Public participation in Town Hall budgets - how best can this be done?
Feb 8th
Jávea's Department of Citizen Participation is organising a public meeting to initiate a system whereby the citizens of Jávea can have a say in determining aspects of the Town Hall's annual budget. Last year, because of lack of time, members of the public chose from a list of projects via a simple vote at an Agenda21 meeting. Councillor Camprubí wants to develop a more open and representative system. As a first step towards this he will be hosting an informative meeting to outline the methods and experiences of participatory budgets in other Spanish Towns. The speaker will be sociologist and specialist in this field , Francisco Francés García. The meeting will be on Wednesday 15th February at 8.00pm in the Casa de Cultura. All welcome. (From Press Release and Agenda21 notification.)

Proposal to restore the salt marsh of the Saladar
Feb 6
The Cirne Foundation recently organized a talk on the Saladar and its cultural heritage in which the plant biologist Jaume Soler proposed the protection of this natural area, referring to its risk as a flood prone area, its biological, historical and cultural values and new legislation regarding conservation of the coast . For details see: Soler's proposal for the Saladar http://agenda21-xabia.wikidot.com/soler-s-proposal-for-the-saladar

Jávea up to date with contributions to regional services
Feb 6th
Jávea Town Hall has authorized the payment of its contribution to the Provincial Consortium for the Fire Prevention, Extinction and Rescue Service of Alicante corresponding to the first semester of 2012 for a total of 103,000 Euros. As with the Provincial Fire Service, the municipality is up to date on its payments to all consortia or commonwealths (mancomunidades) that offer services to the Marina Alta district (comarca) such as the Consorci Esportiu de la Marina Alta (CEMA), Mancomunitat Cultural de la Marina Alta (MACMA), the Consortium for the Economic Recovery and Activity of the Marina Alta (CREAMA) and the Area Waste Plan of Area 15 corresponding to the Marina Alta. The Local Council has paid all its contributions for 2011 and has budgeted those for the current year in the 2012 accounts, ratified since December. From Press Release.

Almost as many houses as people
Feb 5th
There are 210,000 new dwellings up for sale in the Comunidad Valenciana. In the Marina Alta there are more than 20,000 empty properties and an estimated 56,000 second homes. These vacant properties enhance the impression of ghost towns, notable among which are Gata Residencial with over 300 of its 700 houses empty and up for sale, and the Via Augusta between the Port and Arenal in Jávea. Records for Dénia and Xàbia show that there are almost the same number of houses as there are inhabitants on the Padrón. From Levante Print Edition: "Mas de 300,000 casa Vacias"

Xàbia Port Expansion ditched ?
Valencia wants to re-organise existing harbour
Feb 5th
It seems that the proposal for enlarging the port of Javea has been torn up and now the Regional Ministry of Infrastructure, Planning and the Environment is working on a project to reorganize the current harbour. The demands of the Town Hall, and the Club Nautico (whose concession expires in 2017) have been taken into account and Valencia is now looking at optimising the space in the Port harbour and improving use of the Canal de la Fontana and adjacent municipal land for small boats. From XAD: Conselleria quiere.... For detailed background to this issue see:Port http://agenda21-xabia.wikidot.com/port

Town Hall organises family workshops for parents of teenage childen
Professionals will advise on dealing with sexuality, substance abuse and communication breakdown.
Feb 1st.
How would you react if your son told you he was fed up and threatened to leave home? Or if your daughter confessed that she was two months pregnant and had no idea what to do? What would you do if you found marijuana in your son's pockets? How would you react if you received a phone call from the police saying that your daughter was in an alcoholic coma? Preparing yourself for these situations is the main goal of the workshop that the Javea Town Hall and the local Red Cross Assembly have organised for the parents of teenagers in the municipality. At these meetings parents will learn techniques for improving communication within the family, as well as tips on how to prevent, or how to react appropriately to problems having such as teenage sex, substance abuse, or eating disorders. The project involves the departments of Youth, Health, Social Services and Education, whose staff will help explain the problems that teenagers are facing and how they affect their relationship with their parents. From press release. For more details see: Workshops for parents of teenage children http://agenda21-xabia.wikidot.com/workshops-for-parents-of-teenage-children

Consultative Committee on Town Planning and the Environment convened
First task will be the General Plan
Feb 3rd
Jávea's Consultative Committee on Town Planning and the Environment has been set up. This is a forum to discuss the options for development and environmental issues affecting the municipality. One of the most important topics for discussion will be the future General Town Plan, which is under review, but the forum will also address more specific issues such as the planning of roundabouts and infrastucture affecting the use of public roads. The chairman will be Sapena Pere, Councillor for Town Planning , who will be accompanied by a representative of each political group on the Council. The other members are spokespersons for groups such as neighborhood associations, businesses, construction, services, technical departments etc. The Agenda 21 forum will be represented by Manuel Fernández and Guiomar Ramírez-Montesinos. It will meet every two weeks.From Press Release and XAD: Xàbia constitue... For details see: Town Planning - Consultative Committee http://agenda21-xabia.wikidot.com/town-planning-consultative-committee

Moraira/Teulada, Benissa and Val de Pop club together to promote tourism
Feb 2nd
Moraira/Teulada, Benissa and Val de Pop have signed an agreement to organise joint tourist promotions including a "Tourist Guide Benissa, Teulada-Moraira, Vall de Pop" which brings together tourism products grouped under sea, nature, culture and gastronomy, with the common link being Muscatel. There is also a calendar of activities entitled "Let yourself Go" From XAD: Media area...

Ring Road Repairs start Monday February 6th
Works in three phases over 6 weeks
Feb 1st
Repair work on the ring roads around the Old Town will begin Monday February 1st. As explained previously, the company responsible for the original work is to replace cobbles which have lifted and waste-paper bins which have gone rusty. These repairs fall under the original warranty and therefore will not involve any expenditure to the municipal coffers. Town Hall will take the opportunity to smooth the sharp kerbs which have caused damage to cars and which constitute a danger to pedestrians. These works have been commissioned to a local company at a cost of 0.70 Euros per metre, with an estimated total cost of less than 2,000 Euros. For details about which roads will be affected when and detours which will be necessary, see: Ring Road repairs 2012 http://agenda21-xabia.wikidot.com/ring-road-repairs-2012