Ana Sala He revalidated his mayoralty in Calp in the last municipal elections of 2023, after leaving the ranks of the Popular Party and creating a new party, Somos Calpe. With six councillors obtained in the local elections, he managed to reach a consensus with the groups PSPV-PSOE (3 councillors) and Compromís per Calp (2) to form a tripartite government together, which would distribute the councillorships between the three formations.
Since the beginning of the legislature, the forces in the government have shown harmony as a team despite their differences and desire to move forward with the four years together. At the end of May we spoke with the mayor, to offer us an extensive assessment of the first year of work in the Calpine Government and she tells us about some of the projects that will be key during the coming years.
ASK. The Somos Calpe coalition with the socialist group and Compromís revalidated its mayoralty. How has the first year of living together been? Is it being easy to reach understanding in the various municipal spheres with so many groups in the government?
R. Well, very easy, because there is very good will on everyone's part. We understand each other even though ideologically we are different on some issues, but with respect and seeing that in the end we are three municipal political parties that represent many people.
There may be some issues that I have always thought about in one way, but what I do is learn every day from what I see and what I hear. In the end, life is a constant evolution and I learn from all people. Maybe I have been very conservative on some issues and then, over time being here, I have realized that I am not right about everything, because there are people who have different sensitivities than mine and I have to understand them. . I am the mayor of everyone and for everyone and the same thing is happening with the government team. We understand each other, we hold the Government Meeting on Fridays, we spend two hours with each other's concerns, we talk and reach agreements also on the most complicated things.
Q. What has been the hardest moment for the corporation so far?
R. Well, I don't remember hard situations as such. We have disagreed on some issues, but it has been a calm year, politically and at the municipal level, because we have not had any major problems. Perhaps at times when some people have passed away from us in tragic circumstances.
On an internal level, the principles are perhaps more difficult until you start to know yourself, because sometimes you don't even know those in your party. There are new people, young people, as I said before, with different sensibilities. But I don't remember that something complicated happened. Motions have come from other political parties that are in the opposition with which perhaps we have been a little compromised, but we have been clear about what we had to vote in favor of or if we had to amend it, we have agreed before.
Q. How do you see the other two opposition forces, PP and Defendamos Calpe? Do you think a healthy coexistence is being established between all parties or what do you expect from them?
R. On a personal level I expect little from them, because they are fixated on me. For whatever reason, I am an obstacle in his political career and as long as I am there there is no way to access the government. And I say this because of the years I have been around. I have been mayor during the previous legislature, I have been with Defendamos Calpe with them in the opposition. And now also with the PP in the opposition, their objective is for me to disappear, because I am a problem for them, for whatever reasons. But the only thing I dedicate myself to is governing, because I love my people very much.
What they blame on me is the character I have, but all people have their character. Governing a town is not easy at all, because first you have to lead your party, then lead the team, manage the City Council and then manage a municipality.
There will be people who will like it more, less, who will not like it, but what they cannot do is, as we see in the last plenary sessions, a constant insult to the figure of the mayor, be it me or whoever it is. You can't treat a mayor like that. I represent all Calpinos, whether they like it or not, and I believe that the management is being done well because the effort is titanic. I give my all for the people, I sacrifice many hours of my profession and my family to carry this forward and I think we are not doing it wrong. There is peace, there is tranquility. We should ask the citizens how they see the town. Many things can always be improved, because problems arise, but the interest and effort is to solve them.
Q. What are the crucial facilities for Calp that can be achieved during this term?
R. We have many needs, but we focus on the educational and health issue, which is the most important thing. We have a health center that was alone when it was built, now it is surrounded by buildings. It was built for 9.000 users, in Calp today we are 26.000 registered and with a floating population 35.000 or 40.000 people.
We have some barracks in La Fosa, which is an auxiliary summer clinic, it is embarrassing to have that there. But hey, we have something to serve that area and move some users and, above all, the tourists who come.
We have worked in the last legislature on a complex, difficult to explain. It is a real estate complex on a 5.500-square-meter plot owned by the City Council and there we distribute the public and private resources between the private and municipal parts. The idea is to build two small buildings with a public plaza and we wanted to offer one of them for a second health center or specialty center and serve that area of the beach.
And in the other small center, create a mini cultural space, with an auditorium with about 300 seats and also decongest this entire area of the center. The project is done, waiting for the investment to come from the private part to execute the public and private parts at the same time.
Q. And where does the private part come from?
R. It was a plot of land owned by the Santander bank real estate agency. The real estate complex is an urban figure that allows both facilities, public and private, to coexist on the same land. It took 8 years because Santander asked us for eight million euros for the expropriation. We have achieved it at zero cost, even paying us, who owe us three million euros, which the City Council has prepared to start construction.
The private part in principle can be a hotel or a tourist rental building, a horizontal property. We are waiting for them to tell us that they are clear about it so we can do the construction together. The City Council maintains an entire floor of municipal parking, the private part will have the entire second floor and then a public plaza that divides the two buildings, the public and the private.
Q. At what stage is the expansion of the fish farm? The latest news in February revealed that the company is experiencing financial problems.
R. We have bad news, they have not agreed with us in the sentence we presented. We hired lawyers on behalf of the City Council and we had an environmental impact report from the University of Alicante, another on tourism impact, prepared by our Tourism technician, and it has not been enough to dismantle it. Perhaps the Court has not understood the approach.
What the TSJ has done is agree with the Generalitat's reports. The authorization of fish farms is from the Department of Fisheries. The ruling has been unfavorable, but we will continue to claim that we do not want it in the bay.
Q. And what would be the negative consequences for Calp if the expansion were carried out?
R. At the tourist level, the negative visual impact on the bay is more than demonstrated. From any place you stand, from Maryvilla to the rock, you are seeing it. Regarding the environmental impact, the report we had was from the Institute of Coastal Ecology together with the University of Alicante, and it will be seen in the long run. I can't go into the details because I'm not a technician and I can't expressly explain it.
We have fought a lot to at least take it away from the coast. We will see what will happen, if it is true that the company is in a delicate situation, let's see if we can get it dismantled. They are also occupying us, with the authorization and approval of the Ministry, a part of the entire fishing dock and they have blocked it. Large trucks enter to carry the feed.
I have been quite disappointed with the result of the sentence, but hey, we can't do anything there. We have asked that the possibility of appealing be studied, but once you go to the Supreme Court, the grounds for cassation are very limited and it has to be very well founded for them to accept it with the cost that it entails.
Q. The presentation of the Master Plan for the Conservation and Valorization of the archaeological complex and surroundings of Banys de la Reina was presented in 2022. At what point is it and what will be the next steps of the project?
R. The first phase of the first phase of that very ambitious project that the Provincial Council presented here, the 13 million euro Master Plan, has already begun. The amount is 500.000 euros. Of that budget, the Provincial Council subsidizes us 470.000 euros and the City Council provides the rest.
First the clearing work has been done, but something is already beginning to be seen. That first phase will be completed this year. What we want is that once and for all the part where the town is located, the Roman vicus, all of this can be visited and for it to be a museum in good condition.
Developing the complete plan takes many years. I don't see it in the short or medium term. And then successive generations of politicians who come will have to decide if this is what there should be, because the elevated walkway over the seafront generated controversy. It is also true that the promenade was laid out over the baths. Therefore, future generations of politicians, technicians and the people will have to decide if they want that gateway or not.
Q. Access to housing is one of the most worrying issues. The publication of the rules for rental aid for young people was recently announced. Is it a push that Calp intends to reissue for more editions? Will more mechanisms be put in place to facilitate access to housing, not only for young people?
R. It is the first time, at least that I remember, that these aids have been published and all the ones that we have edited, we have repeated over time, because they have worked well. Like the IBI aid, the Baby bonus, which has three editions, the facade rehabilitation one, which there are two lines. We are editing them every year, as long as there is budget.
Aid for young people under 35 years of age, this is going to be the year to see the response it has. It is 1.200 euros and we will know if there are really young people under that age who have been able to access rental housing and that will tell us if it is worth continuing or not. If it works, we will repeat it.
But these aids do not really solve the problem. We are going to formalize the agreement with the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces to benefit from this VIVE Plan to transfer public land. But we are tired of giving in and then we see no compensation, really. I have told the councilors: "Do not ask me to give in until the problems are resolved." We will give up what we have within our reach, which is not much.
Here we have to balance several issues, because we have housing difficulties, the land in Calp is very limited. Public housing I don't think we are capable of doing much, but what is happening and I think several municipalities have already realized is that the supply of tourist housing is blocking the possibilities of accessing permanent and habitual housing, which is what It needs a young person who wants to become independent, a family that comes to work, etc.
This government team does not want to limit private property at all, nor put obstacles in its way, far from it, but we must find balance and I believe that everything must be worked together. Public housing, tourist housing and changes of use from premises to housing.
We are going to create a working group with politicians and technicians and create regulations that help alleviate. There is an issue that I believe does not depend on the City Councils, which is how to protect the owners and make them feel free and safe to rent and know that if they have a problem they have the administration on their side. I think it is something that should be studied, the owner's protection measures.
Q. Is that the objective of the Department of Housing and Squatting?
R. At the beginning of the legislature I created a Department of Housing and Squatting that I took over, because at that time there was already a notable interest in finding solutions. Squatting with k, because there are many empty homes that belong to elderly people who live in Germany, England, France or Belgium, etc., their children do not come or they do not have children, and these properties are occupied. The problem is that, if a home is occupied and 24 hours pass, the Civil Guard cannot act directly, it is necessary to go to court to file a complaint. This situation should not occur, but it is what current law allows.
From the council, we have been in contact with the Civil Guard, and they have informed us that, indeed, if 24 hours pass since the occupation, they can no longer intervene. This happens in Calp and in many municipalities, since the law protects the squatter, not the owner, who has to go through a long and stressful judicial process.
Q. And is the transfer of land for Plan Vive to build new housing?
R. The agreement says that the municipalities that join give up land and that the Generalitat puts out to tender or talks to the urban developers so that they can build. We give the ground, but I think we neither puncture nor cut. That's why I don't want to give up anything else, because in the end we are putting everything in, the land, the budget...
Q. How are you going to solve the problem of tourist rentals?
R. We are going to try to solve this situation with a study table. We will establish a technical and political table in which those affected will participate, such as architects, real estate developers or tourist rental companies, so that together we can seek a balance and a solution.
These guarantees to the owners are essential. Many investors have bought homes and premises to convert them into properties for tourist use, because it is very profitable. I am very happy that we are a prosperous town and that companies and people make money, but we are harming permanent and regular rent.
The price of new homes in Calp is around 300.000 euros, but many of these properties are being acquired by investors for tourist use. Regulating this situation is our mission.
Q. In terms of subsidies, which municipal entities, such as sports schools, associations, are those that are in the City Council's sights and how do they intend to help?
R. The truth is that this is one of the City Councils that helps all sports associations and clubs the most. In the 2024 regular budget, as in previous ones, we have an item dedicated to nominative subsidies. This includes festive entities, such as the Association of Moors and Christians, the festival commission that organizes the patron saint's festivities, the five Holy Week Brotherhoods and the Greater Board of Brotherhoods, as well as the Bous al Carrer Association.
We invest almost 300.000 euros in subsidies to sports clubs, which enjoy sports facilities completely free of charge, for children of all ages, from cherubs to youth. The City Council covers all maintenance costs, such as water and electricity, but it has always been done and will continue to be done.
In addition, we subsidize sports. For example, the football club can receive 70.000 euros in justified subsidies in one year, and the basketball club about 50.000 euros. We have an ordinance that regulates these subsidies, in accordance with the law and requires justification of expenses. In addition, we subsidize sports such as rhythmic gymnastics and chess.
Aguas de Calpe, the concessionaire company, also has collaboration agreements with some sports entities. In addition, we support numerous associations such as the Housewives Association, the Fibromyalgia Association of Calpe or the Business Association, with whom we manage the trade bonus, consumption bonus and eat bonus. The Provincial Council has awarded us 290.000 euros for these initiatives, and we have added 500.000 euros more to our budget for two editions of the trade voucher.
Regarding the Employment Plan, 48 jobs are created that include janitors, environmental guards, construction workers and cleaning staff. This plan, which reaches its fourth edition, does not require prior studies and is aimed at people registered in Calp with difficulties entering the labor market. We allocated one million euros to the 2024 Employment Plan and, if all goes well, these people will be working from July 1 to December 31, which benefits both the City Council and the families involved.
Q. Drought is also another relevant issue, more so in view of the summer. How does Calp address this issue? Does it have enough water resources for the population, taking into account how much it multiplies in the summer season?
R. We have enough water resources. We get our supply from the Lucifer well and we have a joint concession with Murla and the Vall de Laguar, and an annual water extraction limit that we are complying with, although we are almost at maximum. But the good thing about Calp is that he has his homework done. We have a good infrastructure, we constantly renew the pipelines and we have a plan B, which is a plan A at the same time.
Our supply comes from the Lucifer well and the desalination plant in Barranc Salat. Currently, we are modernizing it so that it has greater extraction capacity. The concessionaire Aguas de Calpe manages and maintains the water pipes, investing millions of euros each year in repairs and renovations.
I think that for this summer we have guaranteed water supply. In contrast, other towns in the area, which do not have the same infrastructure or resources, often face problems and ask us for help. Provincial Council offers support to small towns, but in that sense we are fortunate because good work has been done and thanks to the company it continues to be done.
Q. Finally, what would you say are the great challenges that the City Council faces before the end of the legislature?
R. I go to the usual thing, I focus on educational centers. If they depended only on us, they would already be executed, since the new registration does not stop. And the basic thing is that education and health are well covered with good service.
On the other hand, we are a tourist municipality that lives off its image, so we must offer the best service on the beaches. Street cleaning is essential, as is waste collection, a big problem not only in Calp, since schedules are often not respected and containers are filled with belongings. I hope that we manage to make people aware that it is not just a problem for the City Council, but for everyone.
We are working hard on the old town, taking care of it, organizing outdoor exhibitions and keeping it clean and beautiful. It is full of people every day, with tourists and excursions. We must give it life, especially in summer, since our image is crucial.
We are working on several important projects, included in the regular budget, such as the expansion of the cemetery and the Fester Museum, whose project will be ready between November and December, thanks to the Next Generation funds with two million euros that have been awarded to us. We are also executing the Garrofers Park project, which we hope to finish in a couple of months. Or road J, section six, which will decongest the urban center.
A key project is the renovation of the Fosa promenade. We have it halfway, but I think it is a project of this legislature and all the colleagues agree. The beaches are our image and greatest source of income. These walks, more than 50 years old, need a delicate renovation, perhaps preserving the essence of that corporation from more than 50 years ago, because they are beautiful, but they are old. We have to renew the furniture, the pavement... We have the project together and we will move it forward in this legislature.
