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Stability Brought to Costa del Sol?s water reserves

The level of the water reservoirs in the province of Malaga rose last week for the first time since the end of March. The increase was very slight, however - a little over 500 million litres - but, thanks to the rain and the measures to save water, at least the downward trend has been halted for the time being.

According to the Mediterranean-Andalusian Water Board, it was the first time in eight months that the reserves had risen. The reservoirs had been losing water week after week, due to lack of rain, dropping down to an average of 27 per cent their capacity. The six largest reservoirs in the province held a volume of 164.6 cubic hectometres at the beginning of this week but that is still far below the volume in them a year ago, 282.6 cubic hectometres, which represents 49 per cent of their total capacity.

The reason for the slightly increased volume is twofold: on the one hand a drop in consumption of 40 per cent since the special decree on drought came into force, and on the other hand, the rain which fell in the province last week, an average of 22.3 litres per square metre.

Beckitts restaurant

COMING SOON! Five Continent Group (www.fivecontinentgroup.com) will be featuring Beckitt's Irish Restaurant in Marbella for the full virtual tour treatment, menus, winelists and restaurant review.

A favourite amongst Marbellans this well established restaurant near Bull McCabes Bar up the road from Skol apartments is now to be featured in FCG's Recommended Dining Guide for Costa del Sol.

Beckitts will be open this year for New Years Eve Dinner so get booking while there is availability!

Palacio de Congresos Real Estate Lectures

JUEVES, 25 Thursday
9,30 ? 10,30 horas Análisis de los principales ratios comerciales de la promoción residencial en España y en Andalucía.Ponentes : D. José Manuel Sánchez. Gerente de Estudios de Knight Frank.D. Alberto Prieto Ruiz. Director de Area de Suelo y residencial de Knight Frank. Moderador : D. José Antonio Pérez Ramírez. Subdirector General de Instituto de Práctica Empresarial. ANALYSIS OF RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IN SPAIN AND ANDALUSIA
10,00 ? 18,30 horas Programa de acompañantes. Visita a Málaga y almuerzo. Guided tour of Malaga
10,30 ? 11,00 horas Pausa. Café.
11,00 ? 11,45 horas El Golf como valor inmobiliario.Ponente : D. Francisco Aymerich Riestra. Presidente de Aymerich Golf.Moderador : D. Francisco Javier de Aspe García-Junco. Presidente de Fadeco.THE VALUE OF GOLF IN REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
11,45 ? 12,45 horas Existe el producto estrella? Relación precio/m2. Tendencias actuales.Ponente : D. Francisco Avalos Luengo. Broker de Remax.La importancia de la red comercial en el mercado internacional.Ponente : D. Juan Bautista Marhuenda. Director Gerente de empresas promotoras de Santa Pola.Moderador : D. José Antonio Solís Burgos. Presidente del Colegio de Arquitectos de Sevilla.DOES THE PERFECT PROPERTY EXIST? THE REALITY
12,45 ? 13,30 horas Modelos de financiación inmobiliaria en la Unión Europea. Actualidad y tendencias.Ponente : D. Pedro Costa Samaniego. Director de la División de Banca Mayorista y Especializada de Unicaja.Moderador : D. Evaristo Caparrós Vacas. Presidente Investigaciones en Mercados Inmobiliarios.EU PROPERTY FINANCE MODELS. NOW and THE FUTURE
14,00 ? 16,00 horas Almuerzo de trabajo. (lunch)
16,30 ? 17,30 horas Presente y Futuro del Urbanismo en el litoral andaluz.Ponente : D. Manuel González Fustegueras. Arquitecto Urbanista. Redactor del P.G.O.U. de Marbella.Moderador : D. Andrés Alvarez de Toledo Rohe. Presidente del Colegio de Arquitectos de Málaga.THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN ANDALUSIA17,30 ? 18,30 horas Pausa. Café.
18,00 ? 19,00 horas El Turismo Residencial y su efecto sobre el valor de mercado de los inmuebles.Ponente : Sr. Campbell Ferguson. Vicepresidente de RICS España.Moderador : D. Andrés Pérez Ruiz. Director adjunto Programa Master Instituto San Telmo.THE EFFECT OF RESIDENTIAL TOURISM ON THE SPANISH PROPERTY MARKET
19,00 ? 20,00 horas La comercialización de la vivienda turística en el Reino Unido y Alemania.Ponente : D. José Mª Morillo León. Director Comercial de la oficina de la Embajada de España en el Reino Uido.Moderador : D. Juan Aguilera Ruiz. Gerente de Fadeco.WHAT SPAIN CAN LEARN FROM THE COMMERCIALISATION OF HOLIDAY HOMES IN GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY
22,00 horas Cena de Gala. Gala Dinner
VIERNES, 26 Friday
9,30 ? 10,15 horas Origen y naturaleza de la demanda de Segunda residencia procedente del mercado británico.Ponente : D. John Sherry. Gerente del Canal Internacional de Knight Frank.Moderador : D. Jerónimo Pérez Casero. Presidente de la Cámara de Comercio de Málaga.WHY DO BRITAINS WANT SECOND HOMES IN SPAIN10,15 ? 10,45 horas Pausa. Café.
10,45 ? 11,30 horas Construcción, energía y sostenibilidad en Andalucía en en el sector del Turismo Residencial.Ponente : D. Francisco Herrera García. Delegado de nueva construcción de Gas Natural Andalucía.Moderador : D. Juan López Cohard. Vicepresidente de Fadeco.SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND CONSTRUCTION IN THE ANDALUSIAN RESIDENTIAL TOURIST SECTOR
11,30 ? 12,15 horas El Turismo residencial y la sostenibilidad en Andalucía 2004.Ponente : D. Alfredo Rubio Díaz. Profesor Titular del Dpto. de Geografía de la Uiversidad de Málaga.Moderador : D. Vicente García Martín. Presidente de la Confederación de Empresarios de Málaga.THE SUSTAINABLITY OF RESIDENTIAL TOURISM IN ANDALUSIA 200412,15 ? 13,15 horas La confianza, factor determinante para la internacionalización de la oferta del Turismo Residencial.Ponente : D. José M. Galindo Cueva. Presidente de la Comisión de Turismo residencial de APCE. Gerente de ASPRIMA.Moderador : D. Alfonso Sedeño Massot. Presidente de Gaesco.THE CONFIDENCE FACTOR AND ITS EFFECT ON INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL TOURISM13,30 horas Acto de clausura. Close
PROGRAMA DE JORNADA SALA 2 (second room presentation program)
VIERNES, 26 Friday
9,30 ? 10,15 horas Productos innovadores para la construcción : hormigón autocompactante y cemento autolimpiante.Ponentes : D. José Antonio Hurtado Hurtado. Director de calidad y producción de Hormisur.D. Angel Fernández Carazo. Técnico Comercial de Financiera y Minera.Moderador : D. Juan Cobalea Ruiz. Director de Hormisur.CONSTRUCTION INNOVATIONS, SELF COMPACTING AGGREGATES AND SELF CLEANING CEMENT
10,15 ? 10,30 horas Pausa. Café.
10,30 ? 12,30 horas El mercado inmobiliario español bajo la visión del comercializador francés, alemán, holandés y británico.Ponentes : Sra. Chantal Coste. (Francia).Sr. Sven R. Johns. (Alemania).Sr. André Groot. (Paises Bajos).Sr. Ian Tonge. (Gran Bretaña).THE SPANISH PROPERTY MARKET VIEWED FROM THE FRENCH, GERMAN, DUTCH AND BRITISH PERSPECTIVES
Presidentes de las Asociaciones Nacionales de la Confederación Europea Inmobiliaria.Moderadora : Sra. Anne Sophie Coste. Secretaria de la Confederación Europea Inmobiliaria.

Mediterranean Real Estate Exhibition Costa del Sol

Today, November 24 saw the 2nd of a 4 day International Property Exhibition held at the Palacio de Congresos y Ferias in Malaga Costa del Sol.

Though busy, not packed, the event sponsored by Aifos may be a good guage of the transitional and currently bumpy real estate market in the Costa del Sol, though some promoters stands also covered property in Almeria, Murcia, Costa Blanca, Seville, Greek Islands & Brazil.

Notable by their absence were several high profile foreign developers & promoters normally highly visible at such events.

My overall impression was that although certain companies made serious efforts, building multi floor stands and even a showhouse from the promoters of Regidor Hills in Benahavis, the first day saw very few non-Spanish visitors or professionals & most of the attention focused around the Aifos stand.... not because of their developments but because Guadalpin Catering were running a free bar with canapes & andalucian tapas!

Costa del Sol Cider Success!

A CHANCE drink in a Spanish bar has led a new husband and wife business to toast success as South Wales's top importer of a trendy new organic cider.

Hayley and Anthony Bradley first came across Sweden's increasingly popular Kopparbergs cider when they were on a Costa Del Sol holiday last summer.

"We liked it so much that we tried to buy some when we got home to South Wales. When we failed, we thought there was an obvious business opportunity," said Hayley.

Kopparbergs Cider has been available in Pear & Apple versions in Marbella, Costa del Sol for a couple of years now, stocked by major Supermarket Chains like Supersol & Euromarket, and in trendy restaurants like Garum & El Gusto.

Weeks later the Hirwaun couple had set up their new business, Designa Drinx, as distributor for Kopparbergs in Wales and the West Country.

A few months on, the business now supplies more than 20 pubs, bars and restaurants and is enjoying brisk business from four outdoor market outlets it runs each week.

La Cala Ladies European Golf Update

? Only five of the 27 Britons who started the final stage of the Ladies European Tour qualifying school have a chance of earning playing privileges for next season after the third round at the La Cala course on the Costa del Sol, Spain.

With the cut coming after 54 holes and only the top 50 players making today's final round, 22 Britons missed out. The top 30 at the end of play today will earn full privileges and the remaining 20 will have conditional cards.

Those best placed include Scottish amateur Clare Queen, who lies joint second after yesterday's two-under par 71 and Kent's Danielle Masters who is in a share of fourth after a 70. Fame More (16th), Sarah Heath (25th) and Caroline Grady (45th) are the others still in the running.

Dawn French Play Set in Costa del Sol

Dawn French and Alison Moyet are to star as sisters in a new West End play directed by Kathy Burke.

The two actresses have been close friends in real life for more than 20 years.
French plays a schoolteacher who devotes her time to caring for her disabled mum.
Former chart star Moyet plays her sister, who left home straight after school determined to become a West End star - but has ended up as a club singer on the Costa Del Sol.
Smaller is not a musical but is billed as a "play with music" which will allow ex-Yazoo singer Moyet to showcase her skills.
Moyet, 44, recently ended a stint as Mama Morton in hit show Chicago.
Meanwhile French, 48, best known as half of comedy duo French and Saunders, last graced the West End in one-woman play My Brilliant Divorce in 2003.
The play opens at the Lyric next year but tickets go on sale this weekend so the publicity bandwagon's started rolling.

Arrests Increase in Malaga Province

The number of people being attested in Málaga has increased to 13,300 a year, more than in any other Andaulcian province.

The increase in crime in the province is being seen across the board, according to a study published by the Andaucian Crime Observatory.

Crimes against people were up 50% in 2004.Some experts say that the high concentration of the foreign population has favoured an increase in crime.

Five municipalities in the province are among the top 30 for foreign residents in Spain ? the city, Mijas, Fuengirola, Torremolinos and Marbella.

Welsh Pair Take Golf World Cup Victory

BRADLEY DREDGE and Stephen Dodd became World Cup winners for Wales yesterday - without hitting a ball.

Torrential rain on Portugal's Algarve washed out play and with a forecast of more to come it was decided that the position after 54 holes would be the result.

For Dredge and Dodd that meant a two-stroke victory over defending champions England - Luke Donald and David Howell - and Swedes Henrik Stenson and Niclas Fasth.
And it also meant their biggest ever payday. Each of them walked away with cheques for £400,870 to provide a rich finish to what was already the most lucrative season of both players' careers.

Wales won with Ian Woosnam and David Llewellyn as their pairing in Hawaii in 1987. That was achieved in very different circumstances, a play-off with Scots Sandy Lyle and Sam Torrance being needed to decided the issue.

Storms Delay San Roque Qualifying

The fifth round of the European Tour's qualifying school final was severely disrupted yesterday as thunderstorms battered the Costa del Sol.

Heavy rain delays Tour qualifyingBy Astrid Andersson in San Roque (Filed: 15/11/2005)
The fifth round of the European Tour's qualifying school final was severely disrupted yesterday as thunderstorms battered the Costa del Sol.
Heavy rain, hailstones and lightning caused a delay of almost 90 minutes in the morning at San Roque and, despite play resuming in the afternoon, further bad weather brought action to an early end.
Play is scheduled to resume at 8.30am today, with organisers hoping to begin the sixth and final round at 10am.
Qualifying school director Mike Stewart said: "The immediate forecast was for heavy rain to continue to fall and there was no chance of any further play due to the worsening condition of the course.
"Rather than having a new draw for the final day, which is the standard practice, we are going to keep the players in fifth-round draw order - which, weather permitting, should allow us to finish the event on Tuesday evening.

Almeria

Almeria, which sits between the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol, is regarded as Spain?s Secret Coast. This makes it well worth a look for a potential investor, for whom being in on a secret at an early stage has to be a good thing.

From Mojacar, an ancient hill fortress town in the South, which the Moors and Christians fought over for centuries, through the hustle and bustle of Vera, up to the relaxed family-orientated fishing village of Villaricos in the North, this stretch of coast has something for everyone. In the background are fertile plains framed by mountains and desert, and the national park of Cabo de Gata to the south.

Inland, the area is being developed on a scale that will rival the Costas to accommodate a recent boom in domestic and international tourism. The area is served by three airports; at Almeria, a 50-minute drive away, Murcia and Alicante ? we made it door-to-door from central London via Almeria airport in six and half hours.

It?s still quiet outside the peak summer season (temperatures range from 35 degrees in July to 19 degrees in January), but estate agent Capital Eyes area sales manager Peter Stilma, a veteran of the Costa del Sol, recognises the signs.

?They?ve learned many lessons from the development of the Costas,? he maintains, ?and this area is benefiting from that experience.?
The government is committed to regenerating the area, and infrastructure is highly developed already, with new roads, medical facilities and schools. Zoning has been carefully thought out, and consequently you won?t see a single high-rise.

Expats Burdening Spain's Health Service

SPAIN has protested about the multi-million-pound cost of providing healthcare for hundreds of thousands of Britons who have moved there.

Spanish authorities face soaring bills for drugs, nursing and home carers for the expatriates. Acute hospital care costs Spain an extra £40m a year.

?We have opened the door to everybody and it needs to be regulated,? said Cristina Gutierrez-Cortines, MEP for Murcia, a favoured destination. ?British officials think everything is fine because their citizens are getting everything free here. It?s not fine. We need action from Europe: we are spending money we are not receiving.?

Elena Salgado, the Spanish health minister, has opened talks in Brussels on obtaining a rebate.
Salgado?s spokesman, Roberto Rodriguez, said Europe?s system of reciprocal health and social welfare cover was inadequate to cope with vast numbers of British, German, Dutch and Scandinavian pensioners retiring in Spain. Many fail to register under the E121 scheme that allows governments within the European Union to reclaim a share of healthcare costs from patients? home countries.

An estimated 1m Britons own properties in Spain, according to a study of healthcare by Age Concern. The Spanish say many assume the system in Spain is similar to the NHS and fail to realise that, in Spain, families help to look after the elderly, supplementing professional care.
?A huge number of them speak little or no Spanish,? said Ana Skou, a spokeswoman for Mijas municipality on the Costa del Sol, where just over half the population of 62,000, are native Spaniards. ?Those who come as pensioners are the least likely to integrate. They fall ill and run into problems.?

Although 225,000 Britons are registered to vote in municipal elections in Spain, only 49,436, have completed the E121 form. The Spanish taxpayer is left out of pocket if any Briton who has not filled in the form needs care.

Ignasi Guardans, a Liberal MEP from Barcelona, said: ?These people are essentially health tourists. There is a huge cost to Spain because they have not been contributing to our health system.?
Britain?s work and pensions department said: ?(We do) everything possible to ensure migrants understand the requirements to register for their healthcare costs to be reimbursed from the UK.?
Age Concern has a network of 200-300 volunteers in five Spanish centres to help 12,000 elderly people, of whom one in eight is classed as an ?acute? case ? suffering from serious mental or physical illness, or destitute.

Jackie Codd, one of the volunteers, said: ?You get people moving here hoping for better care for things like Parkinson?s disease or Alzheimer?s when they are already ill. I had a man complaining to me the other day that no one spoke English at the Alzheimer?s support group his wife was sent to.?

Many expatriate pensioners do not realise housing and council tax subsidies and disability costs are not payable outside the UK. In practice, however, few are denied help in Spain, adding to the burden on the Spanish taxpayer.

Record Tourism Figures for Costa del Sol

The latest predictions for the year end tourist numbers are up on last year.

Andalucia is expected to have welcomed 23.5 million tourists this year, while the Costa del Sol will have registered 16 million overnight stays in its hotels ? 6.7% more than in 2004. Despite the increase in hotel numbers along the coast, the average year round occupancy level will reach 57%.
The optimistic numbers come from SAETA, the regional tourism statistics body, which says this year has been a record one for tourism in the region.

However the optimism is slightly tempered by other research which has indicated that although tourist numbers are up, the daily spend from each tourist is down on last year.

Golfing glory for foreign investors

A new trend is emerging in Europe, with an increasing number of property purchasers keen to buy second homes on golf courses.

Many people are increasingly attracted to the idea of spending money on a second home in a foreign country that is located on a golf course, but they're not necessarily interested in playing the sport. According to some investors, the main reason for purchasing a property on a golf course is not to have the opportunity to hit a ball around the course whenever they feel like it, but it is simply to enjoy some of the most beautiful landscaping work from the living room window.

Spain is renowned for some of the most impressive golf courses in the world, which are usually accompanied by sports and health complexes such as the famous La Manga resort ? a favourite for football stars during the summer months.

The quality of such institutions is having an effect on buyers, who are increasingly keen to purchase homes on golf courses because of the breadth of services easily available to them.