March 2010 News Headlines

Arenal Terraces - a reprieve

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March 28th
Following a motion put forward by the socialist PSPV, last Thursday's Town Hall meeting unanimously agreed to create a Joint Committee to address possible solutions for the currently illegal terraces of Arenal Beach, and to implement a moratorium on the threatened demolition of said terraces. The joint committee will consist of a representative of the Coasts division of the Ministry of the Environment, the Directorate General of Ports, the Town Hall and representatives of businesses in the area. The idea would be to resolve the problems concerning legal jurisdiction of the land currently being occupied by sea front terraces, draw up guidelines regarding the aesthetics and construction of the terraces, with a view to incorporating these into the new PGOU (General Town Plan) which is still undergoing revision. This representas something of an about face for the ruling coalition (see story on approved demolition of Presidents bar, Feb 26th) From XAD: Xàbia creará una comisión... For story on Round Town News See: Truce Called

Town Hall agrees to regulate Parking around the covered Market

March 28th
A motion tabled by the opposition to regulate the parking around the Old Town's Covered Market was unanimously accepted. The area was to have been pedestrian only, but in response to pleas from shopkeepers the Town Hall agreed to allow limited parking to help revitalise the Old Town businesses. However cars have been parking for free for long periods of time, which was not the idea at all. The main problem seems to be how to manage the regulated parking, since the number of cars, and hence revenue from charging for parking, is too small to make a viable business.

Easter Street Sales in the Old Town and Port

March 23rd
Shops in both the Old Town and the Port will be turning out their stocks and novelties in street sales on the weekend of 27th and 28th March. The initiative is called "Comercio Fantástico a Xàbia" The Old Town sales will be in the square near the Post Office and both sales kick off at 10.00 am. From Press release.

Alzheimers Day Care Centre with money problems

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March 23rd
Xàbia's new day care centre for elderly dependents is in financial trouble only a few months after opening. Only ten of the 50 available places have been taken up and the Sisters who run the Centre have asked the Town hall for financial help. The main cost over-runs have been the gas central heating which has created bills of €4000 per month. In addition there is a €6000 per month contractual payment to Amigos Europea for daily ambulance transport of patients to the centre (a charge based on 50 persons at €5 per day; … in Denia this service costs €2.50). The Town Hall (which is not responsible for running the centre) has agreed to help out financially and look for a cheaper and more sustainable method of heating. The Red Cross will take over transporting patients, since this can be done free of charge through an existing agreement with the Town Hall. Patients who wish to use the Centre must be classified officially as being dependants and the necessary paperwork must be obtained from Social Services. Charges for using the centre are up to €800 per month but can be subsidised according to means tests. However a pensioner couple found that paying even €500 was too expensive, since the able bodied partner still had living expenses and household bills to pay. From XAD El Centro de Día.... and personal information.

Kiddies JuniorFest in the Port

March 16th
Sunday 21st March sees the second Juniorfest in the Port starting at 10.00 am and going on until the afternoon. There will be stalls and activities for children. All proceeds will go to support the activities of the Movimiento Junior de la Parroquia de Aduanas del Mar over the year. From Press release.

Beach services available for tender

March 16th
Licenses for beach services covering the period 2010-2013 are now up for tender. These include beach bars (chiringuitos) and kiosks, sun beds and parasols and boating fracilities. Permits last from next summer until the end of the summer of 2013 and cover the period from may 13th to 30 September each year, and may be extended for 16 days at Easter and 15 days before and after. Interested people should go to the Town hall website : http://www.ajxabia.org/ section: "Perfil del contratante" and "Licitaciones".

Xàbia continues to push for school expansion

March 15th
The Town hall and Parents Association of Graüll School are still waiting for the regional Ministry of Education to upgrade and expand the school facilities.All the necessary documents and permits have been obtained, but so far there has been no response from the regional government. The Graüll School opened twelve years ago and enrolment has increased from 189 to over 400, however the facilities have not grown, and some classes are carried out in prefabs in the playground. From Las Provincias: Xàbia reclama....

Electrobombas Javea recognised as a quality business

March 15th
Electrobombas Javea, (near Fuentes) which was founded in 1986 with three employees, has been recognised by the Valencian Government as a "Comercio Excelente" This certification, which promotes quality, excellence and innovation, recognizes investment, initiative, and efforts to improve the company's organization. The company sells and repairs a wide variety of pumps and now has nine employees. From Press Release.

Loyalty card scheme takes off

March 15th
Many of the shops in the Old Town collaborate with the "I-Mas" loyalty card called 'Xàbia Jo Encantat'. This is totally free and entitles customers to discounts, promotions and prize draws. Since the scheme was set up on December 2009, it has 371 clients who have made 640 purchases valued at a total of 33,866 Euros. The participating businesses are promoting father's Day on Friday 19th March with the theme "Xabia has its own heroes" From XAD Xàbia histórica....

War against Graffiti costs Comunidad 2 million a year

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Valencia Town Council spent 865,000 euros on cleaning two million square feet of graffiti last year and RENFE spent 300,000 on cleaning trains. There are around 2000 graffiti aficionados who admit to be looking for fame and notoriety. Within a week of a wall or persiana being cleaned, it has been defaced again. Some shopkeepers have given up this running battle and pay graffiti artists some 600 Euros for a custom design. Some of the graffiti artists would like urban spaces set aside where they can paint legally, such as have been provided in Switzerland and London. From Las Provincias: La guera al grafiti....

Regional Government wants to invest 70 million in the Marina Alta

March 12th
The regional Councillor for the Environment, Juan Cotino announced that the Valencian Government intended investing 70 million Euros in the Marina Alta region over the next two years. Infrastructure works include: the rehabilitation of Les Roques (Denia), 8.9 million euros, Denia seafront (Deveses - La Marineta), with an investment of 6.3 million euros, the reforestation of Marina Alta (€ 4 million); and 100 low cost houses in El Verger (2 million euros). Also included are measures to alleviate the flood damage and control of the River Girona (2 million euros), improved hydraulic infrastructure of Adsubia (€ 1.6 million), Benitatxell water tank (EUR 1 million) tank and putting the Pego-Xàbia-Xaló containers underground 1.3 million euros. From XAD: La Generalitat....

Key economic risks to watch in Spain

March 11th
Some economists worry Spain's poor economic prospects could eventually lead it to suffer Greek-style financing problems, only on a much larger scale given that the Spanish economy is the eurozone's fourth-largest. After a decade of inflation running at higher than the euro-zone average, Spain has been left relatively uncompetitive and saddled with very high levels of household and corporate debt. Unless the country can reform its labour market and cut the cost of doing business here, economists fear the government will not be able to get its fiscal deficit under control. For more see: Factbox - Reuters

XabiaViva talks to Culture Councillor about Old Town Cinema

March 10th
Last Saturday the XabiaViva association had a meeting with Quica Gil, culture councillor, on the possibility of re-opening the old Central Cinema in the Old Town. They were informed that in its present state the building would not meet safety requirements and that it would require a complete revamp. There had been a preliminary plan to turn it into a youth centre at a cost of around 1 million euros, but there had been no funding. The association did however receive an assurance that the Town Hall would work towards re-opening the site. From las provincias and XAD XàbiaViva invita...

Xàbia Windmill on point of collapse

March 10th
One of the eleven mills on the Plana of Cabo de San Antonio is on the point of collapse after years of neglect. Over the past few days a large chunk of the south wall has fallen away together with a window and the door. Although the mills are considered to be Heritage sites, all bar two of them are are privately owned. The mill in question is one of the newest, being built in the 18th Century. The poor state of the south wall was noted in a 1991 inventory, but the owners have done nothing since then to renovate the building despite being reminded by the town Hall of their obligation. From Diarioinformacion.com Un molino....

Red Palm Weevil a regional plague

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March 10th
The Red Palm Weevil is becoming a major problem in the region. Not only does it kill Canary Date Palms, but many of these trees grow in private gardens, with the owners probably oblivious to the threat. Palm tree-owners should check for wilting crowns, particularly on younger trees. Check any fallen leaves for signs of burrowing, and put their ear against the trunk to listen for chewing noises within. If you see any symptoms contact the Town Hall Parks and Gardens Dept - e-mail: gro.aibaxja|soicivres#gro.aibaxja|soicivres. This situation is so serious that the Town hall is organising a seminar on the biology and control of these weevils on Thursday March 11th at 11.30 am at the Casa de Cultura. The guest expert will be Susí Gomez, chief of the Estación Pheonix Laboratory from Elche. (From press release and Town Hall flier) For practical information in English see: http://www.ciudadverde.net/picudoEN.html

Wild winter weather

March 10th
According to today's Las Provincias this is the coldest March in the Comunidad since 1984, with temperatures 5-6 degrees lower than normal for the second week in March. Meanwhile rough seas have once more washed away the sand on Denia's beaches. To add insult to injury, the Costas had just spent 1 million euros rebuilding the sandy beaches for the Easter holiday period; work now worthless. They are now thinking that the only long term solution would be to build a series of sea groynes sticking out into the sea (as in Sitges).

Internet "Citizen's Mailbox" for Xàbia residents

March 5th
Xàbia is to set up a web based "Citizen's mailbox" so that residents can make their suggestions directly to the town hall. This is an initiative from the Valencia Conselleria de Solidaridad y Ciudadanía (Ministry of solidarity and citizenship). Technical staff from the Ministry will help the Town hall implement the idea. This will be launched as part of the the "Charter of good practice", a document which promotes citizen participation in governance, which was approved by the Town Hall recently. It is a commitment to create municipal management which is more open to the public, promoting cultural diversity (integration, the fight against xenophobia and human rights) and ensuring a transparent, responsive, effective, consistent and sensitive work environment. From Press Release. The Carta de buenas Practicas can be downloaded from Here

Old Folks offered free digital TV receiver

March 4th
Spanish analogue TV signals are being progressivley turned off and TV will be totallty digital as of April 3rd. Xàbia Town Hall is therefore assisting the elderly to continue to receve TV by giving away free set top boxes to the over 80's , the highly visually or hearing impaired , and disabled dependents over 65. Those inrerested should contact Social Services (next to the health centre) From XAD Xabia acerca...

15 Xàbia Restaurants; 15 gourmet menus in a 10 day promotion

March 4th
As of today, 15 Xàbia restaurants are offering special gourmet menus at 30 Euros per head over a period of 10 days. Each meal includes a glass of cava, white wine, red wine and moscatell from the bodegas Nodus and Enrique mendoza. Participating Restaurants are: Attico; Calima; Casa ngel; Castelló; Gota de Mar; Mezquida; Monsoon Thai; Perla de Javea; Parador; Los Remos; El Rodat; Sur; Terra; Torremar; Trecall. The promotion is called "Xàbia al Plat" and menus are available at the Tourist offices. For more see: Ars Xabia

One hundred attend conference on Carers

Feb 26th
More than 100 people attended a conference organised by the Club de Amigos del Foro Jávea de Vecindad on the subject of "Guidance, support and training for families with sick dependants" Dr Antonia Conejo from the Geriatric Department of the Denia hospital emphasised basic premises in caring for the elderly and long term sick: empathy, respect, to help is not to impose, help is not an obligation, preserve privacy, stimulate and avoid over-protection. The role of the carer is often undervalued. A law (39/2006) passed on 14 December 2006 promotes various initiatives concerning personal autonomy and care for dependent persons. From XAD El Club Amigos..

Town hall approves demolition of "Presidents Bar" terrace

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Feb 26th
A demolition order resulting from a long administrative sequence of events has been issued to the Presidents Bar on the Arenal. They are the first such bar to be ordered to demolish their sea-side terrace. Since the 1980s, all but two bars, restaurants and shops along the Arenal have encroached onto the promenade, covering what should be public, coastal land with their terraces. Although this is in the strict sense illegal, the Ministry of Coasts has agreed in principal to loosen its official boundary so that the terraces can remain, but only if there is a municipal bye law to regularise the situation. Arenal business have suffered recently, not only as a result of the economic crisis but also because of the wet winter we have been having. They have expressed concern about the situation and are calling meetings to protest the demolition. See XAD El Ayuntamiento...

U3A Donates 1,824 Euros to Alzheimers day care Centre

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Feb 25th
The Javea U3A raised almost 2000 Euros for the Alzheimers day care centre through fund raising at its Saint Valentine's ball. The money will go towards medical supplies, TV, DVD player and musical equipment. From XAD La U3A dona...

Regional Mayors ask Valencian President to press for train connection

Feb 25th
The mayors of 33 municipalities of the Marina Alta yesterday presented a petition of 28,000 signatures to the President of the Generalitat Valenciana asking for the railway to connect Gandia-Oliva-Denia to become a reality. If the above line were completed to link up with Alicante it would serve a coastal strip housing some 53% of the population of the Comunidad Valenciana. From XAD Los alcaldes de la comarca...

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