2004-05-25-A Community Divided

COMMUNITY BITTERLY DIVIDED OVER WAY FORWARD

Written by steve

Tuesday, 25 May 2004

On the outskirts of Torrevieja lies Mi Sol Park.  Originally designed as a caravan and camping site it now has a much more perman-ent air about it and has become the permanent residence for over 250 people of different nationalities. It is an unusual design with properties mainly grouped in circles within the site. This gives the area a cozy and close feel to it but at the moment nothing could be further from the truth. Residents have split into two camps. One supports the current president who has been in power for some years but the other group have elected their own president and believe that he should be the rightfully elected president for the community. The matter is currently in the hands of a judge who is deciding on the issue. The judgment is due at the end of May. There are a number of issues at stake but underlying everything is mistrust between the two factions. Claims abound from both sides that the other is spreading disinformation and lies. This has led to the breakdown of long established friendships as residents disagree with each other over who should run the community and how it should be managed.  Because of its history the legal situation regarding escrituras is complex. According to the website www.mi-sol.com the community land is held in the names of previous owners and the escritura for the bar is subject to an even more involved arrangement. Most have escrituras for their land. Everybody would like to have full complete escrituras and for the community land issues to be resolved. The current committee also propose to seek to integrate Mi Sol into the official town plans for Torrevieja. This they believe will allow them to fully legalize their properties, give them greater security, extend them if desired and in turn, increase the value of their homes. Their opponents are worried that integration under the Plan Parcial for the town will lead to increased costs for infrastructure and could also open the door to unscrupulous development along the lines of the worst cases highlighted in the province under the infamous LRAU. In short they fear they could lose their homes. Many of them are pensioners with no fall back position so it is easy to understand their fears and concerns. Reconciliation appears unlikely at the present moment and it is hard to see how a satisfactory compromise can be reached. Until that happens the divide will continue. The latest news from the website is an unconfirmed rumour that the old president has been declared the legal office holder through the judicial process. This has yet to be officially corroborated. When the decision is announced and whoever is declared the legal president, there will have to be a reconciliation of funds as both sides are collecting monies on behalf of the community at the present moment. There will also have to be a more difficult process of building bridges between the opposing camps.