Xàbia warns the Culture Department about heavy machinery on Roman archaeological site
Feb 22nd
Xàbia has given notice to the Department of Culture of the presence of heavy machinery on one of the most valuable archaeological sites of the municipality, the first century Roman site located in the San Rafael finca, Punta de l'Arenal, property of the family of a former Francoist minister, Mariano Navarro Rubio. The heavy vehicles belong to the company managing the new marina in the Canal de la Fontana which will have a capacity for 300 moorings. After the last storms, "Marina Nou Fontana" has been obliged to dredge the channel and place the sand and sediment on the Punta de l'Arenal so that the waves can return it to the sea. The problem is that in order to carry out this operation, the trucks have been crossing the finca, whose ground has been compressed in an area of great historical value. The company does not have a permit from the Director General of heritage. from La Marina Plaza (Ed's note: A later report said that an inspector from the Department of Culture had found no significant damage to the site)
Xàbia begins to draft a new plan for the prevention of forest fires
Feb 22nd
Xàbia has begun to work on a new municipal forest fire prevention plan, to face up to the potential risk of the losses that the actual urban lay-out of the municipality poses, particularly where it affects areas with a high housing density. The Town Hall has engaged Medi XXI Gabinet de Solucions Integrals, a specialist and recognised Valencian company to assist in the process. Ferran Dalmau, the engineer responsible, explained that as Xàbia has 2,500 hectares of forest, it is necessary to focus on the areas of urban/forest interface (areas of contact between forest zones and urbanisations) and assume that for varying reasons (intentional, weather conditions, negligence, etc.) that there will be fires and that it is everyone's responsibility to be prepared to deal with them.
Dalmau spoke about the four key areas that need to be assessed: planning, forestry management- both from the public administration side and also from the citizens themselves applying new concepts such as pyrogardening – a good supply of hydrants and the creation of firewalls and training citizens so that in the event of a fire that they are helpful and do not hinder the work of the professionals. For full story see: Municipal fire prevention plan 2017
Unemployment in Xàbia below national and reginal averages
Feb 22nd
Unemployment in Xàbia rose to 1,808 at the end of January, up 19 on the previous month. However the general rate of 10.8% and rate for under 25's at 5.64% remail below both the regional and national averages. Unsurprisingly the Services sector, which includes restaurants, bars and hotels and accounts for almost 80% of all employment contracts issued in Xàbia, saw the biggest rise, climbing 35 to 1,340, almost 75% of those registered as out of work. For full story see: Javeamigos
Charging for carrier bags to be mandatory in Spain from 2018
Feb 17th
ALL shops in Spain will be required by law to charge a minimum of five cents for plastic carrier bags – and in some cases, could end up applying prices of up to 30 cents. The environment ministry led by Isabel García Tejerina says free plastic bags will be banned from January 1 next year in an attempt to cut their use, in line with the European Directive of 2015 which all member States are obliged to apply progressively. A recent survey has shown that 87.5% of Spanish shoppers bring their own bags with them to the supermarket. For full story see: Think Spain
Local Initiative to support entrepreneurs
Talk introducing the project on Feb 27th
Feb 17th
An initiative called Marina Alta Emprèn is underway. It was promoted by the Escola de Negocis Innovadors i Digitals (ENID) to promote the creation of new businesses in the region, with financing from the municipalities of Denia, Xàbia, Pego, Pedreguer, Orba and Xaló, as well as "Denia & Marina Alta Tasting Life". The objective is to provide support to entrepreneurs to develop their business ideas and create their own companies, so that they are successful and sustainable over time. The program lasts eight months, during which selected teams will get a space to work in coworking Knowhere (Dénia), La Nau LAB (Pedreguer) and Javea. They will be able to promote their capacities in a creative and enterprising environment in addition to the possibility of relating and sharing space with other entrepreneurs and projects. Any interested party can register until March 5th filling out the form on ( www.marinaaltaempren.com ). Phase 1 or ideation will be carried out during March and April. Participants will have totally free personalised consultancies, courses and conferences to develop their idea. Once this phase is finished, the selection team will choose the best projects for the next phase. This Phase 2 or accelerator will run from May to November (August will be off), and will go deeper into creating a viable business. There will be personalised consultations regarding company formation and the corresponding courses and conferences. At the end, there will be a final presentation of projects to potential investors and potential customers. The calendar of courses and conferences can be seen on the web ( www.marinaaltaempren.com ) or on the Facebook page of Marina Alta Emprèn ( www.facebook.com/MarinaAltaEmpren ). The programme will be presented at talks throughout the region, and on February 27th at 7:30 p.m. in Xàbia. From: La Marina Plaza.
Experts warn of the impact of mass tourism on the landscape of the Marina Alta
Feb 17th
Farmers, herdsmen, hunters, conservationists and experts, who met in Xaló during a new session of the Denia & Marina Alta Tastinglife project, believe that environmental tourism can help the recovery of the rural landscape. However, they advocate that it is a "responsible and sustainable", tourism of "nature or ecotourism" driven by local companies and more in tune with local agents. The impact of tourism "has caused an imbalance that threatens traditional activities and the rural landscape". In addition, "the abandonment of crops which has added drastically to the reduction of livestock and the increasingly frequent presence of uninformed, disrespectful leisure tourism". Cattlemen regret the loss of local abbatoirs - they have to travel 80km to get their cattle slaughtered; hunters ask for the use of private land to breed native prey and hunt in a safe way; traditional agriculture needs to be promoted and linked to the local market. Land banks and catalogues of agricultural and livestock products are good tools for "the reunion between the powerful tourist sector of the coast and the deteriorated primary sector of the interior of the Marina". From :La Marina Plaza
XABIA EDUSI Definitive documents now available on: Fent Xàbia
Feb 16th 2017
The definitive documents of the EDUSI project are now online in PDF format to read and download. Most are in Castellano. EDUSI stands for "Estrategias de Desarrollo Urbano Sostenible Integrado" - Strategies for integrated sustainable urban development. For details about this project see: EDUSI Integrated sustainable Urban development. Xàbia's application for funds will, hopefully be considered sometime in 2017, now that Spain has a formal Government. (Ed)
University of Valencia to study Moraira marsh
Feb 15th
The Senillar, a small marsh of 0.76 hectares next to the tourist beach of l'Ampolla de Moraira, is one of the most valuable coastal ecosystems of the Marina Alta. Researchers from the Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia will analyze the lake-like characteristics of the marsh. They will focus on water quality and its evolution throughout a hydrological cycle (from autumn 2016 to next summer) and the communities of flora and fauna, among which is the "fartet", a small endemic endangered fish. The study will complement the one carried out 2005-2006. This wetland has been protected since 2004, when the Environment Department declared it a Wildlife Reserve. From: Levante
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Xabia crime rates below average
Feb 10
The crime rate in Xàbia remained below the national average in 2016. During the year, there were 1,490 reported crimes which produced a rate of 37.7 per thousand residents, well below the provincial rate of 50.0 per thousand, the autonomous rate of 47 per thousand and the national average of 43 per thousand residents. The statistics were revealed during a meeting between the different security forces in the municipality and the governing board at the Town Hall. Other issues discussed by the board was the effectiveness of the recently-launched 'Centro de Coordinación Operativo de Emergencias Municipales (CECOPAL)' - ['the Operational Coordination Centre for Municipal Emergencies'] - and the specific programmes implemented across the municipality to address and prevent gender violence, bullying at school and illegal fishing in the sea. It was agreed to meet again in ten days to address another major security challenge: fire response
For full story see: Javeamigos
Bacteria which caused destruction of Olive trees in Italy, now in the Balerics
Feb 10
The Balearic agricultural sector is in a state of alert. The regional government has declared the entire territory of the islands to be affected by Xylella fastidiosa, a dangerous bacterium that kills all kinds of fruit trees such as olive, cherry, almond, oleanders and ornamental plants. For the moment, the authorities have only detected the disease in some trees, but to the precaution of removing trees around them. In total, about 2,000 fruit trees have been destroyed. The export of plant material from species susceptible to carrying this bacterium has been banned, which first weakens and dries the leaves, then attacks the branches and ends with the death of the tree. The activation of the protocol of eradication of the European Union in all the islands "would almost provoke the destruction of the primary sector", because it calls for the removal of healthy trees around the diseased ones. Last year in Italy this measures caused the destruction of more than one million olive trees. The Balearic regional government is waiting for Europe to authorize the removal of only the affected trees. from: El Pais
Carrefour Ondara to hire 47 new employees
French company collaborates with local enterprises
Feb 10
Carrefour will open its second new shop in the Marina Alta on February 23rd, adding an additional 47 new employees to the 57 workers (from the previous Eroski Supermarket) who will be retained. The French company works and collaborates with a total of 960 companies in the Comunidad Valenciana, some from the Marina Alta, such as Cidoncha, a producer of artisan bakery and cakes. In addition, it has signed agreements with fishermen's guilds, most notably the one in Dénia, which will supply fish to various Carrefour establishments. From: La Marina Plaza
A drone to combat illegal fishing in Xàbia
Feb 10th
Xàbia has contracted the services of an unmanned aerial vehicle to carry out surveillance flights along the 25 kilometres of coastline, allowing close observation in real-time of the most inaccessible corners of the coast. Scheduled flights will be augmented by random ones to ensure the surprise effect with the images broadcast in real-time via tablet to agents working in the 'Unidad de Cometidos Especiales (UCE)' - ['the Special Commitments Unit'] - so that their response to signs of illegal fishing will be much faster. These images can also be used as evidence in prosecution cases. For full story see: Javeamigos
Javea recycled over 100tons of clothing in 2016
Feb 9th
The residents of Xàbia recycled some 112 metric tones of used clothing during 2016. According to data supplied by the NGO 'Humana Fundación Pueblo para Pueblo', the organisation that manages the 34 containers distributed across the municipality, a total of 112,612 kilos of clothing, footwear and home textiles during 2016, a slight decrease compared to 2015 (113,570 kilos). for ful story see: Javeamigos
Forum to support young people entering the job market
Feb 9th
The Department of Youth of the Ayuntamiento de Xàbia has organised another 'Mercat de l'Estudiant', a special forum to support the young people of the municipality in drawing their plans for further education or prepare them for entry into the job market. Under the slogan 'Y tú … ¿qué quieres ser?' - ['And you? What do you want to be?'] - the forum will take place from Monday 13th to Friday 17th February in the multipurpose room at Portal del Clot and open to anyone interested. The programme arranges for organised groups from third-year ESO to second-year high school students from IES No1 and Antonio Llidó as well as the Colegio María Inmaculada to take advantage of the forum during the morning sessions whilst those who wish to visit individually will be welcome between 4.00pm to 6.00pm. for full story see: Javeamigos
Repairs to Port breakwater and Tango beach to be paid for by regional Government
Feb 5th
Valencia's Department of Infrastructure will pay for repairs to the outer wall of Xàbia Port breakwater and the concrete platform next to the Tango restaurant's frontage. This is classified as emergency works to protect the safety of people and property. From :La Marina Plaza
Rental of tourist apartments up by 14%
Feb 1st
In 2016, the Comunidad Valenciana was second only to the Canary Islands in overnight stays in tourist apartments. More than 10.4 million such rentals were officially recorded, an increase of 14.6%. However, according to the tourist industry a lot of the growth is outside the law. The National Institute of Statistics (INE) records 20,599 dwellings, half of them in Alicante. However, digital rental operators such as Airbnb, offer hundreds of thousands. The Tax Agency has launched an initiative to detect tax fraud in this business, while the Generalitat is conducting on-site inspections and following up of Internet ads. Spain had a record of 75.6 million visitors in 2016 - 7.5 million more tourists than in 2015 -, a growth of 10, 3% compared to the previous year. from Las Provincias.
