On 14 August 2017, the Diari de Tarragona published an article about the situation in Planas del Rey.
Several residents complained about the poor condition of the development, the lack of street lighting and insufficient maintenance of the roads. They called on Pratdip Town Council to invest more in providing what they considered to be essential services.
The article also gave the floor to the Mayor of Pratdip, Joan Maria Rovira, who presented a different view of the situation: according to him, the urban development deficiencies first had to be regularised before certain services could be formally taken over by the municipality.
In simple terms: this newspaper article shows that in 2017, one year after the court-ordered dissolution of the EUCC, there was still a deep disagreement between some Planas residents and the Town Council over services, investment and the financing of the works that still needed to be carried out.
Residents complain about the condition of Planas del Rey
The residents interviewed by the Diari de Tarragona described a development which, in their view, had suffered from inadequate maintenance for several years.
The problems they mentioned included:
- the lack of street lighting;
- the poor condition of some roads;
- insufficient maintenance of public areas;
- the feeling that they were having to finance services themselves which, in their view, should receive greater municipal support.
Òscar Serrano, a resident of Planas del Rey, told the newspaper that property owners paid both contributions towards the maintenance of the development and municipal property tax (IBI).
He therefore argued that the Town Council should invest more in Planas del Rey.
IBI at the centre of the criticism
Òscar Serrano also put forward several figures concerning municipal revenue.
According to him, out of approximately €240,000 in IBI collected by Pratdip Town Council the previous year, nearly €200,000 came from properties located in Planas del Rey.
He also argued that, taking other municipal revenue and subsidies into account, several hundred thousand additional euros should be invested in the development each year.
These figures were put forward by Òscar Serrano in the Diari de Tarragona article. The article does not provide accounting documents that would allow them to be verified.
They should therefore be understood as part of the financial argument made at the time by some residents, rather than as amounts established by an administrative or judicial decision.
The dissolution of the EUCC was already central to the debate
The article also refers to the ruling of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia of 21 July 2016, which had declared the dissolution of the EUCC of Planas del Rey.
For the residents interviewed, this decision strengthened their demand for a fundamental change in the way the development was managed.
However, it is important to distinguish this demand from what the 2016 ruling actually established.
The TSJC declared the dissolution of the EUCC because it considered that the conservation obligation imposed on the property owners could not continue indefinitely.
The ruling did not, by itself, formally transfer the whole of Planas del Rey to the Town Council.
A conflict that had also become political
The dispute surrounding Planas del Rey had also taken on a political dimension.
In the previous municipal elections, several residents had created the Agrupación Electoral Unidos por Planes del Rei.
With 69 votes, the group had won one seat on the Town Council.
It subsequently reached an agreement with CiU to become part of the municipal majority.
According to Òscar Serrano, who headed the group, that agreement included commitments relating to the integration of Planas del Rey and its maintenance.
However, a few months before the Diari article was published, Unidos por Planes del Rei had left the municipal government, arguing that the commitments made had not been fulfilled.
By August 2017, the conflict surrounding the development was therefore administrative, financial and political.
The Town Council presents a different position
The Diari de Tarragona also reported the position of the Mayor of Pratdip, Joan Maria Rovira.
The mayor acknowledged that Planas del Rey had urban development deficiencies, but argued that the residents’ demands could not be met under the conditions they were proposing.
According to the Town Council, the reparcellation and redevelopment procedures first had to be completed in order to regularise the situation and carry out the necessary works.
The mayor considered that the cost of these works should be borne by the property owners in accordance with the urban development system in place.
He also rejected the accusation that the Town Council benefited financially from Planas without investing sufficiently in the development.
In simple terms: residents were demanding more municipal services and investment, while the Town Council argued that the urban development deficiencies first had to be regularised and the necessary works financed according to the procedures in force.
The PSC supports a different approach
The article also presented the position of the PSC in Pratdip.
The party explained that it had not wanted to reach an agreement with Unidos por Planes del Rei because it considered the proposals being made at the time difficult to implement.
Instead, it supported the idea of distributing municipal resources according to population.
The Diari article therefore shows that in 2017 there was still no political consensus on how Planas del Rey should be financed and managed.
What should be remembered
This newspaper article is particularly useful for understanding the atmosphere in Planas del Rey in August 2017.
One year after the dissolution of the EUCC:
- residents were still complaining about inadequate maintenance and services;
- they were calling for greater investment by the Town Council;
- Planas del Rey’s contribution to municipal IBI revenue had become an important argument in the debate;
- the Town Council maintained that the urban development deficiencies first had to be regularised;
- the financing of the works remained one of the main points of disagreement;
- the dispute had also led to the breakdown of the political agreement between Unidos por Planes del Rei and the municipal majority.
In simple terms: the dissolution of the EUCC in 2016 did not resolve the problems of Planas del Rey. In 2017, the essential question remained: how should the development be completed, the necessary works financed and services provided to residents on a lasting basis?
This question would continue to shape the years that followed.
Jim – La Tribune de Planas
Source:
Article by Francesc Gras published in the Diari de Tarragona on 14 August 2017: “Vecinos de Planes del Rei, en Pratdip, denuncian el mal estado de la urbanización”.
