Mijas Costa
Goodbye Willie! ONE of the Rock’s true gems has passed away. Tributes have been flooding in for the former boss of Rolex, William Serfaty, who died on one of his regular trips to Spain. The prominent b us i n es s ma n and activist - who campaigned hard for the right to vote in European elections and against joint sovereignty with Spain - died at 74 years old. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo led the tributes describing his an ‘energetic and hardworking patriot and political activist’. “Willie has contributed extensively to the business community and campaigned in all initiatives to promote the democratic rights of Gibraltarians,” Picardo said. “Willie’s family can justly feel proud of the contribution he has made to develop a Democratic British Gibraltar.” Serfaty, a staunch atheist, led the Self Determination for Gibraltar Group (SDGG) for nine years and was a member of the Integration With Britain Party when it came to office in 1969. He was also on the board of the Chamber of Commerce. After the frontier closed he was chosen to recruit Moroccans to come to Gibraltar and has ever since been a popular figure around the Rock. He was also a long-time supporter of the Olive Press and, apart from requesting its delivery to the Red House Rolex shop, he regularly took our special supplements on different regions of Andalucia on his regular travels. Serfaty joined his father as an architect after completing his studies, before taking over the Rolex shop which he ran successfully for many years. His passing away comes as a big shock to all of Gibraltar. It was marked with a one minute silence at the recent May Day event for his efforts to advance workers’ rights. SDGG chairperson Denis Matthews said: “He was well-versed in Gibraltar’s history and deeply conscious of our heritage.”
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Vol. 4 Issue 96 www.theolivepress.es May 8th - May 21st 2019
Property
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Issue 29
The places they SHOULD have filmed
The sites which SHOULD have been in Game of Thrones, plus Gib’s most historic See free Property buildings Magazine inside
A tour of Spain’s most prolific ‘pavilion’ creators, SEE PAGE XII
May 2019
Game of Thrones in Spain... ...Plus our pick of the best castles for sale in Spain this year
See page XVIII
agents beONE of the Costa del Sol’s leading an exlieves the stalling of Brexit has brought cellent window to buy. Europe, The six-month delay of the UK leaving out a hard added to Parliament effectively rulingfor British Brexit, has left a healthy situation Propbuyers, believes Ben Bateman, of Holmes erty Sales in Sotogrande. strongest Not only is the pound approaching itssellers are level against the euro since 2016, but had propgrowing anxious to sell, having often as a erties on the market for longer than expected result of the Brexit uncertainty and delay. prices hav“While the pound has strengthened of Soen’t really increased,” explains the boss togrande’s longest-established agency. the mar“Many buyers who put their homes onbeen able ket towards the end of 2017 have not and have to sell as quickly as we had forecast lonnow been on the market for 4 to 6 months a paralysis ger than they had hoped for, due to in the market. Brexit “With months of uncertainty regarding
Winter isn΄t coming Agents report good start to 2019 as confidence from Brits returns
1.10, and with the pound staying low at around to buy. so many people failed to make a decision practically “But now that a hard Brexit has been the likeliruled out and the markets are seeing the pound hood of staying in the customs union has strengthened a lot. for a few “With it being steady at around 1.16 more for weeks now it means you can get a lotof the payour pound and also take advantage what you ralysis and maybe get a better deal on want.” and He believes there are many buyers hovering he cites the waiting to buy… and as an analogy weather and swimming. ready for a “They’re already in their shorts and pool, but swim. They’re dipping their toe in thean hour or will they jump in right away or wait time. of so? It’s just a matter the “All I would say is don’t miss this window, best time to buy is now.” such Other agents have reported similar findings, Continues on Page III
Powering the way By John Culatto
A BIG solar power project at New Harbours could help Gibraltar reach its sustainable energy target. The new scheme will add to two other solar projects being introduced at the new sports facilities being built at Europa Point and Lathbury Barracks. “The planet is facing a huge environmental challenge, and we are a part of it,” said John Cortes, Minister for the Environment. “We have a lot more to do, but as far as Gibraltar goes, the future is bright for the environment.” He made the statement after criticism from Opposition member Trevor Hammond. “When I became a Minister, after many years a lonely voice in the wilderness ignored by the GSD Government, Gibraltar had to make a quantum leap into the present century on these matters,” he revealed.
MAKING WAVES: The eco-wave electricity plant was installed two years ago
“Renewable energy and energy efficiency were not even in the Government vocabulary, and
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there was no knowledge or even support for these concepts in either the public or private sectors.” The facts prove his point as carbon emissions have dropped by 39,000 tonnes since 2013. This will be further increased by the new natural gas power station to be Reliable private hire transfer opened this year. services for any occasion • Luxury vehicles Door to door service • Airport collections • Weddings transport • Sightseeing day trips • Restaurant shuttles
The GSLP/Liberals believe this could lower emissions by as much as 25% of the diesel plant the GSD Opposition had proposed. Another sustainable project that was launched two years ago, was the Eco-wave electricity plant. A prototype was placed on the Sandy Bay ammunitions jetty at no cost to the taxpayer which in the long run could create even more green energy. TM scheme is still being tested. The
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