An emergency opposition motion to withdraw all the municipal fines for building infractions and paralyze the process was excluded from the proceedings at a stormy and bad tempered meeting of the full Town Hall last night.
In a Council Chamber too small for the many worried and angry residents who attended the Mayor of Calasparra, Jesus Navarro, refused to accept the emergency motion tabled by the Partido Popular because he claimed “it could have been tabled in time: that is 24 hours before the meeting to give members a chance to study it.”
However, the issue of the over 400 fines for building infractions issued by the Town Hall raised its head during the public question and answer session although, at that point, the Mayor had excluded the television cameras and the direct transmission of the meeting.
Answering some of the public queries the Deputy Mayor, José Veléz, admitted some of the fine notices were incorrect and that some of them would be withdrawn or the fines would be reduced. “However,” he added, “there are people who have built mansions worth thousands of pounds without an architect’s project or a building licence: some of these are in green belt or areas covered by preservation orders.”
He invited every person who had received a fine notice (expedient) to go to the Technical Office in the Town Hall and check the legality of it and then, if they had further problems, to speak to Veléz himself to try and resolve the issue. But he reiterated that residents who had willfully committed building infractions would have to pay the fines.
“In these difficult times when people face serious financial problems we will be prepared to allow residents to pay these fines by installments. Each case will be considered individually,” he said.
Veléz, who said he had already advised 100 residents in 10 days about the fines said the procedure was the first step in the legalization of illegal building and renovations.
“We aim to legalise up to 90% of the illegal properties. But those who have willingly carry out illegal building works without licences, without projects and who don´t pay taxes are committing a barbarity and prejudicing those residents who do obey the rules,” he added.
The meeting ended with José Veléz inviting anyone who wanted advice on a fine notice to attend his office at 9am on Monday morning.
