Carmenes del Mar

Carmenes del Mar in the news again

A flurry of news coverage has resulted from the recent decision by Almuñecar Town Hall to declare a State of Emergency in Carmenes del Mar. Among the news stories has been a detailed article in Ideal newspaper that includes some of the foreign owners who have been served with eviction notices. Unfortunately there is no online version of the article available, but we have attached here some photocopies of the relevant pages.

Among the TV coverage was a short segment that aired on Spain's main TV channel, TVE. The following link contains the piece, starting at 2 minutes 25 seconds: Andalucia News 07/12/2015

Town Hall declares state of emergency in Carmenes del Mar

The ongoing drama of Carmenes del Mar took an unexpected and serious turn on Friday when the Almuñecar Town Hall declared a state of emergency in the area. The declaration of the state of emergency was communicated to the Local Police, the Fire Department and Civil Protection unit of Almuñecar. Municipal workers were dispatched to the urbanisation where they proceeded to seal off a number of houses and erect barriers along the worst affected streets and footpaths. The decision to implement these drastic measures was taken on foot of a report issued by technicians from the municipal engineering and housing department.

As well as sealing of dangerous buildings and footpaths, a number of residents of Pueblo were issued with eviction notices and given five days to vacate their homes. The owners, who include Spanish, Irish and British citizens, expressed a mixture shock, upset and anger at the turn of events. ...

Government representative promises to push for multilateral intervention in Carmenes de Mar

At a meeting last Friday between a delegate for Spain's Central Government and representatives of the Carmenes del Mar residents, Santiago Perez Lopez, the government's delegate for the province of Granada, pledged to push for a coordinated initiative between Central Government, the Junta de Andalucia, and Almuñecar Town Hall. Perez Lopez promised to promote further multilateral meetings with representatives from the three administrations (local, regional, and central) with the goal of agreeing a series of interventions to ensure that the urbanisation survives the winter.

Press roundup

A number of newspapers, both online and print versions, have published in recent days articles about the current status of Carmenes del Mar. The latest coverage focuses on renewed calls by the residents of Carmenes del Mar to Spain's central government and the Junta de Andalucia, to take on the repair works (medidas cautelares) ordered by the judge earlier this year. The judge found the defendants responsible for the damage to the urbanisations, and ordered them to carry out precautionary measures to repair and make safe the houses, roads, and services infrastructure. The defendants, now declaring bankruptcy, have not complied with the court order.

Below is a selection of links to the online articles:

Granada Hoy: Los afectados de Cármenes del Mar, preocupados por las lluvias
Ideal: Vecinos de los 'Cármenes del Mar' piden "medidas cautelares" para que sus casas no se derrumben
El Independiente de

Radio interview on Canal Sur's "Granada Hora Sur"

On September 14th Ignacio Martin, a resident of Carmenes del Mar and spokesperson for the communities was invited to appear on Canal Sur radio's Granada Hora Sur program. In the interview Ignacio tells how once more the neighbours of Carmenes del Mar have reached out to both Central Government and the Junta de Andalucia, to ask that they step in and carry out the repair works ordered by the judge in the case against those responsible for the building defects in Carmenes del Mar. The medidas cautelares (precautionary measures) ordered by the judge before the summer compel the defendants to carry out the necessary repair works to prevent further damage to houses and infrastructure, but the defendants, claiming bankruptcy, have not complied with the order.

Listen to the 5 minute interview on the Canal Sur website by selecting September 14th on the calendar. The interview starts at 38 ...

Neighbours once again ask the Government for help

Residents of Carmenes del Mar have once more asked the Junta de Andalucia to intervene and to begin the repairs that are necessary to halt the further destruction of houses and infrastructure in Carmenes del Mar. In a letter to Sandra Garcia, Central Governments representative in the Junta de Andalucia. the owners remind Garcia of an earlier meeting in which she urged them to wait for the outcome of the judicial process before counting on the Junta's help. The judge has ruled in favour of the Carmenes del Mar owners in both the main case against the constructor, architects and engineers involved in the construction of the urbanisations, as well as in the parallel "Precautionary Measures" case, but there is a real risk that the repairs ordered by the court will not be carried out, because of the insolvency of those responsible, and the lengthy appeals process. To prevent further ...

Summer media coverage of Carmenes del Mar

As the summer goes by and another autumn with the potential of heavy rain approaches, the Spanish media continues to show interest in the plight of the residents of Carmenes del Mar. An episode of the Espejo Público show on Tele 5 aired in early July, and included interviews with local residents who noted that for generations it was common knowledge that the hillside on which Carmenes de Mar was built was moving. Unfortunately we cannot link to the video here.

More recently, an article in Granada Hoy once again focuses on the problems experienced on a daily basis by some of the most affected residents: "Vivir bajo tierra movediza (Living on shaky ground)".

Judge accepts aval to allow precautionary measures to be carried out

The judge in the Carmenes del Mar case has accepted the aval presented by the property owners, thereby clearing the way for the precautionary repairs, ordered almost a year ago, to be carried out. In July 2014 the judge ordered 4.5 million euros worth of repairs and maintenance work to be carried out, to be financed by the defendants in the case, but backed by a 1 million euro guarantee or 'aval' provided by the Carmenes de Mar owners.

Read more (in Spanish) at La juez acepta el aval para ejecutar las medidas cautelares.

Court rules in favour of the residents of Carmenes del Mar

The Court of First Instance number 12 of Granada has ruled in favour of the residents of the urbanisation Carmenes del Mar and has ordered all of those responsible for the construction of the urbanisation, jointly and severally, to repair it.

It will be those same defendants, eight in total, who must cover the entire cost of the repair works and any other actions deriving from expert reports and required by the legal process, according to the ruling handed down last Moday, the 3rd of November.

The residents of the more than 400 homes affected have declared themselves "very satisfied with the ruling".

They remain cautious, however, since the defendant have leave to appeal to the Provincial Court of Granada over the coming days. Because of this, they have asked the Central Governments's Andalucian representatives and the Almuñecar Town Hall for their continued support and to use all means at their disposal to

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Carmenes del Mar asks Goverment for one last effort to secure emergency repairs ordered by the court.

The residents of Carmenes del Mar yesterday thanked the Govermnent's Minster for Andalucia, Carmen Crespo "for making available to us the public company Tragsa, for carrying out the emergency works needed in the urbanisation to prevent the houses from falling down". At the same time, the home owners say that one last effort is needed on the part of the Government so that they can obtain the bank guarantee that stands in the way of the emergency repair works ordered by the Court of First Instance number 12 of Granada.

The owners of the 415 homes in Carmenes del Mar "recognise and appreciate the efforts of Almuñecar Town Hall, which in spite of not having the necessary resources, has always shown a willingness to solve the problem. Our houses are falling down because of serious construction defects, and even the court realises that urgent repair works are necessary. ...

Website of the Communities of Property Owners in La Herradura, Granada