News from Andalucia & Costa del Sol
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AENA announces airport as Caruana calls election
Joint-use agreement for Gibraltar and La Línea terminals has yet to be reached
By David Eade
LAST Wednesday the chief minister of Gibraltar, Peter Caruana, showed off the Rock's 59 million-euro air terminal and then on the Thursday evening called a general election. He announced the poll just days before the parliament would have been dissolved by law. Whilst the election will be on December 8 no date has yet been announced for when the new terminal will accept passengers and planes.
On the same day the Spanish airport authority, AENA, announced the airport on La Línea's side of the border will have a budget of seven million euros. The building will cover 2,000 square metres spread over three floors and there will also be parking for up to 400 vehicles.
The news was revealed by Cádiz socialist MP Salvador de la Encina, who is also the president of the Commission of Public Works. The land by the border was once military property but is now owned by La Línea. Sr de la Encina said around 20 per cent of the site would be used for the terminal.
The top floor will house the customs, passport controls, security apparatus and zones for passengers. The lower two floors will be given over to logistics, offices and storage facilities. The building has been designed by AENA and will complement the new Gibraltar terminal.
Abandoned dogs find new homes abroad
Relaxation of UK rabies rules will open up new opportunities for adoptions there
By David Eade
ABANDONED dogs are an all too frequent sight beside the roads especially in country areas during the hunting season. Many are rescued by animal protection societies such as Estepona-based Adana. Whilst homes are sought for these dogs locally, many will happily live out their days far from Spain, some even as far away as Finland.
Estepona has no municipal dog pound so all the work falls on Adana's shoulders, covering not only Estepona but also Manilva and Casares. At the end of October they had 190 dogs in the kennels. Twenty-one new ones had come in and 22 went out, of which two were thankfully returned to their owners.
Helen Ellis, who runs the adoption service, told the Costa del Sol News: "We are trying to develop contacts abroad and we sent one dog to Finland in October and we have one dog waiting to go to Switzerland and two to Holland this month with one waiting to go to Norway in December and one waiting to go to the UK in January when the quarantine law changes."
Police to use microchip scanners to nab dog owners
Owners of dogs, cats and ferrets are required by law to have their pets microchipped
By Oliver McIntyre
MIJAS residents who let their dogs run loose and fail to clean up after them will be tracked down by local police using pet microchip readers.
In the town hall's latest salvo in its battle against errant pet owners, officials say the local police department is to purchase six microchip readers, plus borrow several more from the Andalucía College of Veterinarians.
Owners of dogs, cats and ferrets are required by law to have their pets microchipped and the town hall plans to stiffen up a local bylaw so that those who fail to do so will face a fine of 750 euros. Already those caught failing to scoop their pets' poop face fines ranging from 750 euros to as much as 3,000 euros for repeat offenders.
Councillor Mario Bravo said the scheme is not aimed at raising more money through fines but at putting a stop to the nuisance of dog excrement littering the town's streets and dogs running loose. One of the greatest complaints from residents, particularly in Las Lagunas, is of dogs fouling the streets, he said.
Residents want solution to dangerous La Cala curve
The neighbourhood association has sent two letters to the Public Works Ministry over the last few years seeking action but nothing has ever come of it
By Oliver McIntyre
RESIDENTS in La Cala de Mijas have renewed their call for officials to take action to fix the dangerous La Cala curve on the A7 dual carriageway following the latest lorry rollover accident on the road. The accident late last month saw the driver injured and long tailbacks as his lorry, loaded with steal beams, blocked the road.
The La Cala de Mijas neighbourhood association says that it has sent two letters to the Public Works Ministry over the last few years seeking action. The residents say that at one point they were told work was to be undertaken to improve the road - which they say is not properly banked, causing lorries to easily topple - but with the onset of the economic crisis nothing ever came of it. The residents want the banking fixed and, if necessary, land expropriated to widen the road and allow the curve to be softened. As a temporary measure, they radars should be installed and road markings improved. The town hall has also proposed the installation of radars to slow down traffic and improve safety at the curve.
Recognising how dangerous it is, the town hall has continued to light the La Cala curve despite allowing the lights to go off on the rest of the A7 in the municipality as part of several local town halls' battle with the Public Works over payment for the street lighting along the state-owned highway.
Andalucía offers Britons a ‘home away from home'
Region set to launch €870,000 UK promo surrounding World Trade Market
By Oliver McIntyre
ANDALUCIA, long a favourite destination of British holidaymakers, is to bill itself as Britons' ‘home away from home' as part of the region's promotional push at the upcoming World Travel Market in London.
Under the slogan ‘Welcome to Andalucía, welcome home', the region's tourism chiefs will repeat last year's successful formula of combining their presence at the WTM event with a promotional blitz in several cities.
Despite a reduced budget - at 872,000 euros down 33 per cent from last year - officials say this year's campaign will achieve similar if not better results, thanks in part to greater efficiency and in part to "ambitious growth plans" among tourism companies in the UK, Andalucía's biggest source of foreign tourists.
Beginning two days ahead of the WTM, which runs from November 7 to 10 at the ExCeL London convention centre, Andalucía will roll out its direct promotional push to consumers with a series of events and activities at the new Westfield Stratford City shopping centre.
Deadbeat renters can be kicked out in 10 days
Change in law speeds up process for landlords to get an eviction order
By Oliver McIntyre
LANDLORDS with tenants who fail to pay rent no longer have to wade through a months-long process to get an eviction order. Under a new law that took effect on Monday, deadbeat renters can now be thrown out in as little as 10 days.
The change comes as part of a series of Justice Ministry reforms aimed at simplifying the judicial system and speeding it up by cutting out unnecessary court procedures.
Under the new rules, once a landlord files a legal claim for unpaid rent, the court clerk will give the tenant 10 days to either pay the owed amount or file an appeal against the claim. If the renter fails to do so within the 10-day deadline, the court will directly set an eviction date, upon the landlord's request.