Cousin of Amy Fitzpatrick, Beverley O'Sullivan Killed in Crash

Ms Beverley O'Sullivan O'Sullivan (28) died in a car accident, while her boyfriend Stephen Reeves (32) was taken off the critical list last night.

The singer was a cousin of Amy Fitzpatrick, the 15-year-old Irish girl who disappeared in mysterious circumstances in Spain in January 2008, Ms OSullivan made a song called Rainbows for her missing cousin. You can download Rainbows here.

Mijas chlorine leak forces 100 out of their homes

Vats were dumped in 1994 by Fuengirola council and had started to corrode

TWO vats of chlorine that had been dumped by Fuengirola council 15 years ago forced emergency services to evacuate 100 residents this week.

The vats, containing 100 litres each, had been abandoned in Mijas, where residents began to suffer from breathing problems at the weekend due to toxic emissions.

Two residents and a fireman needed medical assistance as a result.

Townspeople called the emergency services at around 4.30am on Sunday when they began to have difficulties in breathing and noticed a strong, chemical smell.

The chlorine had not caused problems since being dumped in 1994 until now, since the vats had begun to corrode and the contents seep out.

Around 100 people on the C/ Rio Viñuela were forced to leave their homes whilst police disposed of the containers.

source: www.euroweeklynews.com

La Cala de Mijas Property Holds Value

2009 has been really interesting year so far for the Spanish property market the La Cala de Mijas property market has been no different. In an area of huge over building and very low prices La Cala de Mijas stands out as an Oasis in Mijas Costa as prices have held their value extremely well and compared to the prices


of Calahonda and Miraflores it’s hard to believe La Cala de Mijas in only 5 minutes away and there is no sign of “La Cala” losing its magic in the near future according to Spanish Hot Properties marketing and operations manager Susana Suspenda.

“The first thing you have to understand about the La Cala de Mijas property market is the area itself Although La Cala de Mijas has maintained a level of real authentic Spanish charm, it has in some ways also taken on the feel of being quite international and cosmopolitan with many nationalities living side by side. La Cala de Mijas, often just referred to as La Cala, is a beautiful Spanish village, right at the heart of Mijas Costa, which has effortlessly stepped into the 21st century without losing any of its traditional fishing village charm. It has a lively, bustling town centre with a twice-weekly market, supermarkets, bars, restaurants and every amenity you could ever wish for. It’s perennially popular with increasing numbers of holidaymakers and is home to foreign residents from a range of different countries, including the UK and many other European countries. La Cala de Mijas is in a perfect position to enjoy an enormous range of leisure facilities. Active retirees particularly love the area for its great combination of easy-going traditional Spanish charm and the wide selection of sporting activities in and around La Cala. The area is famous for its wealth of competition standard golf courses, including the magnificent La Cala Hotel and Golf Course Resort which is the biggest golf complex in Spain and has three of its own courses. La Cala Resort also has a luxury golf hotel, an exclusive spa. In the hills just behind La Cala you can enjoy horse riding. Although if you simply enjoy a night of family entertainment watching the horses why not try the "Hipodromo del Costa del Sol", which is situated just on the outskirts of La Cala village. One of the reasons that La Cala de Mijas is so popular is its versatility. Choose from beautiful, tranquil countryside, exquisite beaches or cosmopolitan towns, some within walking distance, most just a short drive away. There’s excellent road and public transport access from La Cala to all other parts of Mijas Costa and it’s just five minutes drive from cosmopolitan Fuengirola with its medieval castle, Blue Flag beaches and stylish shopping. A 10-minute drive into the hills behind La Cala takes you into some of the most picturesque countryside in the area where there are a variety of stables offering riding lessons and trekking, so that you can enjoy an invigorating canter in breathtaking surroundings. All of this is truly wonderful and explains a lot about the area and why people want to be in La Cala but why not just choose nearby Miraflores or Calahonda, well the answer to that question is the village of La Cala hasn’t been overbuilt like the rest of Mijas Costa and you can walk to the Village and Beach and just generally has a relaxed feeling that you don’t get in such areas like Miraflores and La Cala and this is reflected in the property prices where a 3 bedroom apartment can be as much as €75,000 Euros more than nearby towns” Explained Susana.

So why the price differentials between La Cala and the other surrounding towns and Villages. Well in reality it’s about La Cala not being overbuilt the way the other towns are and the fact that La Cala in unique.

Golf challenge at La Cala Resort raises 150,000 euros

THE Max Clifford Celebrity Golf Challenge for the UK-based charity, the Rhys Daniels Trust, held at La Cala Resort, Mijas, in June was a huge success, raising 150,000 euros. Max Clifford is a famous publicist from the UK and the event has been held a golf competition on the Costa del Sol for the past nine years, raising a total of almost one million euros.

The event consisted of two days of team golf on two of La Cala’s three courses, Campo Asia and Campo Europa. A charity auction was held in Marbella with large sums being paid for the wide range of special items, including a day with the Sky sports football commentary team at any Premier league match. Rhys Daniels Trust provides accommodation around the UK for families to use free of charge whilst their child is receiving life-saving treatment a long way from home. Founder and chairman of the charity, Barry Daniels, experienced the need for this service when his son Rhys was undergoing a bone marrow transplant in Bristol. Barry said he was again delighted with the event and confirmed it would return to La Cala next year.

The event was filmed for Sky Sports and will be shown in a 90 minute programme. The radio station Talk Radio Europe also broadcast a live programme at the welcome dinner, chatting to many of the celebrities. Amongst those who took part were: Des O’Connor, Andy Gray, Ray Wilkins, Gary McAllister, Jean-Christophe Novelli, Bobby Davro, Paul Jewell, Ian St John, John Gregory, Dave Beasant, Dennis Taylor, Steve Sedgley, Stan Boardman, Kenny Lynch, Billy Murray and European Tour winner Philip Golding.

Mijas Mayor says 30% of illegal homes could be made legal

3,750 illegally-built homes in Mijas and the Socialist Mayor, Antonio Sánchez, says that 30% of them could be brought into legality through revision of the town’s PGOU General Urban Plan.

The Mayor announced last month that no more fines will be issued while the Plan is under revision, but said some 1,000 properties already have proceedings against them which, for their owners, means a fine and demolition. He told the news agency in an interview this weekend that those affected will be given a year to find alternative accommodation before that happens, and a ‘margin’ to attend court. The longer the deadline, Sánchez said, the more time it gives the Junta and the Town Hall to try and find a way of bringing the properties into legality, if that is possible.

The Mayor ruled out the possibility of legalising any more than 30% of the properties.

Campo fires in Mijas and Fuengirola

A forest fire in Mijas on Thursday led to 20 homes having to be evacuated as fire affected some 15 hectares of shrub.

Some 90 residents of the town were affected in total. It happened in the Cerrado del Águila area, affecting the La Rosa and El Chaparral urbanisations. Finally no property was affected and there are no reports of any injuries.

Three helicopters and a fire-fighting plane were used by INFOCA firefighters, together with support from Mijas local police, fire service and Guardia Civil. It brings the number of fires in the Mijas area to four in the last two months, and police think all of them were started deliberately.

Meanwhile there was another smaller file in Fuengirola in the area of the Las Salinas industrial estate close to the Safa motor company.

Source: www.typicallyspanish.com

Investors in Mijas hopeful of an amnesty for illegal properties

Real estate investors in Spain whose properties have been affected by the crackdown on illegal planning are hopeful that an amnesty is on the horizon.

They say that the sheer number of properties that have been apparently built on the nod of corrupt officials will make it unlikely that they will all be demolished.

In Malaga alone it is estimated that 40,000 properties were built illegally at the height of the planning law corruption boom.

Marbella is expected to be among the first to announce an amnesty for around 20,000 illegal properties. Malaga is also considering such a move. Salvador Pendón, president of Malaga's Provincial Council, has told property owners privately that he expects to make an announcement soon as many of the illegal properties are not built on protected land.

But on cases where vast blocks of concrete apartments were built on protected land demolition will go ahead eventually, he also said.

'Things are looking more hopeful. I think the authorities are realising at last the demolishing all these properties will not only cost a lot of money but also in many cases simply does not make sense as they are not on beaches or protected land,' said James Jones who owns a property under threat in Malaga.

In Mijas the mayor, Antonio Sánchez, has announced that the town hall will no longer fine owners of illegal properties who fail to carry out demolition orders. Owners will be given breathing space of around a year and a half before a new town plan is passed that will make many of the properties legal.

Meanwhile the latest Spanish property price figures show further declines. The May property index Tinsa, one of Spain's leading appraisal companies.

Prices fell by 9.8% over 12 months to the end of May with coastal areas suffering the most with an average price fall of 12.8%. Cities and provincial capitals saw a 10.1% decline with the suburbs seeing a downturn of 9.6% and the Balearics and Canary Islands a 9.8% fall.