The Vecinos Les Planes del Rei (AVPR SOS Planas) association has announced that it is filing a new legal action before the criminal courts in order to require the Municipality of Pratdip to provide the minimum public services in Las Planas del Rey.
According to the association, this action is based on a technical report prepared by an architect specialising in environmental urban planning, which allegedly highlights shortcomings in the public services provided within the urbanisation.
SOS Planas also points out that its statutes were published in the Official Gazette and that the association has been recognised as representative by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC).
1. Requesting the Provision of Minimum Public Services
According to SOS Planas, the law requires municipalities to provide essential public services in inhabited areas, including urbanisations that have not yet been formally accepted by the local authority.
The association specifically refers to:
- drinking water;
- sewerage;
- waste collection;
- public lighting;
- road maintenance;
- access to the urbanisation.
Believing that these legal obligations are not being fully met in Las Planas del Rey, SOS Planas has announced its intention to bring the matter before the courts in order to have the municipality’s legal obligation to provide these services recognised.
2. Reurbanisation Under Public Management
SOS Planas states that it supports the reurbanisation project for Las Planas del Rey, whose cost was then estimated at approximately €11 million.
However, the association believes that the project should meet several conditions:
- be managed by the Municipality of Pratdip or the Provincial Council of Tarragona, rather than by a parallel entity;
- be carried out in phases according to priorities and available resources;
- form part of an official roadmap leading to the integration of the urbanisation into the public infrastructure network;
- not require the owners of Las Planas to bear 100% of the cost of the works.
3. Opposition to a New EUCC or Similar Administrative Body
The association declares its opposition to the creation of a new EUCC or any other comparable administrative body that would be responsible for managing future reurbanisation works.
According to SOS Planas, such a solution could reproduce the problems experienced in the past, particularly regarding governance and funding.
The association also believes that property owners should not be required to pay both the costs of a management entity and the Property Tax (IBI), a situation it describes as double taxation.
4. Request for the Reimbursement of Amounts Paid to the EUCC
SOS Planas maintains that property owners paid approximately €5 million between 1993 and 2016 to an entity whose legality was later challenged by the Catalan courts.
The association recalls that the EUCC, created by the Municipality in April 1988 to oversee the completion of the infrastructure, was originally intended to be temporary.
According to SOS Planas, documents from that period indicated that the urbanisation was already approximately 85% completed, yet the EUCC remained in operation until 2016.
The association argues that, for many years, property owners were required to pay both:
- the Property Tax (IBI) to the Municipality;
- the EUCC fees.
Considering this situation to have constituted an unjustified double financial burden, SOS Planas is requesting the reimbursement of the amounts paid to the EUCC between 1993 and 2016, claiming at least the four years preceding its dissolution.
Conclusion
Through this new legal action, SOS Planas is requesting, among other things:
- that the Municipality provide the minimum public services required by law;
- that future reurbanisation works be carried out under public management;
- that property owners should not bear the full cost of the works;
- that the amounts paid to the EUCC be reimbursed.
The association also provides the following figures:
- approximately €6 million paid by property owners to the EUCC;
- an average of approximately €230,000 per year;
- €300,000 paid in 2005 to the company ACYCSA as part of a reurbanisation project.
These figures and analyses reflect the position defended by SOS Planas at the time this article was published.
31/05/2025
Jim – La Tribune de Planas
Editor’s Note – 2026 Update: This article, published on 31 May 2025, presents the position expressed by SOS Planas at that time. Since then, the context has evolved, notably with the creation of the Associació Administrativa de Cooperació (AAC) of Las Planas del Rey and the continuation of the initiatives undertaken by the various parties involved.
