28 October 1977: Francisco Lebasque proposes donating Planas infrastructure to Pratdip Town Council

On 28 October 1977, Francisco Lebasque, the developer behind Planas del Rey, sent a letter from Toulouse to the mayor of Pratdip announcing his decision to donate a substantial part of the development’s infrastructure and facilities to the Town Council.

Almost nine years after the first steps taken in 1968, the document shows that the developer was still seeking to transfer Planas del Rey’s roads, networks and several shared facilities to the municipality.

A wide-ranging donation proposal

The list of assets Francisco Lebasque proposes to donate to the Town Council is extensive.

It includes:

• the Olympic-size swimming pool and children’s pool, together with their installations and services;
• the five tennis courts;
• the miniature golf course;
• the well and its pumps;
• the roads within the development;
• the entire water supply system, including the wells and associated installations;
• the sewerage network;
• all land designated as green space, together with the existing planting;
• street lighting, added by hand to the document.

The proposal therefore concerns far more than a few plots or green areas: it covers a substantial part of Planas del Rey’s shared facilities and infrastructure.

Services intended to be managed by the Town Council

Francisco Lebasque states that all property owners in Planas del Rey should continue to have the right to use the development’s services once they are managed by Pratdip Town Council, subject to payment of the corresponding charges under whatever arrangements the municipality considers appropriate.

He also suggests, without making it a condition of the donation, that staff assigned to these services should be recruited entirely from among residents of the municipality of Pratdip.

The developer also asks the mayor to do everything possible to keep down the costs associated with the sewage treatment plant then being required by the authorities.

A clear intention to formalise the donation

The document is particularly explicit about the developer’s intention to go beyond a simple statement of intent.

Francisco Lebasque declares himself fully available to sign the documents and deeds required to formalise the donation. He even states that he will be in Pratdip on 22, 23 and 24 November 1977 for this purpose.

He wishes the donation to take effect on 1 January 1978.

The letter therefore clearly shows that, in October 1977, the developer intended to move towards the formal legal completion of the donation in favour of the municipality.

A donation proposal is not yet a completed transfer

This document is an important piece of Planas del Rey’s administrative history, but its legal significance needs to be assessed carefully.

It establishes Francisco Lebasque’s decision to donate the listed assets to the Town Council and his willingness to sign the documents required to complete the process.

However, the letter does not, by itself, prove that the Town Council accepted the donation or that the legal transfer of all these assets was ultimately completed.

Establishing that would require the corresponding acceptance decisions, any notarial deeds and the relevant entries in the Land Registry.

Nine years later, the transfer still remains to be formalised

This letter forms part of the continuing efforts initiated in 1968. At that time, the property owners had requested the transfer of several services, Francisco Lebasque had formally submitted this request and the Town Council had sought the opinion of the provincial authorities.

This proposal was not an isolated initiative. At their general meeting on 3 August 1976, the property owners had already approved negotiations with Pratdip Town Council with a view to the gradual municipal takeover of the road network, water supply, sewerage, public lighting, waste collection and several responsibilities relating to the safety and public health of the development.

The letter sent by Francisco Lebasque in October 1977 therefore appears to be a continuation of the initiative undertaken collectively by the property owners in 1976. However, almost nine years after the first steps taken in 1968, this new proposal shows that the transfer had still not been completed. By offering to donate the infrastructure and facilities to the municipality, the developer was attempting to provide the legal basis required for their transfer.

However, the document does not establish whether the announced deeds were actually signed, whether the Town Council formally accepted the donation or whether the assets concerned were registered in the municipality’s name. These questions would arise again during the administrative proceedings initiated from 1986 onwards.

Jim – La Tribune de Planas

Translation of the original document

1977-10-28-certifica-de-donation-lebasque-mairie