CASARES MAYOR PRESSES FOR ACTION OVER THE BRIDGE AT THE MANILVA RIVER

Casares Mayor Antonia Morera has requested an urgent meeting with the Junta de Andalusia to finish work on the bridge over the Manilva river which will link Sabinillas and Casares Costa. The project ran into trouble late last year when the consortium building the bridge failed to meet deadlines. Now Mayor Morera wants the Junta to intervene to finish the work before any political changes which might further delay it. She fears that changes in the political direction of the Tourism Council might cause the project to be put on the long finger. The Mayor said that residents are anxious to have the bridge completed and she regrets that the Town Hall can do nothing more to expedite the work.

WORK STOPS ON THE BRIDGE OVER THE MANILVA RIVER AS CONTRACT COLLAPSES

Work has stopped on the construction  of a new pedestrian bridge over the Manilva River after the company involved terminated the contract.  The Ayuntamiento has claimed that the Qualifica Consortium failed to reach the final deadline for completing the work on the new bridge. Last Saturday was the deadline for completion of the work but the company claimed that because of financial problems it could not finish the job. The Ayuntameinto has rejected pleas for another extension of the deadline and has begun proceedings to reallocate the contract. A budget of 131,000 Euro was allocated for the bridge which will link Casares Costa with Sabinillas.

UNEMPLOYMENT FELL SLIGHTLY IN CASARES LAST MONTH

The latest unemployment figures showed a slight drop in Casares last month with  five less people signing on the dole, a drop of 1 per cent on September’s figure. The drop follows two months of an increase in unemployment. There were 499 people out of work in Casares last month. The figures for Casares are out of step with other areas where the number of jobless has continued to rise. Unemployment rose by 5 per cent in Estepona, by 4.5 per cent in Manilva and by 1 per cent in Gaucin. Overall unemployment has risen by one and half per cent in Andalusia while Malaga province has seen the worst increase by 3.3 per cent.

A NEW MAYOR FOR MANILVA WILL BE ELECTED TOMORROW

A new mayor will be elected for Manilva tomorrow. Diego Urieta who is the currently the Deputy Mayor will be elected following the resignation of Antonia Munoz. Her shock stepping down came amid allegations on cronyism and her expulsion from the United Left grouping. Diego Urieta will be sworn in as Mayor at a ceremony tomorrow as part of the pact with the Socialist Association of Manilva. Diego Urieta this week said that a new political cycle has started in Manilva following the Munoz resignation. He said that his group will have to rise to the occasion and to make a radical break with the way things were done in the past.

ANTONIA MUNOZ RESIGNS AS MAYOR OF MANILVA IN SURPRISE MOVE

Antonia Munoz has resigned as Mayor of Manilva in a shock move which has taken everyone by surprise. Munoz  has not been aligned with any political group since the middle of 2013 following a request by the United Left to remove herself. She announced her resignation and said that the decision was caused by many factors but above all by her wish to see the work done. Munoz has been denounced in court for alleged cronyism and in 2013 six councillors of the United Left requested that she leave their group. Munoz first entered local politics in Manilva, which has 14,000 residents, in 1987 and she became the first woman mayor of the town in 1999 under the banner of the United Left. She left the position between 2003 and 2007 but returned to the post in 2007 following the local elections.

DEADLINE GIVEN FOR COMPLETION OF THE BRIDGE LINKING MANILVA WITH CASARES

The Ayuntamiento has given a new deadline of mid November for the completion of work on the new bridge linking Manilva with Casares. The ultimatum was given to the company awarded the contract, Vallejo Aplicaciones and they have agreed to finish the original design. The Mayor of Casares Antonia Morera recently expressed her disquiet at the delay in completing the work which was caused by the company changing the design of the boardwalk. The company failed to meet the original deadline and was warned by the ayuntamiento that they were in breach of contract. Mayor Morera has said she hoped the work will now be speedily finished as the bridge is eagerly awaited by the residents of Casares Costa and Sabinillas.

ORGANIC ALLOTMENT PLOTS ARE OFFERED IN THE HISTORIC QUARTER AND ON CASARES COSTA

New organic allotment plots are being offered in the historic quarter of Casares and on Casares Costa. The plots in Casares are in the Los Arenales area and on the coast at a municipal plot close to the Manilva river. The allotments will be offered for a three year period and preference will be given to disadvantaged families, the unemployed and old  age pensioners. People will be able to consume what they produce on the allotments but will not be able to sell the produce. Successul applicants will be charged 10 Euro a month to cover irrigation costs. The ayuntamiento will carry out periodic checks to ensure that the rules of organic farming are adhered to.

TWO MAJOR FIRES ARE DEALT WITH BY EMERGENCY SERVICES THIS WEEK

There were tow major fires in the Casares area on Tuesday which caused great alarm and plumes of black smoke which were visible for miles. The first fire broke out on the Manilva river, close to the Hedionda Baths, between the twons of Casares and Manilva. The fire destroyed about 600 square metres of reeds on the riverbank. It was brought under control  in an hour by local police from Casares and Manilva, the Guardia Civil, local firefighters and a helicopter. The second fire which broke out after 5 o’ clock in the afternoon was at the Solid Waste Plant at Los Pedregales and following a 112 emergency call to local police in Casares, all staff were evacuated and the area cordoned off. Three helicopters as well as firefighters from Casares, Manilva and Estepona fought the blaze which proved difficult to control because so many plastic and cardboard bales were on fire.  Police in Casares have advised anyone spotting a fire to immediately call 112.

THE JUNTA APPROVES AN ALMOST ONE AND HALF MILLION EURO IN NEW SCHOOLS IN MANILVA

A new investment of almost one and a half million Euro for The Vines in Manilva has been apporved by the Junta de Andalucia. The refurbishment programme will include the construction of a six classrooms for the High School, two classrroms for secondary education, three refreshment rooms, toilets, and a walkway to the existing site. The project has been allocated a budget of 1.48 million Euro. The new project will benefit students from Casares, Manilva, Sabinillas and other areas of the Campo de Gibraltar. It will also mean removing the eight pre fabricated classrooms which were built in 2007 to cater for the increased number of students. The new building will have an area of almost twelve hundred square metres and is financed by EU funding.

MANILVA MAYOR LEAVES THE UNITED LEFT BUT WILL NOT RESIGN

The Mayor of Manilva, Antonia Munoz, and six of her fellow councillors have resigned from the United Left , leaving the party without any representation on the council.  The resignations follow requests from the party at provincial, regional and federal levels. Antonia Munoz said she has no intention of leaving the council unless a judge orders it. Munoz is facing two sets of proceedings in the courts in Estepona. One involves an alleged planning breach following a complaint by a local resident in 2012. The second involves a denunciation by union official Francisco Roman for the alleged irregular proceedings in the hiring of 108 people.

POLICE ARREST FIVE AFTER SHELLFISH RACKET BASED IN DUQUESA IS UNCOVERED

Five people are to appear before a judge in Estepona after police uncovered an illegal shellfish racket based in Duquesa Port.  The police carried out Operation Pearl and found that illegal shellfish were being sold in fish shops and restaurants along the Costa del Sol. The five were involved in the illegal landing of shellfish without proper health inspection at Duquesa port. The shellfish could have contained many health hazards, including biotoxins, heavy metals or pathogens, and could not be detected by members of the public. The five are to appear before a judge in court number two in Estepona.