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Residents affected by demolitions in Mijas set up a pressure group
Friday, 25 January, 2008.
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M. J. Cruzado
More than 300 people from the municipality met last week to elect representatives of the new group
They claim that they will be financially ruined if the demolitions go ahead as planned
More than 300 residents of Mijas affected by urban planning fines and demolition orders on houses built on land not zoned for building met last week in front of the municipal auditorium to establish a pressure group aimed at defending their interests. They elected a representative for each area of the municipality affected, which are Puerto de Los Gatos, La Alquería, Entrerríos, Macorra, La Majadilla, Alberquilla, Candelaria, Fuente Algarrobo, Atalaya, Valtocado and Osunilla, and decided to place the matter in the hands of lawyers, whose task it will be to study the possibilities of having the properties in question legalised. Most of them have been built on land that has belonged to their families for many generations, by people who were either not aware of the Urban Planning Law of Andalucía, or chose to ignore it. Many of them had the actual documentation relating to the fines imposed on them by the authorities, ranging from 5,000 to 130,000 euros, while others had in their possession court orders giving them a set date by which their properties must be demolished. On the contrary, they were warned, further legal measures would be taken.
For many of these residents, losing their homes would mean losing everything they have. They are mostly unable to pay the high fines, having mortgages or bank loans to pay back, and most of them not being in the high income bracket. This is the case of Diego Gutiérrez, who lives in the Entrerríos area of Mijas. “They issued an order to appear in court, and if they knock my house down, I’ll have no place for myself and my family. We’ll be destitute, on the streets,” he said. Others, such as Justo Alcázar, claim they have been living without any water supply for almost two years. “The Town Hall cut my water off. I have a demolition order on the garage I built on land that has been zoned for building,” he tells us. Another resident of Entrerríos is angry because he invested all his savings in converting a garage into a small house on land that was in his family for generations. “In May of last year, they sent me a demolition order and fined me 65,000 euros. The house was finished at that point. Now they say it has been built on land not zoned for building, and against the territorial planning laws. I don’t understand what is going on,” he said.
Other residents of Mijas acknowledge that the Town Hall refused them permission to build many times. José Julio Valenzuela, from the Macorra area of the municipality, built a doghouse on the site his parents’ house used to stand. Then he was handed a fine of 20,000 euros. “I’m separated from my wife and she has the house. If they will not allow me to build on my own land, what can I do?” he asks.
It is estimated that some 3,000 fines have been imposed by the Department for Urban Planning Infractions. Of these, about 300 include demolition orders. The mayor of Mijas, Antonio Sánchez, announced his intention of raising the matter in the next plenary session of the Town Hall, and his plans to legalise the situation of those affected. The Partido Popular, whose local representatives were present at the street demonstration as a show of support, also announced measures to protect the rights of local property owners.
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