Torrevieja town hall has put the owners of an historic building on notice to secure the site or face the consequences.
The historic building, located in Los Balcones opposite the Doña Monse hotel, is owned by the company Ocio Azul SL, who have, according to the town hall, failed to comply with their duty of conservation resulting in the near complete collapse of the building.
The file was started last November by order of the Councillor for Urban Management, Sandra Sánchez. On July 29, after the presentation of allegations by the owner company and requesting a technical report from the municipal architect, the councillor decided to give one month to request the intervention licence for the conservation of the building, which is registered in the municipal register of plots and buildings to be rehabilitated. Specifically, the councillor for Urban Management gives Ocio Azul one month to complete the perimeter fence and urges it to maintain it until the rehabilitation work is carried out. Likewise, she gives another four months to carry out shoring and propping up tasks in other areas in an unstable situation. At this time, only one façade is propped up.
Once the project has been submitted and the works have been economically assessed, the councillor informs the company that it will then determine the cost of the works that the City Council would have to pay for, if applicable, as the work to be carried out exceeds the limit of the duty of conservation. Valencian regulations establish that the cost is exceeded when the cost of the rehabilitation works exceeds half the value of a new construction with similar characteristics and the same useful surface area.
In the same document, the councillor warns the owners that if they do not request a licence to intervene and rehabilitate the property and do so, they will continue with the procedure for declaring non-compliance “with the corresponding legal consequences”.
The company, however, recognises the same document, that it has two months to avoid any sanction or forced expropriation. In this sense, the law states that the owner can oppose the procedure alleging that there is no breach of the duty to conserve or that this is not attributable to the property, but to an administrative decision. The other option, as sought by the City Council, is for the company to commit to requesting a building permit and rehabilitating this old stately home.
There are various ways to restore the house to good condition. The company can cover all the costs by submitting the project and a deposit of 5% of the price of the works. Another option would be for the company to join a contract with a developer who is selected in a public tender by the City Council.
Torrevieja Council has its own history of failure to comply in a number of projects or maintenance of some infrastructure.
