málaga
A group of residents who claim to have been 'mis-sold' their homes hang banners of protest from balconies
07.09.10 - 13:42 -
Banners. Some claimed to be 'abandoned' by the company responsible. /G.P
Arenal Golf in Benalmádena is described as “The urbanisation of your dreams” in the promotional material. Sadly, for some owners and tenants who have bought, or who are renting there, this is not the case.
“We were promised a gym, a social club, a golf club – the list goes on. But we don’t have any of that,” says one angry resident who did not want to be named. “We bought into that 'dream,' but it’s turned into a nightmare. What was promised has not been delivered and it looks like it never will be.”
Now, after months of complaining to the company responsible, a group of Arenal Golf residents have taken direct action by erecting banners across one of the uninhabited phases of the development.
The banners, reading “GYM?”, “SOCIAL CLUB?”, “S.O.S!” and “ABANDONADOS,” were first put up on Sunday evening “to draw attention to our plight,” says a resident, who alleges the urbanisation was built illegally. “That’s why the situation has not been resolved. But that’s not our fault. We moved here in good faith, thinking that everything was official.”
Residents’ frustrations are twofold. “We've been forgotten even by the municipal authorities. The rubbish is hardly ever collected, so we often see rats and cockroaches, and there's no street lighting either. It's very unfair as we pay our taxes, so the Town Hall should do more to help. It feels like we’re being punished for living here.” In the meantime, a group of neighbours have organised their own street cleaning committee and are planning more direct action protests.
