Ancient river crossing re-habilitated
Sept 27th
The Town Hall has taken advantage of the dry weather to rehabilitate an old stream crossing over the Barranco las Valls near the end of Assagador de Les Valls. (The barranco runs parallel to, and north of the Gata road). Normally this crossing is covered with water, but the currently the water level is very low, allowing the crossing to be worked on. They have widened the ford with stones from the riverbed, simulating the old building techniques. The crossing is not suitable for cars and is usually covered with water. However there are stepping stones for pedestrians. This place is one of the few in the municipality enjoying permanent waters. It it feeds the aquifers of Montgo and the Font de La Rana, located in Gata de Gorgos. From Press Release and: Xàbia al Día
British volunteers teach English to the Unemployed
Sept 27th
A group of native 14 English speaking volunteers is providing 60 hours of English courses to 75 unemployed students. The tutors will provide their services free of charge and the courses will be at different levels. This initiative has been organised through the collaboration of the Town Hall's Foreign Residents' Department, CREAMA (“Consortium for Economic Recovery and Activity in the Marina Alta”). For details see: English courses for the unemployed
A very dry end to the summer
Sept 26th
Friday 23rd September saw the end of the driest summer in years, with a total rainfall of only 2.8 litres as reported by amateur meteorologist Toní Bolufer on his website MeteoXabiaMeteoxàbia . Bolufer, has compared data from the last decade, and only 2006 was close to this figure with 6 litres of precipitation between July and September, while last year the figures were 218.2 litres and in 2009, 244.4 litres. Despite a lack of comparable data over a longer period, it is very rare that it does not rain in the second half of August or early September, which is usually very wet. Xàbia has been fortunate that despite the dry weather, the brush fires which have occred have not caused too mcuh damage. Last month there were three outbreaks in the area Falzia in Tarraula and one next to the Avenida del Furs, but the fires were quickly controlled by the Volunteer Fire Brigade of Balcon al Mar, the Civil Protection and the local police. From XAD: Llego as su fin....
Two Agenda21 Meetings on Strategic Plan
Sept 23rd
Two public meetings related to the development of Jávea's Strategic Plan are scheduled over the next two weeks. Details as follows. All welcome.
"Xàbia and its future. Opportunities for sustainable progress" in the Casa de Cultura to be given by Antonio Martinez, Director of the Strategic Plan of Elche "Futurelx".
This marks the resumption of work on the development of a Strategic Plan to define the economic and social model for Xàbia. Friday September 30 at 20:00
Second Session of the Local Agenda 21 forum
Aim: to make proposals and strategies on the economic development of Xàbia. The meeting will aim to define Agenda 21's future involvement in the Strategic Plan of Xàbia. Tuesday 4th October at 20:00 h, Casa de Cultura,
Xàbia prepares for a Gota Fría
Police to inform schools of weather alerts
Sept 22nd.
The Councillor for Public Safety, John Ortolá, yesterday afternoon held a meeting with all the security bodies and voluntary groups to plan and coordinate their functions in the face of a possible episode of heavy rainfall. As the councillor explained, the high September temperatures and current sea temperature of 26 degrees are risk factors that can lead to a "Gota Fría". They are woking to ensure gulleys and drains are cleared, that emergency services are coodinated, and the schools are warned of weather alerts. For More See: Xàbia prepares for a Gota Fría (Ed's note: They must have seen my article in this month's Grapevine "Jávea's Inescapable Floods " ;-) )
Fishing boats scrapped
Sept 21st
The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has approved the scrapping of 5 Denia fishing boats this year, and one next year, representing 20% of the fleet. In Jávea, one boat will be scrapped. 30 vessels were scrapped in Alicante Province last year. The reasons for the downturn in the industry are complex involving the crisis, reduction in EU aid, and a generational change in fishing families. Fewer boats may mean a more competitive price for fish for the boats that remain. From Las Provincias: El desguace...
Forum for Children
Sept 21st
The Xàbia Department pf Citizen Participation has initaited a forum for children, which will run parallel to the Agenda21 forum. Through this, young people (focusing on primary grades 5 and 6 and secondary grade 1) will be able to have their opinions and ideas known and incorporated in the development of the town, particularly how this impinges on infrastructure and facilities for young people. The proposal is based on the "La città dei bambini" (The City of Children) formulated by the Italian psychologist Francesco Tonucci. This aims to develop civic mindedness and activities in the young. It has been successfully implemented in Italian towns, and in Prat de Llobregat and Torrent in Spain. From XAD: Participación ciudadana....
Tourism Committee revived after three years
Sept 21st
The Town Hall has revived the defunct Tourism Committee which will be formed of politicians, non-political advisors, representatives of the region, Agenda21, tourism entrepreneurs and associations and related businesses such as car hire and travel agents. The task of the Committee is jointly to develop a strategy and to improve the tourism offerings of Xàbia. It will have an advisory, consultative and dynamic role, as well as serve as a forum for analysis and monitoring of the tourism situation. It will have its first official meeting in November, once the Town Council has agreed to modify its statutes to give the Committee more flexibility and functionality than it had before. From XAD: El Ayuntamiento retoma....
Tapas Tasting fair to be in the Plaza de la Constitución
21st September
The fifth Xàbia Tapas Tasting fair will be held in the Plaza de la Constitución (square above the underground car park where the Thursday market is held) on the weekend of October 1st and 2nd. The move will enable the presence of more stands as well as tables and chairs for customers. As in previous years the cost per tapa will be €1.25 and this year 24 establishments will be involved, providing both eats and drinks, including cocktails at night. Local groups will provide music and there will be workshops and entertainments for the children. From Press Release.
Old Town traffic flow re-arranged to avoid road works
18th September
As of next week the Placeta del Convento (Old Man's Roundabout) will be open to traffic to alleviate inconvenience caused by the continued works of the Barranquet de Frechinal. As reported earlier, the work had been suspended during the summer to avoid excess congestion. It is hoped the job will be completed within five week. The complete re-development of the area covering calle Jesús Nazareno, Soledat, Virgen de los Desamparados, San Cristóbal, Mare de Déu d'Agost, Popul and the extension of San Joaquín will be carried out in stages by local construction companies (F. David, Montgó S.L and Santacreu S.L) and will be complete by Easter. The project will be financed through a loan earlier requested by the Town Hall through the ICO to cover and canalise part of the Freginal Barranquet. The project was budgeted at 2.8 million but a low bid of 1.3 million was awarded the contract. The money left over can only be used for infrastructure, so the executive decided to invest it in this redevelopment. (From Press Release and XAD: La placeta del convent.l..
First steps towards a Strategic Plan for Jávea
17th September
The Town Hall plans to have in place a strategic plan for the social and economic reinvigoration of Jávea by June 2012. This will take into account all previous work done in this area, such as that regarding to Tourism and Urban Development. They will consider examples of other municipalities, and there will be five sectoral forums of innovation which will focus of tourism, economic stimulus, education and culture, social well-being and planning & the environment. Citizen participation in this process will be paramount, through associations and bodies such as Agenda21. As the first step for developing this plan, the first open meeting will take place on Friday 30th September at 8pm at the Casa de Cultura at which the economist Antonio Martínez (director of strategic planning at Elche) will give a lecture entitled “Xàbia y su futuro. Las oportunidades de futuro sostenible”. (“Jàvea and its future. The opportunities for a sustainable future.”). From Press Release: For more see: Strategic plan 2011 Ed's note: Note: Antonio Martinez previously addressed Jávea back in 2008. For a detailed report on his talk then, (and preview of the 2011 talk maybe!) see: The challenge for the future of Xàbia
Book and exhibition on Xàbia's natural plant heritage
Sept 17th
The municipality of Xàbia is one of the most important areas for natural plant life in Spain, and to emphasise this, the CIRNE foundation, in collaboration with the Town Hall have set up and exhibition and book on Xàbia's Natural Plant Heritage. The book is a is a compendium of plant species needing the greatest degree of protection, either because they are endemic or are relicts with few individuals (species that have been isolated and may in future give rise to a new species), with forty descriptions which include colour photographs of each plant and a section on the different habitats in Javea, such as Montgó, cliffs, Montñar, the Saladar, Portitxol, Tossal Gros and Valls. The book has Castilian and English translations. The exhibition can be visited until October 28. It is open from 18h to 21h, Monday to Saturday. Foundation Cirne (Avenida de Alicante, next to the Red Cross) For more see: Book on Xàbia's floral heritage
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Agenda 21 seeks concrete proposals to improve local economy
September 14th
On Tuesday the Department of Citizen Participation revived the Agenda 21 Forum, which began its debate on how to build a sound economic future for Javea. In this new phase, in which the goal is to mobilise the maximum number of citizens, various members of the Xàbia Idea business forum participated. In the coming weeks A21 hopes to include representatives from business associations, as well as all those citizens who have an interest and willingness to participate. The attendees were asked to identify the assets and strengths of Javea upon which to base the town’s economic future. Many agreed that the climate, landscape and potential for tourism were important assets, but that there was also a need to seek new business opportunities in order to avoid dependency on a single sector. From Press Release For more see: Agenda21 forum Sept 13th 2011
A Not bad Summer Season
Sept 13th
It has not been a bad summer for Xàbia. There were more tourists from countries such as Russia and Poland and the occupation of rental apartments reached 98% during the first half of August. In general the figures were better than those of 2010, however, tourists spent less money.
After analyzing the occupancy data, water consumption and amount of solid waste produced, the Department of Tourism led by Antonio Miragall concluded that the occupation of apartments, houses and second homes has increased significantly as compared to the previous year, while hotel accommodation has kept steady. In the month of July, Xàbia hosted 71,156 people, of whom 32 653 were residents, and 38,500 tourists. This figure is higher than 2010, (31,205). The August estimate is 46,811 for the number of visitors, an increase of over ten thousand visitors over the previous year. From Press Release. For more details see: Summer Tourism Figures 2011
Fast Tracking Cédulas
Sept 7th
The Town Hall has assigned two technicians to oversee the acceptance of urbanisations, putting an end to the existing backlog and attending to the problems of certain urbanisations where people have not been able to obtain their occupancy certificate (cédula de habitabilidad), despite having lived there for many years. From now on, when a negative report is issued for the acceptance of an urbanisation, this will be accompanied by an assessment and deadlines for the correction of defects. If the developer has not taken the due measures within an allotted time,the Town Hall will execute the works using the guarantee funds held in deposit. In March 2010 Las Laderas received a list of defects to be remedied prior to its acceptance, as well as the required payment of the fee by the developer to connect the sewerage to the main Cansalades-Umbria Sector drain. With the new measures, the urbanization could be accepted in just a few months. For full story see Press Release: Fast Tracking Cedulas
Waterspouts spotted in Jávea Bay
Sept 6th
At around 9.15 in the morning on Sept 6th a series of three water spouts were seen off the coast of Jávea bay. According to local amateur meterologist, Toni Bolufer, these are not common around here. They are not tornadoes, but weaker cousins. The water in the spout is not sucked up from the sea, but consists of water droplets condensed from the air. For more on this phenomenon see:Wikipedia. Note: in Sept 2009, a real tornado damaged Cafe Wien on the Arenal. From XAD: Una serie....
Amount spent on Port Fiestas considered "unfair"
Sept 5th
A picture paints a thousand words. This picture from Las Provincias depicts a sign on the Peñya la Bufa float, taking part in the parade for the Virgen del Loreto Fiestas in the Port. The sign says:
"San Juan 600,000 - Loreto 120,000. (illegible) Town Hall budget for Fiestas Javea 2011. It is not Fair. Peña la Bufa - Peña de les Marineres"
The Town Council grants over 70,000 euros to sports clubs and associations.
Sept 5th
The Javea Town Council Executive Board meeting has agreed to grant more than 70,000 euros in financial aid agreements with sports clubs and associations. The grants, which were included in the general budget of 2011, are similar to those received by these teams and associations in 2010. Therefore, the Football Club Mediterráneo will receive 2,500 euros, the Basketball Club Joventut Xàbia 43,113 euros, the Javea Tennis Club 9,145 euros and the Xàbia Pilota Club 3,920 euros. For more see: Town Board Meeting 5th Sept 2011 (Note: these grants are the last of this year and were already prepared by the previous administration.)
Marina Alta ends August with 95% tourism occupancy
Sept 5th
According to the Restaurant and Tourist business Association of the Marina Alta (AEHTMA), tourism occupancy was 95% in August, reaching 100% at weekends and long weekends. Significant trends were the dominance of national tourists, the main group of foreigners being the French; the tendency for touirists to spend less and to take short breaks of 2 to 3 days, mainly at weekends, and to book via the Internet at the last minute. From Las Provincias: La Marina Alta Cierra.....
Town Hall seeking EU grants for restoration work
September 1st
The Town Hall is seeking ways to collaborate actively in the rehabilitation of the windmills of La Plana through job training workshop schemes and grants from the EU for regional development and recuperation of local heritage. They are also interested in the restoration of the Granadella Castle and to finish the Riurau d'Arnaud in the Montaner Park. The Department of Economic Development has received two grants in recent weeks. One is a 9,400-euro grant from the Diputación de Alicante, which will be used towards improving the signposting of municipal parking. The other is a 10,000-euro grant from the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry in Valencia, which is to be used for revitalization, trade and promotional activities. From Press Release Job Training Workshops with EU Grants
Amjasa reports peak water consumption in August
September 2nd
Jávea's peak water consumption was seen during the week of 8th -14th August with 34,339 cubic metres of water being released into the network per day. The water was a mixture of water from wells near Pedreguer, and 14,735 m3 from the desalination plant. Despite this high demand, only two the the four desalination banks were used. At full capacity, the plant could produce 26,000 m3 per day. For details of the figures see: Amjasa figures August 2011
Race for Life - Jávea - Sept 25th
Sept 1st
Javea’s 6th annual Race for Life in aid of cancer charities will be held on Sunday 25th September with the 5km "race" (you can walk, jog, be pushed in a pram or dragged around by your dog) starting from the L’Ancora Playa bar in Avenida Paris, Javea, at approximately 11.00 hrs. Money raised will be distributed between cancer charities and organisations within the Valencian community with the main beneficiaries of our 2011 event being Asociacion Espanola contra el cancer (AECC), Asociacion de Padres de Niños con cancer de la Comunidad Valenciana (Aspanion), Expatriate Ostomates of Spain (EOS) y MABs Cancer Support Group. Registration and sponsorship forms are available at L'Ancora Playa bar or can be downloaded from http://www.raceforlifejavea.com . For details see: Race for Life Javea 2011 For more information contact organisers by email: moc.liamg|aibaxadivalroparerrac#moc.liamg|aibaxadivalroparerrac or telephone Teresa 648100669 (English Spanish), Elaine 636905965 (English) or Amanda 626871147 (English/Spanish/German/French). From Press Release
