1. Why should I vote for your party in this election?
The Partido Popular has presented a realistic program for these elections, Not a list of wishes. In Ayamonte there are more than 100 groups and associations that are the backbone of Ayamonte’s society (Neighbourhood association, Sports clubs, religious communities, brotherhoods, social organisations, charities etc.). All the political parties meet up with these groups and associations a few months before the elections but the Partido Popular has maintained working meetings with all of them from the beginning of the term of office and a minimum of two times with each one.
With these groups we have been honest and we have told them which of their petitions we can attend to and which ones we can’t, no lies and no false promises.Also during the last four years, our candidate has tried to visit personally every household in Ayamonte to listen to the demands and needs of every inhabitant. We have managed to visit 70% of Ayamonte households and received their outlook. This intense activity has allowed us to have a better understanding than anyone of what is the real situation in our city and what are the needs and problems of the citizens from the most important and pressing to the smaller problems.
Lastly but by no means less important: The Partido Popular in Ayamonte has with its candidature a team of young people, well prepared and with ample professional experience, with a great working capacity coupled with a willingness to change the reality in Ayamonte. In this tem there are lawyers, technical architects with extensive town planning knowledge, Legal experts in human resources, social workers with experience in management of social services, experts in cultural management, sportspeople, etc.With all our respect towards the proposals of other political parties, we are convinced that the Partido Popular in Ayamonte has the best and most responsible team of people to take on the difficult financial and social crisis that our city is engulfed.
2. Do you think you can help change attitudes towards keeping dogs as pets? It's a beautiful town and the beach is stunning BUT it seems that it's seen as acceptable to allow your pet to poo anywhere and owners have no obligation to pick it up. It's everywhere in Ayamonte and on the beach and will affect tourism.
We are very much aware of this situation, although we would like to add that the problem is even more complex. In Ayamonte there we don’t yet have a clear awareness, like the rest of Europe, about the importance of being a responsible owner of a pet. As well as the problem of the dog litter, there are other important consequences due to the lack of responsibility and it affect other types of pets and animals; for example, Horses which are in fields without areas of shade in the hottest months of the year or owners of parrots who almost exclusively feed them sunflower seed which is detrimental for their liver and health I general.
Also, a great number of pets are abandoned and that is not admissible in an advanced society.
It is important that we take action form the Town Hall and we contemplate two types of action, one to achieve our goal in the long term and others to achieve our objectives in the short term:
1. To achieve long term objectives:
a). It is fundamental to work during infancy, a time when people begin to form their personality and develop social habits. Children’s education will be a priority, with campaigns in the schools which promotes animal respect, information how to look after them and the fundamental rules and responsibilities of the owners of pets.
b). diffusion of information directed to adults in which they will be informed of the consequences of not being responsible owners. It’s not about fines, it’s about educating and changing customs.
c). Abandoned animals are responsibility of the Town Halls. Ayamonte Town limits its action to calling a public company of the Andalucian Council to retrieve the animal for its subsequent sacrifice.
The Town Hall has always claimed that it doesn’t have the resources (Basically not enough municipal workers) to attend to this obligation. We think that this is a half-truth. Ayamonte already has a private animal protection association which gives a great service. Nobody understands the situation better the problem that these volunteers but the Town Hall has to acknowledge the work they do and improve its collaboration with this association. We believe that the combination of the efforts of this association coupled with the municipal resources is fundamental to achieve important goals, (diffusion of adoption and fostering campaigns, the importance of neutering of animals, materials to help improve the installations and sanitary conditions within the animal rescue centre, etc.).
2. To achieve short term objectives:
a) It is fundamental we open a park for dogs, wher the animals can relate with other animals of the same species and algility installations which have a specialised monitor to ensure the correct education, activity, balance and good health of the pets. There are prefect spaces already available for this and it wouldn’t cost much.
b) The town hall has a special vehicle for the collection and cleaning of excrement. This vehicle broke down years ago and the Town Hall hasn’t fixed it. It is important to regain this service and minimise this esthetical and health problem cause by animal litter.
3. What is your position on the future waterpark in Ayamonte?
In these difficult economic and employment times in Ayamonte we cannot get in the way of investments from private companies. Neither can the Town hall impede these activities if they are legally compliant. But the The Partido Popular also affirms that we don’t think this is the ideal touristic development for Costa Esuri, or that the chosen site for the water park is ideal. These actions “disorganized” are due to the non-existence in the Town Hall of a Touristic Development plan which sets out long term model for tourism. And for that reason, our commitment for the future is that these errors will not be repeated due to the lack of a tourism plan which adequately outlines a model of tourism which we desire for both Costa Esuri and Ayamonte.
It is impossible to summarise in this answer the exact content of actions which we intent to carry out in tourism but we repeat that we can excel in the planning of touristic matters and the coordination with other municipal departments, ( For example, in urban planning and culture), which are part of the foundations of our program..
4. Do you have any specific projects for Costa Esuri?
We have a specific plan for Costa Esuri which combines the main interventions which we foresee for the neighbourhood.
Of these interventions, we would like to underline the following:
1. Conclude the urbanisation of the neighbourhood, using the bank guarantee deposited by the company Martinsa Fadesa to guarantee the complete urbanisation. These monies are reserved and deposited in an account which the Town hall has access to. This intervention is fundamental so Costa Esuri can avail of basic infrastructures, essential services (Police, health, telecommunications etc.) of which it is currently lacking. We need to create an attractive environment with quality services and judicial security to bring commercial development and attract investors to complete the Hotel and the shopping centre.
Likewise, we cannot allow the access to Costa Esuri, a road in need of repair with deficient street lighting to continue in the this state of abandonment.
2. Immediate dissolution of EUC. We do not understand why the inhabitants of Costa Esuri pay for a deficient service. The residents of Costa Esuri should pay the same taxes as the rest of aymonte and receive the same municipal services as everyone else (health, education, cleaning, police, etc.). The EUC cannot be permanent as it was created to provisionally provide some minimal services of maintenance.
3. Opening of a municipal office , with multilingual workers, for the simple bureaucratic procedures ( Certs, licences, resources, complaints, register, etc.). The forms would be in various languages.
There are other actions contemplated in our specific program for Costa Esuri. This program has been printed and is available in the clubhouse in Costa Esuri and it will also be delivered to every household. It is also available in electronic form and in pdf and is available on the social networks.
5. Do you have any plans for dealing with half-finished buildings which have no prospect of being completed?
Of course, although there are certain limits which are imposed by the laws regarding private Property, the Town Hall can do a lot more than what it has done already. We have to establish the differences from the various cases which we have but these fundamentally fall into three different basic situations: Owners who want to complete their buildings but don’t have the funds to do so, Owners who do not want to complete their buildings but don’t have the funds to do so and finally owners who have the resources to complete their buildings but believe that it is not the correct time to do so (e.g. Banks). In each and all of the above cases it is possible implementing a number of measures to achieve the goal of completing the buildings.
On the other hand, as a palliative measure, in our program we include an initiative which could convert the problems of some building which are in a poor state into an attractive element: Starting a national graffiti competition. The projects would be presented to the Town Hall first for approval (to ensure a certain harmony and avoid excesses), which would allow the transformation of some of building in ruins into works of art.
6. Will the new road to Punta de Moral be completed under your mandate should you be elected?
Undoubtedly, It is an absolute priority for reasons of safety as well as for touristic development. We do not understand why this fundamental action has been delayed for so long. There are two formulas to finish this process:
a). Negotiating a fair price for the land owners who are being expropriated ( they have been offer €0.15/m2 and it is normal that they are up in arms, delaying the process with a judicial expropriation case) It would be the quickest solution.
b). Modify the route of the road slightly, this formula would delay the construction of the road slightly because project plans would have to be modified and new environmental permits issued but this delay would not be as significant as the current government are implying..
7. With the introduction of a fast food outlet on Carretera del Parador there has been a huge increase in litter, would you do anything about this?
Cleanliness is a priority for our government. It is the calling card of our town and we have to take care of it not only for esthetical reasons but also for hygiene. Aymonte has also been a city which has be renowned for cleanliness, but over the last 8 years this has declined. Of course we have to improve the town cleaning service but we also have to oblige companies and establishments to comply with their obligations. In that, the area which you mentioned will be no exception..
8. There is no place where camper vans can correctly station for the night in Ayamonte, very unlike our Portuguese counterparts, would you promote or seek a place?
The Partido Popular presented a proposal in a town hall meeting ( with IU party) to create an area for campervans with an area for treatment of residues, water supply, etc. This proposal was approved unanimously, but the current government haven’t put it into action even though they approved of the proposal. Fulfil the proposal and put open an area for campervans is easy and it will be done immediately..
9. Costa Esuri has a bank guarantee of 4 million being retained by the town hall and another 1.7 million due. When will these funds be released for work on Costa Esuri?
Indeed, this bank guarantee should serve to finish the urbanisation of Costa Esuri. A bank guarantee is nothing more an assurance of the execution works and services, if the developer does not comply with their obligations, the Town hall can do so with the money from this bank guarantee, which is available to them.
We do not understand why the municipal government have not executed bank guarantee…. Unless the Mayor currently in power has special interest that the EUC is maintained..
10. When I first came to Ayamonte it used to have a great International Music festival held in August, will this return under your mandate?
The International Music Festival was a private initiative started by the well-known artist Florencio Aguilera, an extraordinary artist and fan of classical music. Florencio Aguilera is well known in artist circles and has numerous contacts in the musical world, which permitted the festival to have top flight orchestras and singers like (Katia y Marielle Labèque, Montserrat Caballé, Orquesta Filarmónica de Milán, Ainhoa Arteta, Orquesta Sinfónica de Moscú, Bárbara Hendricks, etc).
Somewhere along the line the Town hall took over the organization and artistic direction of the Festival, which ended up being the beginning of the decline of this extraordinary event.
We want to bring the festival which was during many years an international cultural event. We will also recovery the traditional location of the event, The Patio de la Jabonería del Palacio de los Marqueses de Ayamonte, a unique location which gave the Festival a special touch.
That’s how we will have the festival..