that residents who are having problems with persons parking accross their driveways, particularly on market days, can apply for a Vado, which prohibits the parking in front of their driveway. There is a cost involved and with administration charges it can cost as much as €250

Residencia Cards/Paper

With regards to the enquiry regarding Residencia Cards. The change, according to Madrid, is so that the green paper Residencia form will be replaced by a more convenient format, with the new Residencia card. The green paper copy will remain valid as there are no plans to have them replaced, the new card is only for new applicants. The application is pretty much the same as before.
In the past the authorities did not bother too much about proof of income, i.e,. being able to support oneself without being a burden on the state. Now, due to a tightening up of the legislation, it will be necessary to provide bank statements or reciepts for your pensions. For those who do not have an income, they will have to prove that they either have sufficient funds, a contract of employment or a sponsor, who will support the individual until they are self sufficient financially. This Card will not be considered Identification as it will not have a photo on it. Remember without a Residencia you cannot obtain a a Padron Cert.

Replying on my blog

It appears that there exists a system to ensure that blog entry comments are scrutinised by the host, prior to publishing. Obviously if the comments are viable and reasonable they will be published and answered. However the person must fully identify themselves and not hide behind an anonymous nom de plume. If a person decides to use the commentary box to be abusive, then I have the choice to commit them to a spam folder or delete altogether.

Facebook and the problems associated with this type of

As many of you saw yesterday, comments were made on Facebook suggesting that I wish to have all the bars closed down and implying that I would take “back handers”. None of the comments made were true.

I do accept the apology of the person who initiated these comments. However, if an apology is not given to me directly from the other person concerned, it is my intention to seek legal advice on this matter.

My team and I, in the Offices for the Urbanisations, work so hard to try to make things better and easier for people of all nationalities. We have attended to more than 2000 people in the last ten months, resolved problems, brought services closer to the residents, organised activities and fiestas, worked against violence towards women, supported the collection of food for the needy etc etc etc.

We are trying to deal with a huge debt, left behind by the outgoing group, trying to negotiate a settlement to the Oasis problem, trying to improve the general area, dealing with a large degree of unemployment. (The unemployment office has received more than 200 requests for work since we entered the Town Hall) trying to bring business and tourism to the area, supporting the various Charities and causes, trying to persuade Central and Regional Governments to give us grants to supply a Library, Internet facilities for all, as well as improvement grants for our own roads, lighting and water supply, education, social welfare, the list goes on and on and on.

We work very closely with the Local Police in trying to provide a safe environment for every resident and are in the process of organising a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. To say that any member of this office would try to close down bars is pure fantasy. When we brought the fiesta to the Consum square last year, we were supporting the bars, not hindering them.

We are fully aware of the difficulties that bar owners have and so, in order to spread the business, we are organising for bar owners a Diamond Jubilee Street Party in Plaza Sierra Castilla on the 3^rd of June and are organising for bar owners near the Police Station a 2 day Medieval-style market in the summer in order to bring people and hence extra business to bars in all areas.

We work on a daily basis with the Local Police and the residents to resolve the issues at the Consum square. We work WITHIN the Spanish law and are very much welcomed by the Spanish residents.

As I have stated previously, as long as bars adhere to the SPANISH licensing laws then they won’t have any problems and as long as the residents are sober and legal when they drive their cars then they won’t have any problems either.

We try very hard to share information on all activities within the Urbanisation and apart from a few people, we have received very positive feedback.

If you have any queries whatsoever, then either message me or preferably come into the office on Calle Madrid and we can discuss these issues face to face.

A Spanish Life

Well what a lot of stuff on A Spanish Life  Forum?
To paraphrase the great William Shakespeare : To blog, or not to blog: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?
First, without denying my responsibilities to the people of San Fulgencio, may I remind them that there are 9 Councillors that make up the Corporation in the Town Hall.
Secondly, It would appear that the issue of noise from bars is high on a few people´s agenda. It troubles me to think that when we are trying to deal with a huge debt, left behind, by the outgoing group, trying to negotiate a settlement to the Oasis problem, trying to improve the general area, dealing with a large degree of unemployment. ( The unemployment office has recieved more than 200 requests for work since we entered the Town Hall ) trying to bring business to the area, supporting the various Charities and causes, puting on courses in Spanish, Zumba Classes, Pilates Classes, trying to persuade Central and Regional Governments to give us grants to supply a Library, Internet faccilities for all, as well as improvement grants for our own roads, lighting and water supply, organising events and fiestas, education, Social Welfare, the list goes on and on and on. But the issue of noise from bars seems to take precedence for some people.
I fully apprexciate that noise can be quite disturbing and once you have a bee in your bonnet about it, it seems to be exaggerated. It particularly disturbs me, when I read that the Police are doing nothing about the problem. I must have dreamt the fact that at 11.30 last Friday, after attending a Good Friday Procession in the Pueblo, at which the whole village turned out, but only around 10 or 12 people from La Marina attended, I met up with 3 Police Officers, outside the bars on Calle Justo Quesada/ Franscisco Quevedo. At this time, Chief O´Neills had 2 persons sitting outside and the doors closed. The Hog´s Head had 1 smoker sitting outside and the doors were closed, The George had about 8 or 9 young lads outside. They were being a bit loud but had apparently been warned to turn the noise down. all the other bars on the Consum Square had been monitored and a couple had been warned. While I was speaking with them, they recieved a call, requiring their attendance to an incident on the other side of the Urbanisation. Now it may be deemed that I have a biased opinion, but I feel that the Police under the new Chief of Police, are doing a good job with the resources available to them. Did you know that in the last month, there have been traffic controls set up at various locations in the Urbanisation. A number of vehicles and drivers have been reported for various traffic offences relating to documents, ownership of vehicles, drunk driving and being in possesssion of stolen property. Surely it is imperative to make our Municipality a no go area for criminals, making it safe for our residents to walk the streets. Being a safe area is paramount to bringing investment to an area.
Third: As has been said many times before, If you have a problem, come to the office on Calle Madrid and discuss them face to face. I will not be responding to questions or comments made on the forum,  If any one wishes to cut and paste my comments from the blog, onto the forum, they may do so.

Why a Blog and not on the Forums.

For those that are interested, It is far easier for me to put information on a Blog, as there are enough readers of my Blog to cut and paste relevant material. I am sometimes far too busy to continually reply to threads on Forums and it only results in some cases, to petty arguements. If there are important issues that need to be discussed, I invite you to the Office, where we can have face to face dialog. The matters are dealt with at these times and not spread over several days. So call in an make an appointment or if I am free of appointments, I will be at your disposal.

Diamond Jubilee Celebrations

We are well on our way to organising the Celebrations for the Queen´s Diamond Jubilee. We are planning a Golf Match at El Plantio on Friday 1st June, A Sports Day on Saturday 2nd June, with 7 a side football, Petanq, Padel Tennis and Crown Green Bowling. On the Sunday we hope to have a Street Party for around 1000 persons, with a Hog Roast, Ice Cream and entertainment from various bands and groups. Their will be the Presentation of Prizes from the Sports events. We hope to encourage the Bars and Restaurants to participate and for those attending to come in costumes, representing the UK and Commonwealth. The proceedings will commence at 2pm and continue through till midnight. If we can overcome the technical details, we also hope to erect a large screen to televise live, the procession of the Royal Barges, down the Thames. So put this in your diary as a Must Do, and show off the Culture of your native country as well as your loyalty/respect to The Queen.
A full timetable will be published in the near future.