The Royal Manilva residents’ association is unhappy at the Town Hall’s lack of discretion, its lack of help and the political opportunism of trying to claim credit that does not belong to it in relation to the problem of squatters occupying homes in the community. The association’s own presidency has sent us the following statement;
STATEMENT FROM ROYAL MANILVA
As President of the Royal Manilva community, through this statement I deny the claims made in the publication issued by Manilva Town Hall about the eviction of squatters from houses in our community.
So that the situation we have lived through in this time can be properly understood, I will clarify it point by point:
* To point out that the meeting referred to, with the owners of more than 40 homes, was attended by the then Presidency of the Community and the representative of the company that owns some of the occupied houses, because the Community had expressly requested a meeting with the Mayor, as residents were in an overwhelming situation due to the incessant illegal occupations that were taking place. This meeting was held on 14 November 2023 without result, as no measures were taken.
* Furthermore, for some months now, the situation has become considerably more complicated, with a number of serious incidents that are currently being investigated by the State Security Forces. As a result, desperate requests for help have been made through repeated written submissions to both the Town Hall and the Local Police. To this day, none of them has even received a reply.
* In the case of the Local Police, it has not only been a matter of written submissions filed at the Town Hall’s registry office; the station has also been called and visited in person on countless occasions, always receiving the same response when the Presidency has requested that officers enter: “It is a private security problem and, as it is a private community, we cannot enter”.
* As regards tackling the problem of the remaining occupied homes, I inform the Town Hall that I am sure the same approach will be followed as for those that are about to be evicted. The owner of those homes, thanks to the legal service and the advice of the company that owns the homes that are to be evicted, together with the help that the Community itself gives them both, we will secure the eviction of the remaining ones; as has been done until now, without the help we have continually requested from the Town Hall. The very company that has secured the imminent eviction from its homes has told the Presidency about the few facilities and the lack of help from the Local Administration, both for the evictions and for the refurbishment of the recovered houses, which are in a deplorable state.
Therefore, I wish to express absolute disappointment at the lack of management and empathy shown by Manilva Town Hall towards our Community. To our further surprise, on the same day we received the great news that the evictions were starting and, on the other hand, the Town Hall’s own publication referring to its “contribution”, support and fictitious measures to resolve our situation.
Of course, we are enormously grateful for the work carried out by the company that owns the evicted homes. Without it, the residents had no voice. We have tried to act with them in as coordinated a way as possible and fortunately it has produced good results.
Thanks also to the Guardia Civil, both in Manilva and Estepona, for their latest actions in the Community, as for the first time we have felt listened to.
And finally, thanks to Councillor Antonio Marín, of the Vox Manilva Municipal Group, for meeting the Presidency and guiding us on the steps to take in the face of problems in which we felt lost.
Finally, to make clear that had we received any support from the Town Hall, we would have welcomed its action but, regrettably, that has not been the case. We regret even more that the continual obstruction we have received from the Town Hall in such a delicate situation, in which residents have felt so helpless, has been used in this opportunistic way and as a political strategy when strict confidentiality was expressly requested regarding this information to avoid mishaps that could hinder, slow down or even halt the process.
For this reason, we have been forced to publish this statement. We ask that the attitude be a collaborative one from now on.
Thank you very much.
The Presidency of the Royal Manilva Residents’ Association.
