[xgarb]

I walked past possibly the most beautiful building in Salobreña for the first time in a while yesterday and was sad to see that part of it is now dust.

Here's the front:

and the back:

My understanding is that if the owner of a building can't be traced then it's left to the point of collapse and then pulled down. Not really a problem for a scruffy shack but a beautiful historic building like this one...

I wonder if the council would be better to seize ownership earlier on, repair the building and sell/rent/use the property. If the owner then appears at a later date he is given the value of the property at the time it was seized or possibly if the property is rented, the option of paying for the repairs and having ownership restored.

 

[Alcalaina]

Andalucia is full of such places. A lot of people disappeared during or after the Civil War and will never be traced. Even if the heirs are known, often the IBI hasn't been paid for years so they can't afford to reclaim their properties and pay the inheritance tax etc.

Some ayuntamientos (mine included) have taken action to restore and then sell or let them as VPOs (subsidised housing) but there are so many buildings and so little money around these days. I think it's a crime, with all those unemployed builders around.

 

[mrypg9]

Andalucia is full of such places. A lot of people disappeared during or after the Civil War and will never be traced. Even if the heirs are known, often the IBI hasn't been paid for years so they can't afford to reclaim their properties and pay the inheritance tax etc.

Some ayuntamientos (mine included) have taken action to restore and then sell or let them as VPOs (subsidised housing) but there are so many buildings and so little money around these days. I think it's a crime, with all those unemployed builders around.

When I was a Councillor saving and restoring derelict old buildings was a passion of mine and with other like-minded souls I successfully applied for the application of compulsory purchase orders so these buildings could be restored and sold.

We managed to save a house with a Jacobean staircase of immeasurable cultural/historical value, an eighteenth century 'grand' town house an a pair of early nineteenth century cottages which were, incidentally near my own cottage and also in the Conservation Area.

The owners of these beautiful and not-so-beautiful old properties had allowed them to fall into states of disrepair and dereliction so they would encounter no objections to demolishing them...then building blocks of flats or superstores on the sites.

 

[xgarb]

Your ayuntamiento seems more forward thing than mine. Mine doesn't seem to get the potential of this town with it's location and surroundings and rather than spend money on keeping the town attractive to visitors they seem to put most of their effort and money into building social housing (new block being built now near me, pretty sure new constructions on the other side of town are the same and this place just announced - La residencia de mayores prevista en el vial de la playa podría comenzar a construirse en primavera). Maybe this is because the money comes from elsewhere.

I reckon if they made more of existing town like keeping it spotless, planting flower beds, encouraging upmarket (ish) shops and restaurants then the hordes of visitors from the north in the summer would come more often, stay in town longer and spend more money. Then with the increase in income for the local population maybe they wouldn't need so much social housing.

Possibly I shouldn't play so much SimCity!

 

[Alcalaina]

Your ayuntamiento seems more forward thing than mine. Mine doesn't seem to get the potential of this town with it's location and surroundings and rather than spend money on keeping the town attractive to visitors they seem to put most of their effort and money into building social housing (new block being built now near me, pretty sure new constructions on the other side of town are the same and this place just announced - La residencia de mayores prevista en el vial de la playa podría comenzar a construirse en primavera). Maybe this is because the money comes from elsewhere.

I reckon if they made more of existing town like keeping it spotless, planting flower beds, encouraging upmarket (ish) shops and restaurants then the hordes of visitors from the north in the summer would come more often, stay in town longer and spend more money. Then with the increase in income for the local population maybe they wouldn't need so much social housing.

Possibly I shouldn't play so much SimCity!

Well, our Ayuntamiento does it more for social reasons than to attract visitors, providing employment and affordable housing. The old town has Historic-Artistic status but few tourists make it up there, it's a bit of a climb and there's nowhere to park.

They are also building an old people's residence here, smack in the middle of town. This has involved demolishing some more derelict old buildings and building a five-storey block containing 28 flats. The foreigners who own property here are outraged because it's spoiling their view and blocking the sunshine from their terraces. I try and point out that from the old folks' point of view it's brilliant, they will still be close to their neighbours and family and the buzz of the village square. I like that the Ayuntamiento puts the needs of the locals first (and I might be a resident myself one day!)

 

[xgarb]

I think the Ayuntamientos need to be careful especially in Salobreña's case that they consider where the town's income comes from as well as the needs of the residents.

If they build lots of social housing to the detriment of the attractiveness of the town then all they'll end up doing is having to build more and more as the bars and other businesses close and people lose their jobs because people have gone elsewhere.

In the case of your town they risk the foreigners and their cash (I'm making an assumption here!) move away.

Here we had what looked like a very successful party in the park yesterday but it made me cringe a bit that people coming from out of town would have driven past a few parts of town that aren't that pretty.. maybe they don't notice or care though.

Looking at the plans for old peoples' place here it will be 3 stories higher than anything else in the area and going by what has been built before.. not pretty. What they should do is make a big investment in the park and build the accommodation around it - like a posh hotel complex but with public access to the gardens. The old folks can sit in the shade and watch the children.

Told you.. too much SimCity!