On 8 October 2019, La Tribune published a report by Avança Pratdip on the Pratdip Town Council meeting held a few days earlier, on 4 October.
Several issues directly affecting Planas del Rey were discussed: the sanitation situation, the increase in the waste collection charge, street lighting and access to certain municipal documents.
Other matters concerning the municipality as a whole were also examined, including roadworks, social services and wildfire prevention.
In simple terms: the exchanges reported below come from the account published at the time by Avança Pratdip. As the corresponding official municipal minutes are not currently available in our archives, the statements and responses made during the meeting are presented as reported by Avança.
A request to record the meeting
According to Avança Pratdip, Óscar Serrano asks before the start of the meeting for permission to record the proceedings.
He justifies the request by referring to disagreements over the wording of previous municipal minutes.
The request to record the meeting is not accepted.
Avança also requests several corrections to the minutes of the two previous meetings. According to its report, these amendments are eventually accepted following discussion.
The situation of the Planas wastewater treatment plant is raised
One particularly important exchange for Planas del Rey concerns sanitation.
According to Avança Pratdip’s report, its councillors ask the mayor whether the neighbouring municipalities of Mont-roig del Camp and Vandellòs i l’Hospitalet de l’Infant have been informed of what they describe as the complete shutdown of the Planas wastewater treatment plant for more than two years and the continued discharge of wastewater into the ravine.
Again according to this report, Mayor Joan M. Rovira replies that the municipalities have indeed been informed.
The report does not, however, provide any technical document that would, on its own, make it possible to verify the exact date on which the facility stopped operating, its actual condition or the characteristics of the discharges.
A few weeks earlier, the Diari de Tarragona had already published a report on the sanitation situation in the Baix Camp, stating that Pratdip was among the municipalities that still did not have a complete wastewater treatment plant.
In simple terms: the Town Council meeting of 4 October 2019 represents another important point in the chronology: the specific situation of the Planas del Rey wastewater treatment plant is now explicitly being raised before the municipal council.
Increase in the waste collection charge
The council also examines the municipal tax ordinances.
According to Avança’s report, most charges are to be adjusted by approximately 1% in line with inflation, while the IBI property tax is not affected by this increase.
The household waste charge, however, is due to increase by 10%.
The mayor explains that this increase is due to higher SECOMSA tariffs which, according to him, had not yet been fully passed on by the municipality. The report also mentions the prospect of a further increase in the cost of the service.
Avança Pratdip opposes the increase. According to its report, it is nevertheless approved by the five councillors of the governing majority.
The group also criticises the quality of waste collection and the cleaning of containers, particularly in Planas during the summer period.
These assessments of the quality of the service reflect the position expressed by Avança Pratdip at the time.
Roadworks, social services and wildfire prevention
Several other municipal matters are also examined during the meeting.
The report states, among other things, that only one company, MiJ Gruas S.A., submitted a bid for the works on the Les Sorts road and that the contract was awarded to it. Avança councillors abstain from the vote.
An agreement with the Consell Comarcal concerning social services is also approved, with the support of Avança Pratdip.
The council also unanimously adopts a plan defining areas exposed to wildfire risk.
The issue of street lighting in Planas
Avança Pratdip then asks the mayor about the lack of street lighting on Avinguda de Pratdip in Planas del Rey.
According to the group’s report, the mayor replies that Planas is considered a private urbanisation and that the municipality cannot enter into a contract with Fecsa because of the situation involving the former EUCC.
Avança then proposes that the municipality seek another solution or use another company. The mayor dismisses this possibility.
This response must be understood within the complex administrative history of Planas.
The judgment issued by the Falset court on 23 November 1993 included public lighting among the assets whose free transfer to Pratdip Town Council Francisco Lebasque was required to formalise.
However, that judgment does not, on its own, establish that all the infrastructure was subsequently formally taken over by the municipality, nor does it automatically determine responsibility for its operation in 2019.
Likewise, the dissolution of the EUCC ordered by the TSJC in 2016 did not automatically resolve every issue concerning the former infrastructure and services of the urbanisation.
In simple terms: the mayor’s statement, as reported by Avança, reflects the municipality’s position during that meeting. It does not in itself constitute a court ruling on responsibility for street lighting in Planas.
Documents requested on waste collection
Avança Pratdip also states that it has still not received certain documents previously requested concerning waste collection.
According to its report, the municipality refers to the protection of certain data and announces that a written reply will be provided.
The material currently available to us does not show what response was subsequently given to this request.
Treatment against pine processionary caterpillars
Finally, Avança asks for information about the treatment carried out against pine processionary caterpillars.
According to the report, the mayor acknowledges that the treatment carried out the previous year had not produced the expected results.
An important meeting in the chronology of Planas
For the history of Planas del Rey, the meeting of 4 October 2019 is particularly significant for two reasons.
First, the condition of the wastewater treatment plant and the discharge of wastewater are explicitly raised before the Town Council. Second, the difficulties surrounding public lighting show that, despite the dissolution of the EUCC, some questions concerning the management of the urbanisation’s former infrastructure remain unresolved.
The discussions about waste collection also reflect residents’ everyday concerns regarding municipal services and their cost.
One month later, the sanitation situation in Planas del Rey would become the subject of a much more detailed public warning.
Jim – La Tribune de Planas
