SSUENN 1555 //1423 - 29 IISSUE OO . .1619 - 20 JulyAPRIL 20162015
COSTA DE ALMERÍA
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Maura honoured to receive MBE One of Almeria’s leading lights, Mrs Maura Hillen, has been appointed an honorary Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her tireless work helping out the British community in Spain. Hillen, an Irishwoman who has lived in Spain since 2007, is the President of Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora Valley No! (AUAN), an association which fights for the rights of homeowners in the Almanzora area. For nearly a decade, the 500strong organisation, led by Mrs Hillen, has helped homeowners untangle themselves from the often excruciating legal problems revolving around their living situations. In an interview with EWN, Mrs Hillen shed some light on the process of becoming an MBE. She said that she initially received a phone call from Ambassador Simon Manley in May and that she was “flabbergasted,” and “obviously very pleased.” “Of course I said yes,” she added with a laugh. “It is a fantastic honour, not only for my-
self but also for the association, so I was happy to accept.” Over the years, AUAN has been an extraordinary force in Spain. They managed to get Spanish legislation changed last year twice: once in March in regards to ensuring compensation
for owners of properties built without planning permission before demolition, and then again in June in regards to situations in which town councils erroneously granted planning permission which was subsequently revoked.
Now, a new bill has been introduced, which if passed on July 20, will allow many more properties in the countryside to achieve a form of legal recognition called ‘regularisation.’ Hillen wanted to thank all of the members of AUAN, as well as their expert legal adviser Gerardo Vazquez. She also wanted to draw attention to other associations similar to AUAN, such as SOHA, CALU and AMA for all of their hard work and accomplishments in a similar vein. As for the future, Hillen said that a top priority is the ‘registro de propiedad’ (the national property register), which she called ‘a bit hit and miss’ when it comes to planning issues. She says that many people who buy property only find out at a later date that there is a planning problem. She hopes to make the register yet another focus for AUAN in the future. Mrs Hillen is expected to be honoured in a ceremony in the near future in Spain.
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Price hike MOJACAR and Almanzora valley residents may see their water bills increase drastically in the near future following approval of plans announced by Galasa water supplier. See page 4
Air and prayer THE open air chapel in Mojacar Playa has started its summer services following improvement works to make it more comfortable for parishioners. See page 5
Sky high KITE-SURFER Osaia Reding, from Mojacar, achieved another great result at the World Youth Championships
in Cataluña last week. The 12-year-old told EWN she had really enjoyed the comSee page 10 petition.
Busy weekend FIREFIGHTERS had to race out five times over the weekend to battle blazes, three of them within 250 metres of each other in Mojacar’s La Parata area, between Friday and Sunday mornSee page 13 ing.
Local Olympians STUDENTS from a Mojacar secondary school recently travelled to the ‘School Olympics’ in Malaga, where they achieved very good results for their town. See page 17