In spring 2018, the situation in Planas del Rey is featured in a report by Canal Reus.
A few days after a demonstration attended by nearly one hundred residents, the report looks at several issues that are fuelling disagreements between some property owners and Pratdip Town Council: water management, infrastructure maintenance, land readjustment and the future of the development following the dissolution of the EUCC.
The residents involved in the protest are calling for greater investment and believe that several services should now be taken over by the municipality.
The Town Council takes a different position: it maintains that certain infrastructures have not yet been formally accepted by the municipality and that this legally limits the work it can carry out.
In simple terms: by April 2018, the disagreement is no longer only about the condition of the roads or the price of water. Above all, it concerns how responsibilities should be divided between property owners and the Town Council following the disappearance of the EUCC.
A protest a few days earlier
The report comes shortly after the demonstration held in Planas del Rey on 1 April 2018.
Nearly one hundred residents had called for greater municipal investment and more attention to several services, particularly water, public lighting, roads and the maintenance of communal areas.
Òscar Serrano, a municipal councillor and resident of Planas, supports the protest and calls for greater involvement by the Town Council.
These demands reflect the position defended by the residents taking part in the protest. They do not, in themselves, establish the Town Council’s legal obligations.
The Town Council points to the lack of formal acceptance of the infrastructure
In the report, Pratdip Town Council presents a different interpretation of the situation.
According to the municipal position expressed at the time, certain infrastructures in Planas, including the internal water network, have not yet been formally accepted by the municipality.
The mayor therefore considers that the Town Council’s ability to intervene remains limited, except in particular when an emergency requires action.
This distinction is important: ownership of certain land or facilities, approval of planning documents and formal acceptance of completed works are separate administrative issues.
The Canal Reus report
Canal Reus devotes a report to these disagreements under the title “El conflicte entre les Planes del Rei i Pratdip es cronifica”.
The original Canal Reus page is no longer available, but the video report is still preserved on YouTube.
A pending agreement on water management
At the time, a proposed agreement for the management of water in Planas del Rey was under consideration between the Consell Comarcal del Baix Camp and Pratdip Town Council, with Comaigua expected to operate the service.
The proposed agreement was intended to ensure continuity of the water service, organise billing and water-quality monitoring, provide for the maintenance of the network and define the investments required to improve the infrastructure.
At that stage, however, the agreement had not yet been approved, as no political consensus had been reached within the Town Council.
The water issue therefore illustrates the wider problem facing Planes del Rei: there was agreement on the need to guarantee the service, but disagreement remained over how it should be organised and financed, and who should be responsible for the internal network.
The renovation of the former shopping centre
Canal Reus also refers to a municipal project launched several years earlier: the renovation of the former shopping centre in Planas.
According to the report, the cost of the project exceeds €190,000, with funding including a grant linked to the proximity of the Vandellòs nuclear power plant.
At that time, completion of the work still depends on the approval of the 2018 municipal budget.
The project includes spaces intended for public services and various local activities.
The Town Council highlights expenditure in Planas
In response to criticism about the lack of investment, the Town Council also presents its own figures.
According to the amounts cited in the report, more than €230,000 had been spent on Planas in 2017, out of an overall municipal budget of approximately €1.3 million.
The Town Council mentions, among other expenditure:
- around €19,000 for the municipal swimming pool;
- around €22,000 for the introduction of a bus service;
- and various occasional interventions, particularly in emergency situations.
These figures correspond to the information presented by the Town Council in the report. On their own, they do not constitute a complete analysis of all municipal revenue and expenditure associated with Planas.
The reparcelación enters a new phase
The report also looks at the reparcelación process.
After the registration of the project approved in 2012 was blocked by the Falset Land Registry, the project had to be corrected and a second consolidated version was prepared.
On 4 January 2018, Pratdip Town Council gives final approval to this second consolidated version of the Planes del Rei reparcelación project. The decision is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Tarragona on 16 March 2018.
The procedure is intended, among other things, to clarify the situation of the properties and determine how the costs associated with the urban development works are to be distributed. The affected property owners still have avenues of appeal.
Òscar Serrano questions some of the calculation criteria used at the time, arguing that they are based on values that have become outdated.
The report also recalls that an earlier project estimated the cost of the works needed to complete the urban development and bring the infrastructure up to standard at more than six million euros.
This figure must, however, be seen in context: it is an estimate drawn up several years earlier and does not necessarily represent the final cost of any works that may subsequently be carried out.
The dissolution of the EUCC did not resolve every issue
The institutional situation of Planas had also changed significantly.
In July 2016, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia had declared the dissolution of the EUCC. An order issued in December 2017 subsequently dealt with the enforcement of that decision and the transition of the entity into liquidation.
However, the disappearance of the EUCC did not automatically resolve the formal acceptance of the infrastructure or determine, service by service, all future responsibilities of the Town Council and property owners.
This situation explains much of the disagreement visible in spring 2018.
The idea of a new property owners’ association
In the report, the mayor also raises the possibility of creating a new association through which property owners could organise themselves and contribute towards certain expenses.
The idea raises concerns among several residents, particularly because the EUCC has only recently been dissolved following a lengthy court process.
At this stage, however, it is an idea raised as part of the discussion, not the actual creation of a new organisation.
What should be remembered
The Canal Reus report from April 2018 provides an interesting snapshot of the situation in Planas del Rey a few months after the EUCC ceased its activities.
Several issues are developing at the same time:
- the search for a solution for water management;
- the continuation of the land readjustment process;
- the preparation of future urban development works;
- the renovation of municipal facilities;
- and the debate over how responsibilities should be divided between the Town Council and property owners.
The residents involved in the protests believe that the municipality should play a greater role. The Town Council responds that the lack of formal acceptance of certain infrastructures continues to limit its ability to intervene.
In simple terms: in spring 2018, the dissolution of the EUCC has profoundly changed the situation in Planas del Rey, but it has not resolved the underlying problems. Water, works, financing, land readjustment and the formal acceptance of the development remain closely interconnected.
La Tribune de Planas
Source
Canal Reus report: “El conflicte entre les Planes del Rei i Pratdip es cronifica”, by Ariadna Escoda Padilla and Laura Roig. The original page published by Canal Reus is no longer available; the video remains available on YouTube.
