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By h.b. - Mar 5, 2011 - 10:51 AM
The news was given by the Regional Councillor for Public Works, Josefina Cruz Villaón
The Junta de Andalucía is to legalise 11,000 irregularly built homes in the Axarquía area of Málaga province.
The Regional Councillor for Public Works, Josefina Cruz, said on Friday that the Junta was looking to solve the legality of 86.5% of the buildings located in the Axarquía area on non-buildable land, a total of some 11,000 homes.
She explained that there are 12,760 properties constructed on non-buildable land in 22 municipalities of the Axarquía. Of these 859 are on protected land, and here the councillor said ‘Not everything can be made legal’ explaining that the properties cannot be where they are, and that demolition will have to take place where considered opportune.
976 of the properties have been constructed within the last four years which means the construction crime is still in date and could be prosecuted. These are the cases where complications remain and where the local Town Hall will have to study the situation. In some cases the councillor said, ‘It could be possible to grant basic services which will allow the property to continue to be residential’.
For the majority Cruz said that they will be drawing up a new decree specifically for buildings constructed outside the regulations.
Cruz met with 14 Mayors of the district where an inventory has been drawn up of such properties. However eight further municipalities did not take part in the meeting, and the three largest, Nerja, Torrox and Vélez-Málaga are not participating as they have populations of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Cruz said the announcement was ‘not an amnesty, but a recognition of a reality which is there, and responding to it, but with conditions. What we are doing is recognising the existence of 11,025 homes which can start a process of regularisation’
However not all the Mayors are happy with the proposal. The PP Mayor of Benamocarra, Abdeslam Lucena, described it as ‘outrageous’ and thinks its timing is electioneering.
‘They wanted to get a photo with all the mayors, with less than a month before such political matters will be not be allowed to be advertised (because of the closeness of the elections) and only now do they regularise nearly 90% of the illegal homes’.
Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_29485.shtml#ixzz1Fj8F6XUf
Fitch threatens to revise the rating for Spanish debt
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By h.b. - Mar 5, 2011 - 9:50 AM
The ratings agency has revised the outlook from stable to negative.
The Fitch ratings agency has threatened to reduce the classification of Spanish debt. It has revised its outlook from stable to negative, given doubts on the recovery of the Spanish economy, and the cost of restructuring the country’s caja savings banks, estimated at 38 billion €.
The rating remains at AA+.
Fitch considers that unless a ‘credible and global response’ comes from EU financial leaders on the doubts of debt, particularly in regional governments, before the European Summit on March 24 and 25, the agency may make a downward revision.
A statement from the Ministry for the Economy said that the news ‘is not good’.
Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_29482.shtml#ixzz1Fj95I4dX
Heavy snow closes the A-6 north of Madrid
The road has now been re-opened but the DGT has advised drivers only to make necessary journeys.
Spanish Government passes its energy savings measures
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By h.b. - Mar 4, 2011 - 2:52 PM
The new 110km/hr top speed limit comes into effect on Monday
The Cabinet has today, Friday, approved 20 measures to save energy, as a precautionary measure given the unrest in some oil-producing countries.
The much talked about 110 km/hour top speed limit is set to last for an initial four months, but may be extended after that, and comes into effect on Monday March 7. Radar speed traps are to be adjusted to the new speed limit, but a driver who is just over the 110km/hr will not lose any points.
The 5% reduction in RENFE train ticket prices, with the exception of the AVE, will also apply initially for the four month period. The Government hopes that petrol imports will be reduced by 5% by the speed and train ticket price measures, although some other experts think the savings will be only 2%.
Deputy Prime Minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, said that he was convinced the public would meet the new laws, although he admitted that there were some people who did not like the moves.
Minister for Industry, Miguel Sebastián, explained after the cabinet meeting that the energy saving plan involves all public administrations.
The Ministry for Development is to reduce the spending on street lighting by 50%. It comes following the revelation that Spain is the European country which spends the most per capita on street lighting, according to a study from the Light Pollution Studio at the Complutense University, which compared the spending across ten countries. Spain spends 114-118 kwh per inhabitant, compared to just 43-48 kwh per inhabitant in Germany. The plan here is to put low consumption bulbs into public lighting, and to change all the bulbs across the country over the next five years.
The Industry Minister, Miguel Sebastián, insisted that there was no problem in energy supply in Spain and justified the measures for reasons of ‘responsibility and coherence’, given the countries dependence on imported energy which at 75% is one of the highest in Europe.
Among the measures approved, a plan to renew tyres to save petrol, new airline corridors across the country and transatlantic, and new lines of credit for improvements in collective mobility in cities. 240,000 tyres are to be changed for more efficient designs which will allow the vehicle to save 0.3 litres of fuel per 100 kms. The financial help is 20 € per tyre.
The 20 energy-saving measures will cost 1.151 billion € to implement.
It has been calculated that if a barrel of Brent increases in price by 10 dollars, it will cost the Government 6 billion €.
Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_29477.shtml#ixzz1FjAOMk5H
Spain Business Brief - Friday March 4 2011
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By h.b. - Mar 4, 2011 - 4:35 PM
Quick jump in the Euribor set to make mortgage payments more expensive
The Euribor rate, used to set most of the mortgages in Spain has jumped to 1.924% at the start of March, having ended February at 1.773%. Much of the increase has come after the European Central Bank Chairman, Jean-Claude Trichet, said that he expected interest rates to rise in April. Such an increase in the Euribor means 400 € more a year in mortgage payments on an average policy.
The markets consider that the Euribor could be back up to 2.5% by the end of the year.
House sales in Spain grew by 5.3% in 2010. According to the Colegios de Registradores there were 445,885 property sales over the 12 months. Increased sales were seen in 29 of the country’s provinces, the largest seen in Álava 42%, Valladolid 28.3% and Barcelona 27.6%.
However optimism has weakened of late and tax changes introduced in 2010 with the withdrawal of tax breaks on property are likely to result in a weak market this year. Experts say the data, which is positive at first glance, should be taken prudently. Data for the last quarter of 2010 showed 93,003 sales, 1.85% down on the same period in 2009.
The Spanish Government today approved a total of 20 measures designed to save energy and which will cost the country 1.151 billion €. Most talked about measure is the reduction of the maximum speed limit to 110 km/hr, which is being introduced for an initial four month period.
AENA workers at Spain’s airports have called a 24 hour national strike for the Thursday before the Easter weekend. It comes in protest at the Government’s plans to partially privatise the Spanish Airports Authority. Unions are recommending passengers who have tickets for April 21 to change their flights.
The ex owners of the Marsans travel group have blamed IATA to justify the bankruptcy of the company. It came in the Mercantile Court in Madrid where judge Ana María Gallego rejected a request for an embargo on the assets of the company’s representatives.
The Bank of Spain has made a call for flexibility in wages as a way of containing inflation. It comes in their bulletin for February, which also reports a positive evolution in indications for private consumer demand.
Eroski has threatened to demand compensation from the troubled Nueva Rumasa group of companies. It comes after the supermarket chain suffered a break in supply of milk products white labelled for it by the Clesa company.
Mobile phone company Yoigo has been fined for keeping the balance from pre-paid users who had not recharged their phone over a long time. The consumers organisation FACUA reports that Yoigo has been fined 9,200 € by the authorities in the Madrid regional government. Other mobile operators face similar fines.
Industrial production in Spain saw a 6% increase in January, making it the third consecutive month of growth. The sectors to show most recovery are basic chemical products, motors and electrical appliances.
The Savings Bank Association, FUNCAS, has been looking at the economy in the regions, and concluded that most GDP growth has been seen in Navarra, while the Baleares and Murcia are those to see the biggest falls in their regional economies.
Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_29479.shtml#ixzz1FjBHjGgN
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