Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Hacienda Riquelme 2014 October Newsletter

Hacienda Riquelme Owners  2014 October Resort Newsletter                   

It is now ten months into the financial year and still no resort wide financial information have been released.
  • Where are the quarter one and half year financials?
  • Where are the first quarter, half year and 9 months debtors?
  • Shouldn't the Committee minutes clearly state the level of debtors?
  • The September Committee minutes clearly stated that the current resort debtors would be released to "all owners by the 22nd September" and never were! Shame on the Committee that they cannot even follow up and implement their own minuted actions.

Well lets help:


   
One really does wonder if the global financial crisis happened at HRGR in 2012 as opposed to 2008!

It is also no wonder Nigel moved on after his clear position of being "tough on debtors"!





For the financials we clearly recommended last year not to budget for the PW fees as this equates to over 10% of the resort's budget and it was very, very unlikely that they would ever pay.

For 2015 as PW looks as if they will no longer exist then our Community fees will have to increase by their 10% budget to cover their shortfall. 


In addition, another two 10%'s for the PW bad debts from 2012 and 2013 will have to be booked to the resort accounts. 

Not a great picture and a 30% increase in community fees in 2015 before contract increases, other bad debts or the massive maintenance and building repairs required!

No wonder cashflow is being reviewed now in the minutes!



On other matters:

Workers Compound
The workers compound saga continues to incur more dumped rubbish on a daily basis:

Shame on the Committee yet again for letting this to continue but as it is not in their back garden then why would they clearly bother!

Surveys
It is also at last good to see owner surveys being introduced, what a great idea and about time. Whoever had the initial idea should be congratulated. One area to address is the clear need to raise ideas, suggestions or points of view for each question within the survey. Time will tell!



Polaris strips
Maybe the Committee should of thought about the changes before going ahead especially with this weeks heavy rains!

 















Irrigation

Enough rainwater fell last week within the resort to irrigate the whole resort for a whole year!

When oh when will the committee understand that rainwater run-off capture is FREE and saves 250,000 euros p.a. on buying water in.

There are clearly to be seen run-off rivers that suddenly appear and stay around for days on end. These could be easily channeled into 200 gallon containers within the empty PW garage car parking spaces and used to irrigate the gardens in the hot summer months.

At a rough estimate 10 meters of plastic guttering, (20 euros), into a garage container, (800 euros), would cost a lot less than the cost of brought-in expensive water per cubic meter.

Finally after 6 years the dramatic announcement that we can save 23% in the purchase price of brought-in water when prices have increased by 15% over the same period.

Looks very likely that is had been another excessive rip-off and lack of expertise all around!

AGM/EGM's
We continue to ask owners to boycott the building and phase presidents positions until open and honest transparency returns to the resort.  

We welcome those owners that do stand to these positions and wish them good fortune in office.  However, we will drive to fully hold them accountable for their actions and the consequences of office to all owners concerned.



Time for change, Time for Action

Warm regards

Comments:

We always welcome comments and feedback, good or bad, from all owners, the committee or "committee member but personal views expressed only" .............

 


HRGR Owners and Sub Community Presidents that care!

 

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Wednesday, 17 September 2014

Spanish News Article supports our views!


The golf courses, star during the 'boom' a nightmare for developers and banks


It is one of the most toxic assets that generated the largest real estate bubble in Spain ever concocted. We refer to the golf courses and housing developments that many saw in them the ability to sell their homes between 25% and 30% more expensive, simply because of being with one of them no matter what the future would the same as for the subsequent management.
 
The result, real corpses scattered throughout Spain bankrupt in the hands of banks or SAREB, like many other real estate assets waiting to find a buyer in the battered Spanish property market.
 
"Golf in Spain has a dimension of industry and rarely considered as such, but the numbers are staggering. Almost 60% of the approximately 400 existing golf courses were built in Spain under housing developments, according to a report from consultancy firm, Aguirre Newman, in 2011, four years after the bubble burst.
 
Not surprisingly, "in most cases, with honorable exceptions, golf has been used as a tool to sell homes, mostly second homes, much more expensive and as the figurehead of the building project," explains The Confidential Iñaki Aranguren, president of the Association of Golf Courses in Madrid and CEO of Making Golf Group, a company dedicated to the management of golf courses and refloat responsible for many of them.
 
Foto: Solvia.es Photo: Solvia.es
 
"The first thing they did was to build the promoting golf course to teach prospective buyers of homes, so that from the beginning they generated losses," he added. "Now we have finished and open golf courses that are an inexhaustible source of loss because the developers refuse to close them and at the same time, no money and no buyers to take the promotion forward."
 
And, as Aranguren says, the golf courses are like an alligator eating every day. From 400,000 to 2,000,000 per year, depending on the resort. "50% are staff costs and other expenses 50% are derived from pure and golf course maintenance."
 
An expense that assumes only one who promotes and manages the golf course. A part also assumes the partner. Making Golf Group estimates the annual cost of maintenance for a partner, just to use the facilities, around 1,500 euros. Recall that previously we must make a financial outlay to buy a stock, and become a partner to play.
 
The promoters saw the golf courses the ability to sell their homes between 25% and 30% more expensive The fundamental problem arose after 2007 in those development projects that are not fully developed and have not been able to create a critical mass of members who could bring the cost of maintenance of golf courses associated with them.
 
"Now, with the housing slump and the major setback suffered by the second-hand housing, has been an almost impossible task no longer maintaining the facility, but almost survival. 

Thing that prevented developers and builders have left the scheme has been the fact that the golf courses are a fundamental part of real estate, ie, houses and apartments to be built around it, "says Aranguren.

 
The toxic legacy that developers have left the bench
For Mary Monastery, director of Malaga Andalucía de Aguirre Newman, "if the golf course is not built, operated and maintained, penalizes the promotion, so compared to other projects, is a competitive element. Golfing provides added value. Moreover, as other property assets, these products have also adjusted their prices. Each function of the area, depending on supply and demand, but not the fact itself of having a same golf course. " He adds that, like any other asset real estate, "will be output in areas where the stock is decreasing and increasing demand."
 
However, the future of many of these projects is uncertain. "First, today there is no demand for such assets, and two, in the unlikely event find a buyer for the asset it would be worth little more than its operating account," says Iñaki Aranguren, who remembers also how many of these products, like many other real estate assets, ended up in the hands of banks.
 
Like hundreds of finished and half-finished developments, solar and many other real estate assets, products associated with golf courses have served to cancel part of the debt incurred by the promoters. For example, a button.
 
Banco Sabadell, for example, has 'inherited' two golf courses that entered its portfolio lieu of payment. "They are in L'ampoule (Tarragona) and Picassent (Valencia) and has decided to keep it coincides in areas that are considered to help improve the conditions to boost the sector," says a source from the bank. The bank also has a small hotel with a golf course in Sabiñánigo, Huesca and homes already completed, on golf courses in a dozen developments in Andalucia, Murcia and Valencia.
 
The savings banks that now offer owners of failed promotions are around 30 to 50%, but still with a very weak demand "We have not carried out any development in this regard, or what comes to starting a project from scratch nor we had to finish either because they were ready," nuance from the company that, through its real estate subsidiary Solvia sells apartments from 40,000 euros in Sucina, Murcia , while also offering product of more than 260,000 euros in Las Lomas del Marques, in Málaga .
 
Sabadell has not been the sole heir. Banco Popular has nearly two dozen promotions that focus on Malaga, Cadiz, Murcia, Las Palmas and Huesca, while recognizing SAREB have two projects: Golf El Puerto in Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz), and Hacienda Golf Alamo, in Murcia.
 
"The collapse of prices on the coast has left a very delicate situation in the real estate development courses in the interior. Discounts that banks now offer owners failed promotes s are around 30 to 50%, but still a very weak demand. Needless to say that this situation places the fields in a situation of extreme weakness in order to keep their doors open, "adds Iñaki Aranguren.
   
The promoters refuse to shut
"The ability to close the golf courses in real estate development is not on the table of most of the current owners, the banks, or SAREB own majority. Firstly, by a matter of pure marketing and price associated with the existence of a golf course development in comparison to the competition, and on the other by its commitments to those who already bought homes and are members of the golf course, "says Iñaki Aranguren, who explains that in some cases have been raised temporarily pending management could find to continue the activity other than that created closure.
 
There are examples as the field Santamarina in San Vicente de la Barquera, or the case already mentioned by The Confidential Garden Arcos in Cadiz town of Arcos de la Frontera , where about 172 hectares had plans to develop a luxury hotel, 525 homes and a golf course. Only 80 houses and 32 villas were built and finally on 5 May saw the temporary closure of the golf course, until further opening before summer, with change management team.
 
El Club de Golf Retamares en Madrid. Retamares Golf Club in Madrid.

Outright failures and few success stories
Polaris World is perhaps the paradigm not only supported housing developments in golf, but the urban macro-erected from scratch proliferated in those years.
 
One of his projects was a star in the resort town of Torrepacheco in Murcia, with hotels of 4 and 5 star, shopping malls, 12,000 houses and six golf courses designed by the company's greatest player of all time, living legend this sport, Jack Nicklaus.
 
"From the point of view golfing, not lacking anything. Six golf at the highest level, the ability to play all the fields within 25 kilometers projects near airports, hotels to stay, good time ... Yet The bursting of the bubble promoters caught without developing much of the project and the creditor banks swooped above should have been one of Europe's largest golfing projects, "recalls Iñaki Aranguren.
 
With the voluntary bankruptcy of the company created to manage the IRM assets at the request of the SAREB itself, the fate of the project is completely separated from what the developers intended. The operation cost Bancaja, CAM, Banco Popular, major creditors, a total of about 1,170 million euros supposed, according to experts, one of the largest urban Spain busts.
 
To Aranguren, not all golf courses and housing developments are doomed to failure. "To quote an American said, is the third owner who takes the project forward.'s First owner has the idea but just breaking, the second is the creditor bank, and the third is the professional who just managing."
 
Retamares Golf Club in Madrid is an example. Having spent not two but three previous hands, Caja Madrid and NH the last two, the private company Making Golf Group has transformed a track record of historical losses since its founding in operating profit. "In these cases, no added real estate business, it is essential to generate external traffic to the partners themselves in other ways. Specifically, the opening two years ago, in the midst of the worst crisis in the sector, a luxury hotel designed by architect Joaquin Torres and his studio A-Cero was one of the pillars to combat the crisis. There are also cases such as La Zagaleta. A successful example of development / real estate development of very high standing, "says Aranguren.

Source: http://www.elconfidencial.com/vivienda/2014-09-15/los-campos-de-golf-de-estrella-durante-el-boom-a-pesadilla-de-promotores-y-bancos_185984/ 

Monday, 1 September 2014

Hacienda Riquelme September 2014 Newsletter

As the manic holiday season comes to an end and HRGR starts to settle back down to the 50 or so full time residents within the resort, then its time to sit back and assess the bigger picture.

Funding
Certainly the HRGR resort is better than some and even worse than others. The current community fees pay for the security, gardening, pools and general upkeep of the resort based on an inherited transfer from PW. This would be all well and good however the general maintenance of the resort is now showing clear signs of huge potential costs for the future:

  • Some roads are starting to sink
  • No buildings have ever been repainted in the last 8 years and are showing signs of lack of upkeep
  • The builders actions of fixes required is long and there is little money available to start even for the minor issues
  • The recent quote for the fixes at  6 Million euros looks very low
  • Irrigation of the gardens keep rising and rising
This and the 1.2 million debtors and rising shows huge pressure on what owners will need to fund in the coming years.

Communications
Owners communications are virtually non existent with good news only ever reported and spun. 
 
A clear example is the debtors situation which was last updated in December 2013! Why no updates in the last 9 months ?????

And of course the resort presidents newsletters have disappeared! 

Time and time again the Committee does not inform all owners, does not let owners participate on the key issues and the dog-eat-dog culture continues even with the recent sacking of the resort president with constant back stapping within the Committee.

Debts
We are informed that the Resorts' debt situation has considerably worsened during 2014 and was one of the key reasons for Nigel's forced resignation. We have since 2008 called for Resortalia to be removed from the debt management process as they do not have the detailed knowledge, management structure, process or bandwidth to collect local debts nether mind international debts. It is therefore highly surprising that Resortalia were removed from these duties last month at the same time as Nigel's departure.

As we face 2 million euros of debts and rising we again stress the need for detailed debt information:
  • How many owners and how much debt is untraceable and uncollectable as there is no contact or updated address details for the previous owners? This is a key reason as confirmed by the previous resort president.
  • How many owners and how much of the debt is now in the court process?
  • At what stage of the court process are the individual cases i.e. court letters issued, first hearing held, first hearing pending, judgement awarded, bailiffs engaged?
  • What summary monthly update reporting is available if any?



As ever we believe times are a changing, for the best or for the worse, time will tell.  Resort presidents and committees come and go with the same escalating problems arising. Unless a clear handle and open and honest communications and transparency arises then matters will just get worse and worse.


Warm regards




HRGR Owners and Sub Community Presidents that care!

 

Comments:


We always welcome all comments and feedback, good or bad, from all owners, the committee or "committee member but personal views expressed only" .............

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

Wednesday, 13 August 2014

A change at last,,,,,,,,,,,

What a month:

  • The lakes have at last been refilled!


  • We have a new Resort President as Nigel stepped down due to the constant Committee infighting and back stapping.

  • Resortalia have also been removed as the debt collectors which with 1.2 million of debtors and rising is hardly surprising!


  • And the new president has clearly stated that he will not stand at next years AGM!

"By now you will probably have heard that I have taken over as Resort President. I never intended to ever do the role but have been persuaded to change my mind and have agreed to do it until the next AGM. This will provide continuity and allow time for someone else to be identified in time to take over at the next AGM."



  • This together with finally publishing the security and gardening SLA's clearly shows times are a changing at last!


Obviously the Committee should be congratulated for stepping up to the mark and representing ALL Owners in their  best interests however,  anyone that raises their heads into these elected positions really should be aware of the “dog eat dog” culture within Hacienda Riquelme.

If the Committee is doing is dong such a great job, then why are there so many key problems across the resort. Where is the detailed case summary information of which 1.2 million debtors are in court and the stages of the court proceedings? 

Where is the information of how many debtors are untraceable, the key issue as confirmed by the previous resort president?

If owners then question the Committee on these matters then they classed by the Committee as trouble makers and are then named and shamed amongst all the fellow owners.

And finally as the Committee represents all owners interests then they clearly need to be aware that fundamental issues will be raised as and when required. If the heat becomes to hot in the kitchen then they can always stand aside, as the issues, and owners with these issues, will not go away. 

The committee may change overtime however we will not be it 5, 10, 15 years or whatever we will still be around to show the true Hacienda Riquelme Culture and spirit.


 

 


Friday, 18 July 2014

Hacienda Riquelme Changes



So we now Ronny Barker, a lame duck that has always refused to stand, has resigned twice already as a Phase President and clearly stated there was never Committee infighting!

This together with, as the PW forum stated, as we are informed  the other bloke with a nasty attitude and overall self righteousness. (click here)


Should be fun times ahead!!!!!!!!!!!! 



For the record:

September 2013:
Ron Locke Resigns


"As owners I am letting you know that this is yet another untruth....... I am one of the people referred to above. I have announced my resignation to the owners I represent and, as far as I know, at the moment I am the only one who has resigned.  It is completely untrue that it had anything to do with the manifesto referred to. My reason is simple. we are being inundated with unreasonable demands and very unfair criticism,."

  
October 2010:
Ron Locke Resigns
"This is not the place for me to give the detailed reasons for my resignation. I have written to all the owners I represent, as well as the committee, with the detail. Basically there is a fundamental disagreement between me and the Resort President and her group of friends on the committee...... I have found it impossible to get discussions going.... communication is awful. Some committee members never contribute any ideas for improvement, never give an opinion in any meeting I have been involved in, or respond to requests for comments on ideas. One member has refused to speak to me for over 12 months and won't answer any emails I send him...."


Presidents statement (click here)
Ron Locke has resigned as the president of phase 5a.  We did not always agree but his input was valuable.  It has been difficult and not an easy task these last three years establishing this community. We must, however, respect Ron's decision and wish him well.  We thank him for his contribution to the committee and wish him a more peaceful life!
All committees have disagreements.  But that's not a bad thing; it is healthy to have disagreements based on different perspectives and opinions.  Our committee is no different - we are all experienced people with opinions.  But we try to work together for the good of the cause - Hacienda Riquelme Community of Owners.
We will always seek the best possible terms for our owners and for Hacienda Riquelme.  This is why we are here and we are all mindful of this.

Wednesday, 16 July 2014

Paramount Murcia receives approval for next phase of construction

The Paramount Pictures theme park project has moved forwards following the approval of the second phase of the 'special management plan' by the Ayuntamiento of Alhama de Murcia last week.

The granting of this license permits Premusa - the promoters and developers of the facility - to move forward with the next phase of construction, expected to take place later this month.

Premursa have been given 20 days to release full details of the construction work to be undertaken, and for members of the public to raise any objections to this phase of the project, which concerns 223,918 sq mts of the park, to be used for the Hotels and car parking, and is expected to cost 3,014,984 Euros.

Last week saw news that Premursa had succeeded in obtaining funding from the Regional Incentives board of the EU to the sum of 17Mln Euros, which is expected to keep the facility on schedule for the planned opening in early 2015.

Source: click here

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

San Javier Jazz Festival underway


Family Stone The stars will certainly be out and shining brightly in San Javier over the next couple of weeks as the Jazz Festival opens its doors. 
 
The extensive program for the 17th edition of the Festival, which will be held from July 5th to August 5th, 2014 offers a total of 22 concerts on 13 nights, starting with the fantastic guitarist George Benson, who will present his new album A Tribute to Nat King Cole. Nat King Cole's brother, Freddy Cole will also perform in Jazz San Javier, where he will receive the Festival Award in acknowledgement of his career.
 
Guitar legend Lee Ritenour will perform with long time collaborator, Academy Award winner Dave Grusin on the closing night. The program includes other great musicians like the guitarist Chuck Loeb who will pay tribute to Paco de Lucía, to whom the festival is dedicated, plus the first and only concert in Spain of The Family Stone, which along with Earth, Wind and Fire, was one of the most important soul-funk bands of the 70s. With three of its original members and two new vocalists, the band from San Francisco, maintains the complete repertoire of the famous band Sly & The Family Stone.

Tickets can be bought on Ticketmaster, or in the Festival Offices (+34 968 191568 - +34 968 191588) located in Plaza España, San Javier. The price of tickets vary from 15 to 18 euros, except for Bobby McFerrin and George Benson which will cost 35 euros each. These two concerts are the only ones not included in the season pass, which include the remaining eleven nights, and has a cost of 120 euros. 


More information on the entire program is available at: www.jazz.sanjavier.es.

Oh what a week.............

Oh what a week:

  • The Resort President stands down!.... click here

  • Mr Bamford is banned from the PW forum at last!...... click here

  • And we find that Sooty is selling up at half the cost! .....  click here


Times are a changing!

Monday, 14 July 2014

Murcia is the cheapest city in Spain to fill your shopping trolley



Murcia is the cheapest city in Spain to fill your shopping trolley
When it comes to value for money, Murcia has at least one advantage over the rest of Spain, as going to the supermarket is cheaper there than anywhere else. New figures just released show that the typical spend per year is 6,520€, 3.69% lower than the national average and the lowest spending rate in all of Spain.

The survey considered five categories of products and services: property (purchase and rental), tax (property tax, road tax and municipal) taxes, public transport and private (single fare of 10 bonus articles, gasoline and taxis), Shopping (shopping trolley, cost of a loaf of bread and a kilo of apples) and leisure (price of a movie ticket and dinner for two).

These are the main conclusions for Murcia:
  • Murcia is the twenty-fifth most expensive provincial capital in Spain
  • When it comes to housing, Murcia is the eighth cheapest capital to rent a home. (405.6€ is typical, which is 26.52% less than the Spanish average)
  • Murcia is the best place in all of Spain to fill your supermarket trolley, (cheaper than the average 3.69%) with an annual cost of 6,520€
  • Regarding leisure, Murcia comes in eleventh, as it’s more expensive to go to dinner for two people, with a cost of 55€, 14.34% more than the average.

The findings would seem to suggest, that to save money, hit the supermarket with a vengeance, go back to your rented property, turn on the telly and enjoy a night in, rather than going out on the town.

Corvera costs Murcia EU22,000 per day

The region of Murcia's Corvera Airport is about to enter it's third summer season of being stood idle, after completion of the construction phase of the facility in spring 2012, and at a cost of more than EU250 Mln.

Despite having an operational airport already, tourism chiefs and regional politicians claimed that San Javier airport would be unable to cope with ambitions for growing the number of visitors to the area in coming years.

Corvera airport was designed to accommodate some 3 Million passengers and 23,00 flights per year - more than double the busiest years seen at San Javier airport - with plans in place to increase the capacity to 14 Million passengers and 109,000 operations across 2 new phases in subsequent years. 
The inference here being that San Javier airport was restricting the number of tourists hoping to travel to the region, and not that Murcia had simply reached saturation point as a tourist destination.

Also : With Spain as a whole welcoming an all-time record 21.7 Million tourists in the first 5 months of 2014, what make Murcia so sure it can provide the infrastructure, accommodation and attractions for around 25% of all tourists coming to Spain each year ?

Recent estimations are that Corvera Airport is costing Murcia some €22,00 per day / €8 million per year, due to the Regional Government assuming responsibility for the €182 Million loan guarantee.

Having to pay for the luxury of an unwanted, and unrequired second airport is one thing - the fact that it is still not operational, and unlikely to reach projected visitor numbers is another.

Source: click here

Sunday, 13 July 2014

Two arrested for stealing copper wiring from Corvera Airport



Two arrested for stealing copper wiring from Corvera Airport
Murcia police, under operation  'PATROL'. have arrested two people for their alleged involvement in the theft of wiring from Corvera International Airport.

Those detained included a Spanish national, who was suspected of stealing wiring from earlier this year. The theft included copper from cable beacons and lighting of the access roads to the airport.

The proceedings were initiated by a complaint from the concessionaire who said they has suffered a theft of 16,000 meters of wiring  from the airport complex, a material whose estimated value was 100,000 euros.

Agents focused their investigation the inspection of local waste management facilities in the Campo de Cartagena, in order to locate the material. These investigations resulted in the detection of materials similar to those reported in one of the junkyards inspected, so after identifying the two people who made delivery of the material on site, two people of Spanish nationality and residents of Fuente Alamo, were arrested.

The operation carried out by the Guardia Civil determined that detainees allegedly accessed the airport complex, stole the cable and moved stored it in a ruined building.

The detainees have been brought before the Magistrate's Court in Murcia.

Saturday, 12 July 2014

Murcia achieves 31 blue beach flags


Murcia achieves 31 blue flags
Spain is setting the standard when it comes to European beach quality. This year, Spain holds the record and is number one with 681 quality marks, and beaches flying ‘blue flags’.



Regarding the total number of outstanding beaches throughout Spain, Murcia achieved with 31 (+7 year on year). Thus Murcia shows the second highest improvement rate with seven new flags more than last year, with only the Baleares showing better results.

In essence, the flag means that accessibility to beaches, the quality of water and sand, safety and cleanliness, are the attributes that determine the satisfaction of the tourists visiting the coastal areas. In terms of thematic distinctions, Blue Flags were awarded to Spanish municipalities who highlight the excellence in marine rescue and relief issues; environmental education and information and removal of architectural barriers and also the care for people with disabilities and especially urban waste management.

The best urban waste management program in Spain was awarded to Los Alcazares in Murcia and hats off to Cartagena, Spain’s second town for Blue Flags and still the first in the Mediterranean, with ten awards, two more than last year.

Friday, 11 July 2014

Liam Neeson in "Taken 3" films in Murcia airport.


If you happen to see a car chase on a road in Murcia this week… you could be in a Liam Neeson movie.

The Northern Irish actor has been in the city and local hills to shoot for his upcoming film ‘Taken 3’, in which he plays the part of Bryan Mills.

At the request of director Olivier Megaton police closed roads, including part of Murcia-San Javier airport, as chase scenes were shot.

The Cartagena fire brigade was put on standby.

Neeson  has been spotted in Murcia and at nearby La Manga Club with cast members, including Stephanie Kleine.

Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Hacienda Riquelme Golf Course Condition Update

Greens

The growth of new grass on the greens continues at a pace with the arrival of the hotter daytime temperatures and the improved growing conditions for this type of paspalum grass. Treatment by the ground staff has continued constantly over the last month. 



The average percentage coverage of grass has risen from about 50% a month ago to nearer 80% now on many greens. 



The greens are looking significantly better and we are confident, looking at the recent growth and coverage improvements, that the greens will totally recover. However there is a down-side to this recovery process. Unfortunately the rolling of the ball over the greens surface is actually worse now than a month ago as this new grass has grown and the areas of less-strong grass still growing gives larger inconsistencies in levels of height. 



This rolling deviation should reduce significantly as the growing grass finally fills the gaps and a more even and consistent coverage of strong grass across the greens as a whole is achieved. We still feel that it will be several weeks minimum, at this rate of progress, before we have good playable conditions on the greens. The following picture shows the condition of the practice green, which is quite typical of the average condition of the other greens on the course.



 



IRM have confirmed that they have taken a positive step towards improvements in the condition of all their courses by employing a new Course Maintenance and Management company, to replace the previous company, Selprats

Reviews



 Source: click here

Caribbean Day, Carols Bar, Sucina


Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Murcia to operate both San Javier AND Corvera until 2016


The Region of Murcia will see two airports in operation between 2014 and 2016.

Minister of Development Manuel Campos told the regional assembly how Corvera Airport will be opened before the end of 2014, however San Javier airport can not be closed before the end of 2016.

According to Campos, the smaller and older airport will not be closed sooner as the Spanish Airports Authority - AENA - will be required to operate the facility until such a time in order to justify the EU funding they received for development of the airport - specifically the EU25 Mln runway extension - in 2011.

Meanwhile, the decision by the European Commission to permit the opening of Corvera airport is due to be made later in July, with the legalities of the EU177 Mln loan guarantee by the regional government being under scrutiny.

EC approval of the loan guarantee would essentially allow the concession holder of Corvera airport, Aeromur, to guarantee their repayments between 2014 and 2023, and with a commitment to make repayments up to 2050 with an interest rate of 4.87%.

None of the major airlines currently flying into San Javier Airport have made any reference to when - or if - they will transfer operations to Corvera Airport.

Paramount Murcia gains 16M euros in EU subsidy


Premursa also announced that they had been successful in obtaining funding from the Regional Incentives Board of the Ministry of Works & Finance, in obtaining an EU subsidy to the value of almost EU17 Mln.
Latest estimations are that the park will open to the public sometime between December 2015 and January 2016.

Monday, 7 July 2014

Time for the Committee to stand down!

After months and months of committee infighting and formal confirmation that the Resort President can no longer stand being in the same room as other committee members, then a number of questions need to be raised:

  • Why didn't Committee minutes reflect what was actually going on?
  • Shouldn't Resortalia have prepared formal minutes accurately?
  • Can Resortalia now be trusted to accurately inform all owners and protect their interests?
  • Should other Committee members now consider their positions especially for not telling the complete truth? The following response is one clear example:
"

"
  • Why are we not being correctly informed:


The honourable thing to do is for the complete committee to consider their positions and stand aside as they are now all tainted by the cover up and mess that has resulted.

Saturday, 5 July 2014

12 months on, no change for the better!

The Association reported the following in July 2013:

The current Resort Committee and Resortalia are not clear communicators or choose to ignore owner issues completely. In addition:

- Some Phase Presidents do not communicate to their owners at all.
- The Resort Committee is split
- Responses on owner issues raised to Phase Presidents, the Committee or President are very poor
- Compliance with our Statutes is hit and miss.

This is why with the ever increasing number of concerns we will focus on:
1) Transparency of service levels agreements v costs
2) Debtors, ownership and communication
3) Street Lights, roads and rubbish collection ownership, transfer and costs
4) Repaint resort implications
5) Retender Resortalia contract

6) Relocation of workers compound
7) Statutes Compliance
8) Health & Safety Compliance

We aim to drive positive change for the resort with Cost Effective Transparency and Communications whereby collectively owners issues can be explored and progressed.

HRGR Association

 The writting was clearly on the wall!

HRGR Owners that really do care