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costa calida EDITION
south edition
Your English Newspaper
roundtownnews.com
31 Oct3-9 - 6 Jan Nov 2014 2014
Issue 785
Beauty and the beast by Jack Troughton
We will remember them THIS COMING Sunday, the second Sunday in November, is Remembrance Sunday, the day traditionally put aside to remember all those who have given their lives for the peace and freedom we enjoy today. Read the full story on page 45.
CONTROVERSIAL DUMPING in a Costa Blanca beauty spot has angered local residents as they fight to protect the natural landscape – and end the torment of heavy lorries and dust in a residential area. Earth, rock, and organic waste are being thrown down to fill the rugged ‘barranco’ – a natural ravine – which in the wet season forms a tributary of a fast flowing river that flows into the nearby sea. Millions of tons of construction waste have been left in the valley, and the brown mud and rock monster is gradually inching forward down the barranco like a glacier. Benitachell residents attended a town hall meeting on Monday to protest about the situation and after showing Mayor Josep Femenia photographs of the rubble, said he had been “significantly more interested and compassionate” about the problem. The Barranco Garsiva lies between two zones of the Cumbre del Sol urbanisation and commands dramatic views over the coast. It is understood developer VAPF did have a licence to fill just over 500 square metres of the ravine in 2005 and plant pine trees. Tom Blackie, a member of a residents committee fighting to stop the
dumping, said a “Save Our Barrancos” petition was being circulated and already had 100 signatures – with a target of around 300. OUTCRY He said in February and March there was an outcry as rubble from new construction was being dumped and complaints were made to both the water board and Seprona, the environmental wing of the Guardia Civil but no action was taken. “They just disappeared.” Tom said: “At that point we formed a small committee to represent everyone. This involved people living there and everyone on this part of Cumbre. We started making formal requests for information. The history is the developer has been dumping excavation rubbish there from about 2001 without permission. “Miraculously, the council have the developer a contract to create a green area, which meant planting trees on top of all the rubbish.” He said to date there had been a “total failure” of elected representatives to stop the dumping and end the “misery” of residents. The tipping started again on 1st September, immediately after the traditional August holidays and the usual ban on construction. Continued on page 8
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