- Quote: ‘The site is in Los Veleros with 10 houses nearby – some opposite. If permission is granted for a house waste processing plant in time it will affect the rest of Benijofar’.
By Andrew Atkinson Exclusive
BENIJOFAR residents’ concerns about a waste site in the Vega Baja town are increasing amid The Benijofar socialist group having placed a denunciation in 2020 surrounding the issue.
Speaking exclusively to The Leader a resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “Two years ago they cleared the area in Los Veleros, then the floods came. At that time skips started to arrive on the site at 7.30am, up until 8.45pm.
“We thought it was because of the floods (Gota Fria) – but that was not the case. And, more importantly, we are lead to believe there are no licences to do it.”
Heavy vehicle lorries are alleged to be entering the site opposite a residential area where 10 houses are: “The noise and the dust is horrendous. We have been fighting the case since day one, as we were never asked or consulted about the site.
“The Valencia Community authorities came to see it in 2020 – and the skips were cleared. We are lead to believe that they were told not to work there- and fined €5,000.
“We have worries that talks about applying for a licence for household waste to be processed, which are a big concern as it could attract rats and other vermin,” said our source.
In December 2020 Benijofar socialist group denounced the attitude of the mayor who is allegedly allowing a company to be a manager of construction and demolition waste, without an environmental license for that purpose without any sanction having been imposed.
The Socialist Group in the Benijófar City Council, through its spokesperson, José Luis Cases, denounced the permissiveness of the mayor of the municipality, Luís Rodríguez, in view of the finding that, for almost two years, a company carries out its irregular activity in a plot on the industrial estate Los Valeros, without the City Council having applied any sanction.
The circumstance also arises that the ownership of the parcel leased to the merchant allegedly rests in the family of the Deputy Mayor in the Consistory, the PP councillor, Pilar Yagües.
“For almost two years the activity has been operating without the corresponding municipal authorisation and no disciplinary measure has been taken by the mayor,” denounced José Luis Cases.
“It is difficult to understand how it is possible to continue exercising the activity without having a licence,” he said.
“In Benijófar, more and more people are wondering what interests are in the middle, so that they continue to maintain an activity without a licence without anything happening, despite repeated complaints from neighbours, complaints from the local police and reports from the regional administration”, The Socialist spokesperson said.
As detailed by the socialist group, the events date back to the end of December 2018 when the company Contenedores y Grúas Juanmi, S.L. began in the Polígono Industrial Los Valeros de Benijófar, the exercise of the activity of manager of construction and demolition waste.
According to municipal records, it only had a simple perimeter fencing licence of the plot. Subsequently, and following the reports of the complaint from the Local Police, it obtained a legalisation license for parking vehicles, construction containers and other construction materials.
Despite not having an express license, it allegedly continued to manage construction and demolition waste.
On November 13, 2019 and in view of the complaints presented by neighbours and the reports of both the Local Police and the municipal technical services, when the Mayor, through a Decree, recognised that the activity does not correspond to the license granted, initiating the corresponding procedure for the protection of legality.
The City Council transferred the environmental legality protection file to the company, presenting it on February 14, 2020, a project with the aim of obtaining the necessary permits and authorisations for the development of the actual activity that he had allegedly been practicing for 15 months.
The Municipal Secretary, in its report, indicated that…’this request is in process and does not have authorisation to exercise it, and therefore, it will not be able to start it until it has authorisation.’
This is stated in the mayoral decree No. 312/2020 dated April 7, 2020, where it is expressly stated that…’the activity that has been carried out does not correspond in its entirety to the one that is being exercised and declares concluded and archived, without any consequences, the disciplinary file having been registered by the commercial request for modification of the activity of parking of vehicles, construction containers and other construction materials.’
Similarly, said decree ends by saying that the Environmental License for Treatment Activity of RCDS and plant remains is being processed, and that it does not have authorisation for the exercise: “It cannot be started until it has authorisation.”
But in practice, they denounce from the socialist group…’since December 2018 the activity has been developing without any problems.’
In parallel and due to complaints from neighbours, the General Directorate of Quality and Environmental Education of the Ministry of Agriculture and Ecological Transition, opened a file, so officials of the National Police Corps attached to the Valencian Community carried out a verification visit to verify the veracity of the denounced events, which were none other than the exercise of the activity of manager of construction and demolition waste, with a vehicle and container parking license.
The Ministry of Agriculture, through a technical report, estimated the facts of the complaint as proven, and qualifying them as serious, proposing an economic sanction of 5,000 euros, ordering the paralysis of the entry of construction and demolition waste and of any other type.
This file is pending completion.
Our source added: “At present the situation that we find ourselves in is that we are having to take legal action, at our own expense.
“We are highlighting this situation to let the people of Benijofar know just what’s going on. Many are unaware.
“The site is in situ in Los Veleros with ten houses near the site – some opposite – but if permission is granted for a house waste processing plant, in the end it will affect the rest of the Benijofar area.”
