Torre Vigia faces uncertain future.
The Torre Vigia has stood sentinel over the town of Campello for over 400 years. But now, having withstood attacks from Berber Pirates, floods and fire, it may soon hear The Last Post.
Spain?s massively controversial Land Grab Law usually concerns shady deals made between local councils (ayuntamientos) and unscrupulous Property Developers. Instances have included Construction companies building vast tracts of houses on land which, in return for financial inducement, an Ayuntamiento has reclassified as Urban, (the land previously being unusable for building as it had the Rural classification.)
In other cases, the law has been imposed over property owners who have built without the correct building licences, or in some cases, with no permission whatsoever to construct. The law is aimed at preserving at least some of the remaining coastal land which has not yet been covered in concrete and tarmac.
The investigative team from http://www.aboutcampello.com has learned that the Ayuntamiento of Campello has been in a secret war with both Regional and National Government, who have been attempting to impose the controversial Land Grab Law over one of Campello?s best known landmarks.
It is not believed that the Ayuntamiento has commited any deliberate offence, nor accepted any inducement to allow developers to bespoil the area, but simply that the town council has been lax in its preparation and production of required paperwork and certification with regard to repair works carried out on the tower.
Consequently, for the past 20 years, the Regional Government in Valencia has held, and attempted to impose a court-sanctioned Demolition Order over Campello?s Torre Vigia.
The tower, (originally constructed to provide an early-warning defence system for Campelleros in the days of attack by marauding bands of Berber pirates in the 16th Century) was rebuilt in 1989, but it seems, without the requisite paperwork for doing so.
According to the Generalitat Valenciana, such reforms are illegal, with the demolition of the entire building being deemed as both adequate punishment for the transgressor, and to serve as a warning to those who might wish to flout the law in the future.
Naturally, the Ayuntamiento have pointed out that the tower dates back to the 1580?s, and is of great historical importance in the area, but this appears to have been met with silence as stony as the tower itself. The Ayuntamiento have also stressed that, after 400 years, the tower was in danger of collapse, and repairs carried out were to avoid that eventuality, but that too has been rejected.
Valencian Regional Government spokesperson Ubetta Maria Doctor-Oravet said today; “It is clear to the Generalitat that the Ayuntamiento have not followed correct procedure with regard to the reformation of the Torre Vigia, and as such, we have been left with no alternative but to order its demolition. We cannot idly sit by and watch local councils bespoil the beautiful coastline of The Valencian Community with these uncertificated development projects, initiated purely for profit.
The move has been met with worldwide condemnation, with the Ayuntamiento soliciting assistance and support from the various Heritage Organisations within Europe and further afield. The only concrete offer came from McDonalds Restaurants, who offered to turn the tower into one of their hamburger eateries, but this potential stay of execution fell through when it became clear that there would be no space for the Drive-Thru.
Demolition will be carried out by controlled explosion on December 28th, Dia de los Inocentes in Spain.
