ARENAL 2000 FIASCO

The following article is lifted directly from CADIZ & STRAITS NEWS.com, run by our friend and colleague David Eade, where you can find online coverage of the Campo de Gibraltar and a great deal more:

It was in June 2006 that the then mayor of Jimena, Ildefonso Gómez, announced that the Arenal 2000 development had been sold out and the keys were about to be issued to the Spanish and British buyers. However nearly two years on and the purchasers are only now taking possession of their properties and for some Britons the experience has been a financial disaster.

There are three blocks in the Arenal 2000 complex and not long after the mayor made his now infamous remarks the scheme was embargoed. The development apparently breached the planning laws but more seriously still the developer had not built social housing units elsewhere in Jimena. This resulted in the apartment block nearest the village being confiscated and a ballot being held for these homes amongst those who qualified on economic or social grounds.

Of course many of those apartments had been sold to Britons. They were unceremoniously allocated flats in the other two blocks. People who had reserved an apartment with a view suddenly found the only view they enjoyed was of a neighbouring flat. Some buyers stood their ground and received good apartments at a knockdown price.

That was bad enough but a local estate agent, who has refused to deal in the complex, explained the reality is far worse. The development was heavily marketed in the UK and many British buyers bought off-plan with a view to selling the properties on at a profit. They were hit by a double whammy. First they couldn’t sell properties that were embargoed and now they can be sold the property market both in the UK and Spain has collapsed. Many apartments are now being offered by non-Jimena estate agencies as these buyers desperately attempt to sell up.

One person who has purchased one of the apartments has told us: “At the moment the electricity has been sorted and is on line and the water is expected to be sorted within the next week or so. As regards the other 2 blocks I understand that 60 out of the 84 apartments have been bought by a mixture of Spanish and foreigners mainly British and many are only now signing deeds and preparing to furnish their apartments.”

He continued: “The community of owners has been set up and has been running for some time however until more payments are received then things like the lifts and swimming pool cannot be finalised hopefully this will be sorted soon as more people are now signing up and will be therefore paying into the pot.”

Sixty seven properties under threat

The Arenal 2000 development is not the only property crisis in Jimena. The regional government’s environment ministry has decided to enforce the cañada real that runs from Manilva to the Pasada de Alcalá. The cañada real routes were set up for the movement of livestock and the Andalucía authority intends to restore them for that use, tourism and the environment. This means that 67 properties, some rural others in the highly built up Estación de Jimena area, face possible demolition or having part of their land confiscated.

Alberto Bullrich who runs the Jimena Pulse blog has identified five properties affected that are probably owned by foreign residents. He admits this figure could be higher as some are in company names and they could be foreign owned too. A meeting will be held at the Reina Sofía cultural centre in Estación de Jimena on May 13 where officials will meet with local residents who have registered as being affected to explain the implications for their property.