Green Zone

A court in Orihuela is investigating why Repsol were allowed to build two underground gas tanks to hold 49,500 litres of propane on a green zone of Bigastro. A thousand square metres of "green" land is now fenced off without access to the public.

The PP party claim that the land was re-parcelled at a Council Meeting in April 2005 and then in December 2007, in a decree made by the Mayor, parcel 53 was denominated “garden JL-5”. To later change the designation of the land to allow gas tanks to be installed would therefore require a precise modification to the General Plan of the City Council and approval by the Conselleria.

In May 2007, the official newspaper of the Catalan Autonomous Government reports a resolution by the Conselleria de Infraestructuras authorising the installation of the gas tanks. Aurelio Murcia argues that Repsol are hardly likely to invest in this installation without municipal approval and advice by municipal technicians. However, it seems that there is no record of the decision to change the use of this land by the City Council.

The PP party in Bigastro have made several denunciations against the PSOE and the Mayor in particular; implying that they have failed to follow correct procedures in dealing with the sale and use of land in the town. Those of you who read the Spanish press, will know that this is a problem which a number of Councils, both PSOE and PP, face here in Spain. The case against the Mayor of Marbella is possibly the worst example.