Urbanism takes the proposal for the expropriation of the coast in Percheles to plenary session

After more than four years of conflicts and complaints on the part of the residents of Cañada Gallego and the surroundings of Percheles, the Mazarrón City Council takes to the ordinary plenary session on Tuesday “the initial approval of the expropriation of the general system of open spaces”. A file that, after “a cumbersome process”, will allow the municipality to acquire the property of the coastal strip between Las Chapas beach and Parazuelos, “about 3 kilometers of coastline that the City Council has the right to use”, explains Ginés Campillo, Councilor for Urban Planning and responsible for the procedures and procedures that will finally settle years of protests and claims from residents of the area and vacationers, who have suffered confrontations with one of the owners,

“We have been fighting for more than four years, with difficulties in accessing Percheles beach and with illegal camping by the sea,” explains Juani Valera, president of the Percheles-Cañada Gallego Neighborhood Association, about the consequences of the actions of the owner of the land surrounding Percheles, who fenced off the site, preventing access to bathers, set up a parking lot without having the permits and, later, established an area for camping caravans and motorhomes.

Encouraged after the meeting held this week with the Town Planning Councillor, Ginés Campillo, who informed the residents that “the expropriation is at hand so that, finally, they open the way to the beach for us”, Juani Valera acknowledges that, after so many years of struggle, “until we see it, we won’t believe it”.

“The neighbors are very happy. They did not believe that it was going to be a reality, “acknowledges Campillo, who explains that the beginning of the expropriation has required a long process, but that the problem of illegal camping in Percheles, which prevents the passage of bathers, is going to end to the beach. In addition, he explains, “we have taken the opportunity to expropriate everything that was illegal in the area for the general interest – he says in reference to three houses built irregularly that will also be expropriated – and recover the space for all the residents.”

For the mayor of Cañada Gallego, Francisco Valera, “it is news that we have been waiting for since the summer of 2017, when this man began to put obstacles to the use of the access road; Imagine how we are going to receive what happened on Tuesday », he says and clarifies that he will go to plenary to see it live. “It seems that everything is finally well tied up so that it can move forward and be able to preserve and protect the area, which is now highly modified.”

Two months of paperwork

The mayor of Urban Planning does not expect surprises and trusts that all groups give initial approval to the expropriation process, because already, “in the information process, they voted in favor,” he points out. With the project already prepared and endowed with credit to indemnify the eight affected owners, the City Council estimates that the entire process can be carried out in two months, which will allow the recovery of 51,345 square meters of the Mazarrón coastline for public use by an estimated cost of less than 150,000 euros.

«After the approval, a 30-day period of allegations opens that from the City Council we will have to resolve and, later, approve in plenary session. Once these steps have been taken, everything can be expropriated within 20 days,” Campillo estimates about the pending procedures.