Plan 2000E accounts for over a quarter of a million car sales

The Government is very pleased with the results and said that Plan 2000E has had a dynamic effect on a number of fronts, which after months of declines has contributed significantly to both vehicle sales plus a reduction on emissions due to newer cars being ‘cleaner’ than those of yesteryear.

Latest figures show that 45.8 percent of buyers have purchased new cars emitting less than 120 gr. CO2/km, while 26 percent have emissions below 150 g / km CO2. Other advantages have also been noted from the point of view of safety, as 51.2 percent scrapped vehicles were more than 15 years old. 92.3 percent of vehicles purchased were new and 7.6 percent used, of which 59.5 per cent were less than 2 years old.

And the good news for those interested in purchasing a new car is that for 2010 the Plan will continue under the same conditions as in 2009, except for some technical improvements, with the government setting aside a budget of 100 million euros to boost sales and manufacturing in the automotive industry. Thus a new car buyer will still receive a 2,000 euros savings; 500 euros from the Ministry of Industry, 1,000 euros per vehicle manufacturer and 500 euros from the CCAA by members of the system, towards a purchase.

All good news if you are in the market to purchase a new vehicle. However, the plan has not been seen in such a positive light by many used car dealers who deal in cars more than a few years old or outside the technicalities of the scheme. For a variety of reasons, second hand or pre-owned cars command premium prices in Spain. Especially in the luxury and sports car marketplace, it’s often cheaper to purchase from Germany, Belgium or the UK and even after transport, importation and transfers have been paid, one can still make savings over buying in Spain.

This was also the case before Plan 2000E existed but one result of this new initiative is that over a quarter of a million older, and often will kept cars, have been scrapped by the Spanish government, never to return to the roads again due to the laws regarding scrapped cars in Spain! The result is that those looking for a bargain car, a run-a-round, an occasional car to use while here for a few months per year, are having a difficult time finding anything of interest, at a reasonable price. 

Look for a similar car from the UK or Spain that’s a few years old and the difference in value is quickly apparent. The other result has been that many established local used car dealers in the area have now closed their doors, unable to purchase cars from private sellers or auctions at a reasonable price, to put on their Lots. Look around the once thriving car lots on the N332 and the casualties are plentiful.

If you are in a position to purchase a new or nearly new car and you own something worth less than 2,000 euros that you wish to be rid off, you still have an opportunity to do so. On the other hand, if you are looking for a great bargain in the second-hand marketplace, your work is certainly cut out for you, with many drivers still tempted to run a foreign plated car, possibly without a current MOT or equivalent, while seeking that elusive bargain. Drive safely.

Torrevieja Cricket Club to play their inaugural game on February 28th

Weather permitting, Torrevieja Cricket Club’s inaugural outdoor game will be held on Sunday, February 28th 2010 at the Municipal Athletics track within the Sports Complex. The action is set to begin at noon and will feature a 40-Overs match against Intellectuals Cricket Club´s. 

Torrevieja Cricket Club´s are still in the process of building their senior team and to date have attracted a great mix of senior, junior and even female players. However, with the club less than three months old they are still on the lookout for opening batsmen, bowlers and welcome members of all ages and abilities, including female players, to join what has already become a very sociable club. Torrevieja are the latest to join the growing number of clubs that make up the 30-stong teams of Cricket Espana, an official member of the ICC.

Dani Plaza, Torrevieja’s Councillor for Sports is keeping a keen eye on the development of cricket in the city and is already looking forward to next season when Torrevieja should be competing in local leagues and playing regular games on the new multi-sports field, shared by rugby, football and cricket, part of the new Sports City Project. Last year the ICC (International Cricket Council) celebrated their one-hundredth anniversary and Spain was one of five European countries chosen as a venue to help with promotion of the sport. With a number of new teams being formed in 2009, including San Fulgencio and Torrevieja, the ICC are delighted with the progress they have seen from Spain which has also helped to boost their rankings on the world stage. 

With Torrevieja being probably the most multi-cultural city per head of capita in the European Union, the potential for cricket here in Torrevieja is immense and already interest has been shown from players from Britain, Ireland, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies and even Spain! Provisionally, training sessions are being held once per week, in the area behind the Cecilio Gallego Pavilion (the pavilion with the blue roof) between 1700-1900 hrs on Wednesday evenings.

Sunday’s game is not only an opportunity to watch cricket in Torrevieja but a chance to register your interest or even sign up. Player registration forms available and all that is needed is your NIE or passport number along with contact details. For more information on Torrevieja Cricket Club, please contact Ben Essuah, Club Secretary on 677335707.

DGT hiding the real truth of accident numbers behind their own statistics

The inference by Dvuelta is that perhaps the DGT are not in the mood to crack down too hard on drunk drivers as “year after year, brewers sponsor traffic safety campaigns, supposedly funded by the DGT!"
Just like in the world of Houdini’s illusions, not all is what it might seem in the ever popular world of statistics manipulation and ‘spin’, as has been pointed out by Spain’s motorist advocacy organization ‘Dvuelta’. They have announced their "astonishment" by recent statements by the Director General de Tráfico, Pere Navarro, who said that it "makes no sense at all, to install radar in city centres” even though it is there and NOT on the motorways, where more than three-quarters of all road deaths occur!

In the New Economy Forum, Navarro said that he feels "comfortable" with radar that is presently placed "in a straight line of a highway" because its function is, precisely that "the speeds are met" but he continued by saying that there was "no sense to "install fixed radar on a side street, with a circulation below 6,000 vehicles.” This last comment raised the heckles of more than one motoring organisation who see the focus of the DGT to be more concerned with fund raising than road safety.

The point that Dvuelta makes is that in the eyes of the DGT, it is the minimum number of vehicles that justifies investment in a fixed radar, ie the threshold of profitability of the radar: the point where it pays for itself in addition to providing additional income to the DGT! Thus, it’s easer to fine more motorists for speeding, on roads designed for speed, the highways, rather than fining a fewer number for speeding, in much more dangerous surroundings of the city centre!

Dvuelta added “saying that it makes no sense to install radar on roads, where three quarters of the fatalities (on secondary roads) occur should also explain where exactly the ‘sense’ is, to install them on the safer roads, where only 10% of fatal accidents happen!” In a statement, " that will go down in history for the audacity" Navarro said that "we (Spanish Drivers) have a problem with alcohol," and yet, Dvuelta adds, "far from acknowledging this fact, they have ignored it” stressing that the DGT are intent on focusing on the straightforward target of speeding drivers on the highways and ignoring the much more treacherous drivers who get behind the wheel with an, according to the DGT, “acceptable level of alcohol!”

The inference by Dvuelta is that perhaps the DGT are not in the mood to crack down too hard on drunk drivers as “year after year, brewers sponsor traffic safety campaigns, supposedly funded by the DGT!"

Navarro also pointed out his concern for accidents; over 81,000 of them, or about (225 per day), that take place close to home or when commuting to work. However, and this is the kicker, although many accidents and deaths involve ‘professional drivers’ such as taxis, police, emergency services, buses, couriers, van and truck drivers, etc, none of these ‘in town’ accidents are added to the DGT statistics. Thus, the 81,000-recorded accidents are just for ‘common folk’ and not those who make their living from driving! “What would the actual number of deaths produced be, if they were included in those 81,000 accidents a year, in the last three years” they wondered! One might also speculate as to how various branches of the Tráfico police, would also be funded, if they did not have the easy option of fixed radar!

New study on Public Transport could save more than two million euros per year

Last year, a study into the transportation infrastructure around Torrevieja started and when the downtown street systems are reopened and traffic can flow again, some changes can be expected in traffic flow around the city. Following on from this a further €95,000 has been granted by to restructure Public Transport around the city.
Torrevieja’s Councillor for Transportation, Tomás Arenas Bueno, reports that the Regional Department of Infrastructure and Transport, through the Valencian
Energy (AVEN), will allocate a total of 95,000 euros to fund a Comprehensive Study of Urban Mobility in Torrevieja. The overall goal is to save energy and expenditure from a variety of sources along with drastically cutting down on the CO2 gasses produced by the city’s fleet of buses and taxis.

The study will look at the routes used by public transport, waiting times, schedules with the most important aspects being:
The regulation and control of access and parking in downtown Torrevieja
Developing and improving the availability of different modes of public transport.
Introduction of park and ride systems
The management and development of the main road network.
Promoting mobility for walking and cycling through the construction and / or reserving of spaces and the removal of architectural, barriers for pedestrian and bicycles.
The regulations regarding loading and unloading, and goods delivery in the city.

Overall, the initiative hopes to reduce fuel consumption in public transport by more than 2,200 tonnes of fuel per year, meaning emissions into the atmosphere will be cut  by 9056 tonnes of CO2 each year giving savings of over two-million euros in costs annually.

The Valencian Community is fully behind this action plan and in total there are 35 energy-saving measures that are hoped to cut the consumption from 63,500 tons of oil per year which will be an economic benefit to the  Comunitat ie a reduction of the energy bill of more than 35 million euros.

Torrevieja to spend ten million to resurface and upgrade streets and urbanization's

Sometimes there seems to be no end to the amount of money that is spent on improvements to the city of Torrevieja.
With the main downtown area to be pronounced finished by the start of the Easter Processions, there was more good news regarding planned improvements to the city as this week the mayor of Torrevieja, Pedro Hernandez Mateo, announced that the City Council is to spend upwards of ten million euros on repaving and upgrading roads and pavements throughout the city and in La Mata, covering an area of 582,000 meters.

Already many parts of the city are seeing the benefits of the plan, including the area around the new La Mata Town Hall. For the work scheduling, the city is to be divided into 8 zones, sorted by proximity and traffic management scheduling: Rocío del Mar y Punta Prima (510 square metres), Las Barcas-Los Altos (35.443 m.), La Mata (29.974 m.) Las Maravillas-Lo Albentosa (8.375 m.), Molino Blanco (2.807 m.) Torreblanca (29.100 m.), Lomas (7.135 m.) and Cabo Cervera (12.863 m.).

The plan also takes into consideration the resurfacing of many of the city’s roads, replacing damaged asphalt, filling potholes and refitting or replacement of all damaged or ill-fitting manhole covers, which shall now be made flush with the road surface. The areas that work will commence on are:
-Zona 1. Urbanizaciones Lago Jardín I, Lago Jardín II, Lago Sol y Los Balcones.
-Zona 4. Urbanizaciones La Hoya, S-11A, S-11B, San José (sector 10), Polígono Casagrande y S-12.
-Zona 6. Urbanizaciones Punta la Víbora, Torreta Florida, Torreta I, Torreta II, Torreta III, El Limonar, La Loma y Enclave 13.
-Zona 9. Casco Urbano Zona 2 PGOU, Urbanizaciones Becisa-Los Ángeles y Calas Blancas.
-Zona Centro. Casco Urbano 1 PGOU.

This campaign of road works throughout the municipality is part of Plan Confianza de la Generalitat Valenciana and accounts for an investment of more than 2,500,000 euros.
In addition, Hernandez Mateo announced that work would begin on the entire redevelopment of Nueva Torrevieja, including replacement of asphalt, sidewalks, curbs and new lights, is also included, amounting to an investment of almost 2 million.

For those wondering what is going to be happening with the upheaval around the desalination plant, ACUAMED, the state company that is building it, will be investing more than six-million euros to restore the area around Barrio de San Roque, to include renewing all asphalt, sidewalks, curbs and lighting. In total, more than 10 million euros is to be spent over the next few months to change the face of many of the city streets and urbanizations for the better, which will improve the image of many areas of Torrevieja.

20 floor Skyscraper Hotel projects pass the first green light in Torrevieja

For the last three months, a group of overseas investment companies have been lobbying Torrevieja’s Town Hall for more information about the proposed building sites for luxury Hi-Rise 4 & 5-star hotels within the city. Back in September 2008, just as the recession kicked in, the proposal for this scheme first came to light but with Spanish Banks reluctant to lend funding for any development projects, it’s been up to innovative and speculative foreign investors, who have a vision of a bright future for Torrevieja, to pique the interest of the Town Council once again.

I asked one of their development management team about their interest in Torrevieja over other locations in Spain. In essence, the attraction of Torrevieja is because of her forward thinking council, stability and aggressive investment program along with the multicultural nature of the city. 

In the last three years alone, over one hundred million euros has been invested in Torrevieja. Recently the city has benefited from a new Hospital, Health Centres, the just announced Microsoft Research Centre, new Sports facilities, new management team at FC Torrevieja, Theatres, Multi-Level parking, pedestrian areas and beautification of the downtown area, work continuing on the Eras de la Sal, Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance, La Mata Town Hall, parks and gardens, new transport infrastructure and just this week, they announced another ten-million to be spent on upgrading and renewing the majority of road surfaces around the city! Further investment is also evident in the Desalination Plant and the ambitious 500-million euro Harbour plan. It’s no wonder that the outside world is sitting up and noticing the City of Salt.

It may have taken three months of research, questions and prodding to receive a positive reaction from the town hall but in the space of just 48-hours, the news of possible skyscrapers along the Torrevieja Coast Line made front-page news and featured on the major Spanish TV and Radio news channels.

The missing link in Torrevieja and her status on the Costa Blanca, has always been one of a lack of quality hotels. With less than 2,000 beds available in the city and only a couple of three or four star establishments, Torrevieja is in need of quality facilities, especially if hoping to attract the global conference trade, for the multitude of quality cultural events (such as the Habaneras festival) plus with a new management force at FC Torrevieja and the city’s own excellent sporting facilities, the future is also rosy for the development of major sports games and tournaments, not thought possible until now.

Although the opposition parties objected to the proposal, the motion was passed and the Town Council shall now push forward their plan for validation by the Generalitat Valenciana. Torrevieja is now seeking permission to build up to thirty (30), twenty (20) storey Hotels, in any of the six designated areas on the first line to the beach. The areas sited for possible development are Campico San Mamés between the Acequión beach and the International Marina, Playa de los Náufragos, Curva del Palangre, next to the Los Locos beach and Las Lomas in La Mata.

Since 1987, and with very few exceptions, developers in Torrevieja have only been granted permission for townhouses or buildings of five storeys with attics, in the city. For over a decade the City Council has sought permission to build vertically, in part to break up the horizon and afford more visitors a view of the Mediterranean! On Tuesday, Mayor Pedro Hernandez Mateo was limited in the council meeting to only reading the proposal on the agenda, without addressing the merits of such a project. Back in September 2008, the mayor was much more animated in his approach and picked up two cartons to graphically illustrate the difference between horizontal construction - occupying more land and the Vertical approach, such as is most popular in Benidorm, which makes better use of the available ground area and only partially obscures the panoramic sea view.

Even if such a proposal is greeted with open arms and passed by provincial government, with basic build costs starting at around forty million euros, such projects shall not be flying upwards in the very near future.

This week the investment team looked over the proposed sites but they still have to wait and see if Valencia grants approval before their next step is undertaken. It might only take two years to actually construct a Hotel, once authorization to build a twenty-storey facility offering three-hundred to five-hundred or more suites is given but, the owners still have to achieve good occupancy figures to make it all worthwhile. For most residents and casual onlookers, the prospect of a luxury hotel in Torrevieja will be seen as good news. After waiting for more than ten years on a decision, let’s hope that it’s sooner rather than later, for that elusive Green Light!