2001–2002: EUCC launches the renovation of Planas

In 2001, the property owners of Planas del Rey had to choose between continuing the previous work programme funded under the 1999 agreement and preparing a new renovation project.

The Urban Development Conservation Entity of Les Planes del Rei (EUCC) decided to prioritise the drinking water and sewerage networks. However, the first measures concerned the most urgent facilities: the water pumping system, the wastewater treatment plant, the electrical installations and the swimming pool.

As we explained in the article about the registration of Planas’s common areas in the Town Council’s name, this change of ownership did not mean that the entire development had been formally accepted.

February 2001 – An initial draft agreement

A draft urban planning agreement dated 26 February 2001 set out the proposed responsibilities for completing Planas.

According to this document, the EUCC was responsible for commissioning the development project, financing the works and ensuring their completion. The Town Council was expected to assist in preparing the project and commit to integrating Planas into the municipality once the works had been approved and completed.

The agreement also provided that, once the works began, the Town Council would transfer to the EUCC the equivalent of 50% of the property tax collected from Planas property owners. This contribution was intended to reduce part of the cost borne by the owners.

However, the document available to us remains an unsigned draft agreement. A few months later, the property owners were asked to decide which direction to take.

5 August 2001 – The property owners choose a new project

At the general meeting held on 5 August 2001, three options were presented:

maintain the existing situation;
continue with the works programme prepared by the previous Governing Board;
commission a new project giving priority to the drinking water and sewerage networks.

The first option received only one vote and the second received none. The third was approved unanimously by the votes cast.

The EUCC was therefore given a mandate to prepare a new programme with the assistance of the technical services of the Consell Comarcal del Baix Camp.

This decision marked an important change. The aim was no longer simply to maintain the existing facilities, but to organise their renovation with a view to Planas’s future integration into Pratdip.

2001–2002 – The first works begin

Even before the overall project had been defined, several facilities required urgent repairs. During the summer of 2001, the submersible pump in well no. 1 broke down, the wastewater treatment plant stopped operating and the electrical switchboard beneath the swimming pool presented serious safety problems.

On 3 November 2001, an extraordinary general meeting approved the replacement of the pump, temporary repairs to the wastewater treatment plant and work on the electrical installations. These initial works cost €33,985.82.

A study of the condition of the drinking water and sewerage networks was also planned, at an estimated cost of €6,010.12.

At the same time, the renovation of the swimming pool became the first major visible project. The approved budget amounted to €260,045.91, financed through an extraordinary contribution from the property owners calculated according to the surface area of each plot. The Town Council stated that it would not provide a municipal grant for the work.

At the beginning of 2002, further repairs to the wastewater treatment plant became necessary. According to information provided by the EUCC, approximately 60,000 litres of organic waste had accumulated there over eight years. Emptying the plant, removing the waste and carrying out the specialised repairs represented a total cost of €34,806.24.

The Governing Board also commissioned the swimming pool works, which began on 3 March 2002. The renovated pool, facilities adapted for people with disabilities and the new perimeter wall were the first tangible results of the programme launched in 2001.

A comprehensive study to prepare for integration

However, these improvements represented only the first stage. The Consell Comarcal del Baix Camp began preparing a broader study of the works required to bring Planas up to standard.

The study was to examine the drinking water and sewerage networks, the other infrastructure and the underground installation of electricity and telephone lines. Its purpose was to determine which works were necessary for Planas to be integrated into the municipality of Pratdip.

At the general meeting held on 11 August 2002, Mayor Josep Fortuny announced that the Town Council would finance 50% of the cost of this study.

The EUCC’s budget for the 2002–2003 financial year also allocated €10,000 to the renovation study.

Renovation under way, but still no final project

By the end of 2002, Planas had begun to change. The well pump had been replaced, the wastewater treatment plant had been repaired and the swimming pool had been renovated and reopened during the summer.

These improvements showed that the EUCC had embarked on a renovation programme that went beyond routine maintenance.

However, the overall project still had to be defined. The total cost of the works, the timetable, the funding arrangements and the conditions under which the Town Council would take responsibility for them had not yet been established.

The formal acceptance of Planas was therefore still not guaranteed. The studies launched in 2001 and 2002 now had to lead to a proper development project that could be presented to the property owners and approved by the Town Council.

This new stage begins in 2003 with the preparation of a first comprehensive project to complete Planas and secure its formal acceptance.

La Tribune de Planas