Act 1 — The Genesis of an Illegal System (1968–2016)
Since 1968, the management of the Planas del Rey urbanisation was entrusted to the “Property Owners’ Club”.
A system of double taxation was put in place:
- IBI, a property tax paid to the State and then transferred to the Pratdip Town Hall.
- The “Quotas”, fees paid directly by property owners — first to the “Property Owners’ Club”, then from 1988 onwards to the EUCC for the upkeep of the urbanisation.
Figures for the period 2006–2016:
- €230,000/year in “quotas” paid to the EUCC by owners
- €230,000/year in IBI paid to the town hall… but used for other expenses
On 12 June 1985, Spain signed its accession treaty to the European Community, which came into force on 1 January 1986. This treaty strictly prohibits systems of double taxation like the one in place in Planas.
To circumvent this ban, the Pratdip Town Hall created in July 1987 an EUCC (Urbanistic Entity for Collaboration and Conservation).
In July 1990, the Spanish State limited the existence of EUCCs to 5 years, during which time they were supposed to carry out necessary upgrades prior to the full integration of the urbanisation by the municipality.
However, these works were never carried out in Planas. The Town Hall, which had created the EUCC, failed to respect the law. It should have started the works between 1988 and 1993 with financial participation from the owners, and then dissolved the EUCC.
Instead, the EUCC remained in place until the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) pronounced its dissolution in 2016.
Estimated cost of this illegal taxation to property owners between 2006 and 2016: around 5 million euros.
Act 2 — The Legal Battle (2016–2022)
After the official dissolution of the EUCC in 2016, the Town Hall claimed that Planas would fall into an administrative vacuum.
But in law, a vacuum does not exist: when an administrative entity (EUCC) is dissolved, responsibility automatically reverts to the entity that created it — the Pratdip Town Hall.
Refusing to comply with the 2016 ruling, the Town Hall challenged the interpretation of the enforcement judge, who stated that the 1990 law triggered the automatic dissolution of the EUCC.
The Town Hall’s appeal was rejected in 2020 by the TSJC, which fined it €2,000. Despite this conviction, the Town Hall persisted:
- Refusal to provide minimum public services (street lighting, road maintenance…)
- Attempt to impose the creation of a new EUCC with a budget of €103,000 for the first year
Faced with this obstinacy, our association AVPR – SOS Planas filed a criminal complaint in 2022 with the Investigating Judge of Reus against the current mayor and her secretary.
The charges brought:
- Urban Planning Offense (Art. 320.1 of the Penal Code) – 3 years in prison and a €7,200 fine
- Prevarication by Public Officials (Art. 404) – 10-year ban from public office and passive suffrage
- Disobedience to Justice (Art. 410.1) – 2-year disqualification and a €3,600 fine
Conclusion (provisional?)
With municipal elections approaching, false claims continue to circulate. Let’s clarify:
- No, Planas del Rey is not a private urbanisation.
- Yes, we are already integrated into Pratdip.
- No, property owners are not required to fund 100% of the integration works.
Yes, works are needed — but under the conditions set out in the Administrative Appeal (Recurso de Alzada) submitted in December 2021 by our association to the Town Hall of Pratdip and the Baix Camp administration.
The Town Hall, as owner of nearly 45% of Planas’ territory (roads, green spaces, swimming pool, etc.), must cover its share of the costs.
On behalf of the Asociación de Vecinos de Planes del Rei – SOS Planas
President, Gérard Marais
