2022: The Year in Review – May

Friday 30th December 2022 · Mike Smith
Source: Original

The World in May

Monkeypox reached Europe and started spreading. Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest by a country mile, attracting the most televotes in the history of the competition, beating the UK and Spain who finished second and third respectively. In Ukraine, the Siege of Mariupol ended after the beleaguered Ukrainian defenders were ordered to cease fighting by their government; the city was left devastated. Real Madrid beat Liverpool to claim the UEFA Champions League in Paris, the 14th title and their fifth in nine years.

In Spain, British citizens registered as resident in Spain but had not yet changed their driving licences to Spanish equivalents found themselves stranded when the Spanish authorities confirmed that they were not allowed to drive a vehicle in the country after a series of grace periods were exhausted. Spanish and British authorities spent much of the year negotiating a deal for the exchange of licences and it was not until November that the British ambassador Hugh Elliot was able to confirm that an agreement had been reached.

In the UK, the Bank of England raised the interest rate to 1.0%, the highest level since February 2009. In the local elections, the Conservatives suffered a net loss of 485 seats including several Tory strongholds whilst Labour gained 108 and Liberal Democrats 240; the Green Party won 87 seats, one of their best results ever. Durham Police launched an investigations into whether Labour leader Keir Starmer broke lockdown rules by drinking a beer at an MP constituency office whilst visiting the area. Back in London, the Met Police issue another 50 fixed penalty notices for breaches of COVID-19 rules in Downing Street and other government buildings. Unemployment fell to its lowest level since 1974 whilst inflation hit 9%, the highest level since 1982 and the highest of any G7 nation. The Elizabeth Line opened in London. OFGEM warned that the average household bill is likely to rise by about £800 a year by October; two days later chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £15 billion aid package to address soaring energy costs.

Xàbia in May

02: New rubbish collection bins started to appear on the streets on Xàbia, installed by new company TETMA as part of the contract demands. Some 1,670 bins will be replaced over the next few months. Some people compare them to frogs.

02: The local council plenary session was attended by practically all of the Local Police staff who responded to the call of the trade union to pressure the local government in relation to the demands for improvement in their salaries, amongst other things.

04: After just over six weeks residing in the heart of the historic centre of Xàbia, the treasured image of Jesús Nazareno was returned home to the iconic blue-domed chapel of Calvario, bringing an end to a week of celebrations held in its honour.

05: After failing to comply with the council order to close their doors, five bar/restaurants in the Arenal were handed final notice that local police will be instructed to execute subsidiary closure.

06: The Department of Beaches completed work of the regeneration of the beach of La Grava in the port zone of Xàbia, using stones and pebbles that accumulated at the mouth of the river Gorgos after the storms that struck the region during the middle of the previous month.

06: It was reported that Xàbia Council was to terminate the contract with the architectural firm responsible for drafting the basic project and execution of the future municipal auditorium, work on which has been paralyzed for some 18 months.

09: It was reported that it would cost the local council 2.74 million euros to renew the street lighting in the Urbanización Tosalet after a court ruled that the local administration must pay for the total modernization of a network that was installed many years ago. And so the local government was to ask the Alicante Provincial Council to help with the funding of the project.

12: The Marina Alta has a new beach with blue flag status. The beach of Cala Baladrar in Benissa has received this prestigious award, the second for the municipality along with Cala Fustera. In total, the region has 18 blue flag beaches with another five for the marinas.

12: It was reported that the local council was to seek authorisation from CHJ and the Secretary of State for the Environment to build a new bridge over the river Gorgos to extend Calle Génoa and provide a direct link to the port.

12: Xàbia Council opened up the bidding period to tender for the contracts for the seasonal services that could be offered on the beaches of the municipality, including three chiringuitos – beach bars – as well as the rental of sunbeds and parasols and the rental positions for maritime sports, such as paddle surf, canoes and jet skis.

13: The municipal water company AMJASA installed hydrants in the coves of La Granadella and Portitxol-La Barraca to improve the capacity for a quick response in the event of a fire, one of the actions which forms part of the recently-approved self-protection plans for both zones, pioneering documents that set the protocols to act in an emergency.

An image from last November, when the fire started.

17: It has been revealed that the Ramblers waste collection centre, which burned for three months from November to the end of February, has never had the administrative authorization to operate as such.

19: It was reported that Xàbia Council had received no offers to take on the contract to manage and control parking in the popular beaches of Cala Granadella and Portitxol-Barraca, for which the local council approved a charge of 9 euros a day.

20: It was reported that the local government in Xàbia will be proposing a modification of credits valued at some 1,760,000 euros at the next plenary session of the council, an amount which includes 400,000 euros allocated to be able to buy housing and allocate it for social use, taking advantage of the right to a preferential or priority option on acquiring repossessed properties.

25: It was reported that the local council was negotiating a deal to acquire the premises of the former Hilde leather fashion shop in Calle Sant Bertomeu, opposite Tasca La Rebotica, which is under private ownership as part of the renovation of the Central Cinema building.

Related Link: Council aims to annex back estate of Central Cinema for renovation project

25: The Public Wastewater Sanitation Group (EPSAR) dependent on the Ministry of Agriculture and Climate Emergency, issued a statement in which it assured that the Arenal outfall “will be repaired in the coming weeks”.

26: CD Jávea confirmed that former coach Juan Carlos Signes was to return to the club as head coach, some two and half years after being dismissed during the shortened 2019/20 season. He committed for two seasons.

26: Municipal water company AMJASA closed the 2021 financial year with a profit of 1.53 million euros, just a little more than double that recorded for 2020 (0.79 million euros), a balance that will be allocated to new investments.

27: The May plenary session of the local council approved start of the tender process for the contract for a transfer service for green garden waste that had been deposited in the area of Les Catarroges after the forced closure of Ramblars, a tender regarded as “urgent which must be accelerated for reasons of public interest to avoid possible fires”.

30: At the council’s last plenary session, there was a unanimous agreement to demand that Alicante Provincial Council acted immediately to install bollards along the CV-742 Carretera del Portitxol to prevent dangerous parking during the summer months.