Los Montesinos is one of the smallest municipalities in the Vega Baja with a population of just 4,900. However it does not intend to stay that way and has set out a plan to build a further 13,153 houses which could potentially increase the population 12 fold.
Out of the three million square metres of land in Los Montesinos , the town proposes to cover three quarters with houses and industrial development creating what they describe as a “city in which we wish to live”.
Even in the boom years of construction, this plan would have been considered ambitious; in the present economic climate it is something else.
Since the global crisis began, politicians have been saying that we would be over the worse within a few years and that Spain, Britain, America etc would return to growth by 2010 – 20111 at the latest. What else could these people say? To tell the electorate that it will take a decade at least for the economy to show real signs of recovery would have been political suicide. In politics, you have to tell the people what they want to hear even if it is miles away from the truth.
Look at what happened in the States; the Yanks pinned their hopes on a new president and then became so impatient two years on that they have just voted the largest about turn in American politics for a long time. In Britain they voted for a coalition; It will come as no surprise to find a similar change in government in Spain this next year.
My bet is that Los Montesinos (translates to the wild ones) may have to wait a good few years before they can turn their plans into reality. In the meantime, they have done a lot of work and spent a lot of money on their PGOU which you can see by following this link.
No comments:
Post a Comment