The political parties fighting the local elections in 2019 answer questions posed by Para Una Xabia Sostenible based on the EDUSI project
Question 4.
We need the revival of heritage resources for the local culture. History for all. There is still a lot of heritage to recover, especially the 19th century manor houses in the old town that are now languishing. But not only for tourist purposes but above all to reactivate the citizen culture of the neighbours. Do you agree that this is a problem? If so, how would you solve it?
PSOE Reply
Yes, of course, the valuation and maintenance of our historical, ethnographic and cultural heritage is a basic part of good management. We say that sustainability has three axes: environmental, economic and cultural. The Department of Culture and Heritage has done a great job in these eight years: the riurau d'Arnauda has been improved, the old barracks of carabineros have been recovered, the process to open the port's bomb shelter has begun … and from the urban development department, measures of cultural protection of our traditional architectural samples have been put in place. However we must differentiate public buildings from private ones. In the second case, the City Council seriously follows up the obligation of owners to maintain the facades in good condition. The administrative processes are long (because that's what the Law dictates, not because we like it) and sometimes it is difficult to find the owners (sometimes they are bankrupt companies, untraceable heirs …) and everything becomes a little more complicated. In the case of public buildings, we have already expressed our intention to rehabilitate the Candelaria House with provincial funds and to convert the Central Cinema into Youth Centre. We know there is a lot to do, but when we became the government in 2011 we found a debt of 43 million euros. Now, with that debt at 0, everything is more feasible.
Compromis reply
We agree on the diagnosis. The problem with heritage buildings is that regulations protecting them and the high cost of implementing necessary reforms while respecting the regulations makes private investment very difficult, and tends to be abandoned. One of the pillars on which we intend to act on this is in terms of European funds. Towns similar to Xàbia such as Altea already have a council of European funds to make the most of these opportunities. In particular, there is an agency of the Generalitat, the Institut Valencià de l'Edificació, which is specifically dedicated to work on European projects in the field of building reformation, revitalization of historic urban centres and energy efficiency. In 2020 a new round of European projects begins and we think that Xàbia has to be there, with the help of the mentioned IVE, to propose an ambitious urban rehabilitation strategy for the Casco Antiguo.
This issue has to go hand in hand with two of our most important proposals: a Strategic Culture Plan, in which we plan in the medium and long term and think about the role that public facilities and historic buildings should have in the cultural life of Xàbia - and consider investments accordingly - and in the Housing Plan, one of whose mainstays is precisely rehabilitation, collaborating with private entities such as housing cooperatives to encourage access to housing and reasonable rent. There are cooperation formulas for rehabilitation -such as European volunteering or urban freemasonry contracts- that would allow us to attract young people to Xàbia, concerned about the cultural revitalization and the recovery of historic buildings.
Ciudadanos reply
To value our heritage is a fundamental objective. For this reason, I want to work to find solutions from the Town Council and reach agreements with the owners to establish agreements through which these properties could be classified and documented, all with the will to promote our history and our heritage, to revitalize our historic centre, enhance our economy and the cultural and historical offer of Xàbia.
Partido Popular reply
Of course, we must avoid deterioration or loss of the existing architectural heritage in the old town. The protection of these buildings is not enough, it needs to be backed by important financial aid and fiscal incentives for their recovery, otherwise they will eventually become ruins, which we do not want.
On the other hand, we propose to enhance and value the historic centre, among others, with the following actions:
A) Request from the State, the Generalitat and the Provincial Council financial aid to rehabilitate the listed buildings of the historic centre and maintenance of facades.
B) Encourage guided tours of the historical buildings of the old town.
C) Encourage the signing of agreements with the Valencian Tourism Agency, with the Tourist Board of the Costa Blanca, and with tour operators to promote the historic centre.
D) Encourage and promote the actions of renovation, regeneration and rehabilitation of the historic centre.
Podemos reply
The Soler Blasco museum is still what museums looked like in the 70s. It has to be modernized to make it attractive. Given the excavation of the Central Cinema, we believe that this should be included as an annex to the museum. We do not think that the current council’s plan, to turn the Central Cinema into a Youth Centre, is appropriate. A better location for this would be the Clot, where the youth already have accommodation.
We also think it is a good idea to try to rent out the large houses in the old town for tourist visits, but we have not contemplated it in our program, and therefore have not investigated the possibilities.
Open up the Riu-Rau to cultural and other events, making it more dynamic, give more use to Ca Lambert (mini-theaters, coffee with classical music, etc.), street art …
(I attach other proposals on culture of our program):
The creation of a fund for cultural initiatives (especially for alternative art).
Convert the Council of Culture into a governing body.
Ciudadanos por Jávea reply
The policy of cataloguing property alone is not effective for the maintenance of buildings of historical, architectural or ethnological value, it must be accompanied by promotional measures, such as tax measures, subsidies …, and together with them the technical inspection of buildings so that we know the state they are in and act so that they do not deteriorate. The Town Hall approved an ordinance in the last legislature to ensure the protection of buildings over 50 years of age, but this has not been a priority for this government, has been in a drawer collecting dust, but of course if we see the state the public buildings are in (Cinema, Candelaria, …) everything is understood…