A new friend….

Whilst pottering about in the high mountains this week, I stumbled across this little fellow. ABout 12-15 cm long. I’ve never seen such a big one this side of the mountains before. Most of the big ones are over in the Cabo de Gata. I took a video of him – he was eating ants. Whilst recording, he refused to move or eat an ant. As soon as I put the camera down, he relaxed Continue reading A new friend….

Cabrera land grab cancelled

Turre townhall has cancelled Martín Morales’s proposed “land grab” in Cabrera. Sitting in closed session last Tuesday (Sept 12), the ruling body (made up of 3 PSOE councillors and 1 IU, Martín) decided that the plan to change the way the mountain urbanisation is run is “not economically viable” and cancelled the project. All PSOE councillors voted in favour of the motion, and Martín voted against. Their decision may have been swayed by the vast Continue reading Cabrera land grab cancelled

Cabrera land grab could be annulled

Mayor Morales’s controversial change of Cabrera’s ruling committee structure could be over-turned in this Mondays plenary meeting after the PP tabled a motion to annul his decree. And Morales has tabled a motion to annul the 1993 Cabrera decision on voting rights of residents to try to balance things out. First things first: Morales had unilaterally decided -against the wishes of his fellow councillors, an apparent majority of owners up there and the recommendations of Continue reading Cabrera land grab could be annulled

Mayor Morales demands public prosecutor investigates illegal homes in Cabrera

Costa Almería News is reporting that mayor Martin Morales has “lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor” over Cortijo Cabrera, asking them to investigate illegal homes in the mountains. See this week’s Costa Almería News for the full story (page 3), but in short, he claims developers and previous mayors may have committed planning crimes there and wants an independent judicial investigation. So if you have a home that is not 100 % legal up Continue reading Mayor Morales demands public prosecutor investigates illegal homes in Cabrera

Turre council implodes – mayor Martín cast adrift

Turre council imploded today after mayor Morales expelled his only party councillor, Maria Luisa Cervantes, from the ruling body. The move means that the association ‘Somos Turre’ has now been split into two. Morales returns to his previous party as a communist IU councillor, whilst Maria Luisa is now an independent councillor under the Somos Turre brand. It also leaves Morales head of a hamstrung minority government, a solitary figure backed up only with the Continue reading Turre council implodes – mayor Martín cast adrift

The Cabrera land grab – a look at how it worked

Costa Almería News broke the news this week that Mayor Morales of Turre had signed a decree to take over the running of Cabrera village. What does this actually mean? I had a read of some documents to find out. First off, let’s explain the situation. Cabrera isn’t run by the council (although home-owners still have to pay IBI). Instead, it’s technically a partially finished urbanisation, which means it’s run by a junta de compensación, Continue reading The Cabrera land grab – a look at how it worked

Turre in land grab move

There is a fascinating article in this week’s Costa Almería News in which Mayor Martin of Turre explains how he’s going to bring the mountain urbanisations of Cabera and Cortijo Grande under council control. It seems there is a plan afoot for the council to take over the running of the Juntas of both urbanisations, and then finish off urbanisation proceedings there. Mayor Martin talks of a 3,3 million euro investment project that will have Continue reading Turre in land grab move

Builder demonstrate at Turre townhall

A group of builders staged a demonstration in Turre’s townhall building today. They were protesting against a council order to stop work on a new building in Cabrera. The workers of Jose Gerez and their families congregated at the council offices to protest against the paralyzing of works. Snr Gerez said that his workers wanted to know “from the Mayor himself why they were not allowed to work and feed their families”. Mayor Morales made Continue reading Builder demonstrate at Turre townhall

Local shepherd falls to death in Turre

A local shepherd has been found dead in the high mountains above Turre. 51 year old Paco usually returned his goats to his shed late at night and returned home at around midnight, but last night he did not come home and eventually his family alerted the emergency services. Police and the fire brigade were out searching for him all this morning and eventually found his body in a high canyon above Turre. It was Continue reading Local shepherd falls to death in Turre