More reading for you, John.

http://huelva24.com/not/54340/ecolog...o-en-ayamonte/

I saw this in the translated version (quote)

Environmentalists representatives recalled that Ayamonte has no General Plan because for the past three decades, successive municipal corporations have continually resorted to modifying the subsidiary regulations, as most appropriate tool to escape more easily from the obligations of a management plan and grow speculatively pace of urban adventures like Costa Esuri macroproject or rezoning to develop the many who filled the half-empty town developments and unemployed people.

So open a new biz and you have to go through hoops and many (lets say) may feel inclined to 'bend the rules'...... It looks like the 'municipal corporations' do it as well when it suits them.

Also if true it seems that there should have been a plan for CE as well, though what that means re 'empty developments' and the unemployed (social housing?) - I don't know. The crisis certainly has put a lot of super cheap homes on the market, far cheaper than any budgeted social housing would have been.

Arguments aside on the desirability of social housing in CE - I suspect it would have included a post box and bus! Yes, Yes that Old chestnut!

Jon

From
http://translate.google.com/translat...%2F&edit-text=

About 18 months ago 2 flats in our block which are owned by the bank had big 'to let' notices on which appeared to be advertising 'social housing' or something like that with a rent of €150 per month. I wouldn't mind but one is just used as a glorified dog kennel. I think the tenant has moved in with his girlfriend and he comes back once a day for about 15 minutes. The dog is locked inside the flat for 23 3/4 hours a day (23 1/2 if he is lucky). I have not seen the tenant spend more than one night a week in the flat all this year. He doesn't deserve the dog or the flat. I hate to think of the state of the inside!!

Here's another shock I got in a second conversation in passing. When Fadesa was given the original approval it was very tightly drawn so that only certain facilities could be built on designated plots and even then the rules were tightly drawn.

For instance if you wished to build a Casa then you had a maximum enclosed space of 180 sq m except on a few large plots where you were allowed 210 sq m. If you wanted to develop more than one villa you had to buy two plots then you could build 3 villas.

There were 3 hotel plots one to be a 5 Star up by the Tasa development seven commercial development areas only 2 of which have been started, lots of school and sports sites.

The rumour is that all these controls have been abandoned so that the plot next door to you could be a restaurant or a factory. I am sure Carol will be able to find the report on this but it has not been publicised any where as far as I know.

This is a profound change if it turns out to be true.

I did a quick google on these keywords (copy&paste):

plan general de ordenacion urbana ayamonte potloh

It came up with a host of possibilities on first page, some dating back to 2005; however, from what I can understand, the issues date from as far back as 1980's.

I had a peek at:

http://www.diariodehuelva.es/index.p...D#.U2SYk_ldVqU

and,

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=H...potloh&f=false

Lots of reading, not sure if this is what you are after.

It looks as if this ordinance is intended to trump any environmental objections to the water park by enabling the developer's to claim that it is in the interest of sustainable touristic development of western Huelva and in accordance with the local plan.
It does look as if it opens the door to other developments, though again they would have to be in line with the touristic development theme - which should be a good thing I would have thought.
However, as this is a google translation from the Spanish it may mean exactly the opposite

Update from Michael h:

Junta de Andalucia Backs Ayamonte Water Park

Green light.

Does anyone have an update over the planned water park. The last I heard was it was meant to open in July 2015, and from the lack of any building works going on this looks extremely doubtful.

Andy

I would imagine than since the EU sanctions on Russia over Ukraine any Russian company which was going to invest in Ayamonte will either be prevented or have second thoughts.

That doesn't stop Ceuta fueling the Russian fleet

Ceuta is Moroccan isn't it?

Anything south of Granada is Moroccan according to my friend from Bilbao

Ceuta and Melilla are two Spanish cities, being each one Autonomous Community (mejorCiudades autonomous) according to the indicated in the Spanish Constitution. They have never belonged to the Kingdom of Morocco. I attach a Web interesting connection, with the history of both cities.

Ahora en Español.

Ceuta y Melilla son dos ciudades españolas, siendo cada una Comunidad Autónoma (como Ciudades autónomas) de acuerdo a la Constitución española. Nunca han pertenecido al Reino de Marruecos.
Adjunto una conexión Web interesante, con la historia de ambas ciudades.


<div><strong>Por qué Ceuta y Melilla son españolas</strong></div> - El Manifiesto

I think Fred was using good old English irony since Spain makes false claims to Gibraltar.

I think the kind of Russian money that is being talked of here is not involved with the Russian Government more the Russian Mafia so that will be OK then.

Logistical Support for the Russian Navy: What Is Spain's Rajoy Playing At?
a Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Last year, news of Spain's decision to provide water, fuel, and other supplies to the 6,900-tonne destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov and the tankers Duban and Sergey Osipov at Ceuta (a Spanish-administered city in North Africa, facing Gibraltar and claimed by Morocco) in the midst of the Ukrainian crisis prompted surprise and even anger in many Allied quarters. After all, NATO was supposed to be breaking military relations with Russia, implementing sanctions, and showing the world its opposition to Russian policy in the Ukraine, not refueling Russian warships. In the whole of 2014, Russian warships paid 13 visits to Ceuta, the port becoming one of the cornerstones in Moscow's drive for a much larger naval blueprint. This was the more strange given that Madrid was among the most vocal members of the Atlantic Alliance when it came to denouncing the Crimean referendum, in an openly-acknowledged bid to try to taint Catalonia's (conquered in 1714) self-determination vote, which took place on 9 November.

HC: Logistical Support for the Russian Navy: What Is Spain's Rajoy Playing At?