Latest News
16-12-2024
Protejacanillas were informed by PSOE that a plenery session had been called by the Ayuntamiento Canillas de Aceituno for the following day. We had requested a public forum several times as well as information about when a public meeting would be. No information was provided by the Ayuntamiento about the public meeting which was planned for less than 24 hours in advance. Despite the lack of notification and very short notice, several protestors were able to attend.
PSOE presented an urgent motion for the rejection by the Ayuntamiento of the landfill to be debated in the plenary session. The agreements that were requested from the Ayuntamiento were:
– Reject the installation of the waste collection and recycling complex.
– Request the government team to be as transparent as possible regarding this project.
– Request the government team to make the corresponding allegations.
– Request the collaboration of the Junta de Andalucia to stop this project.
We tried to ask questions in this public forum, but the mayor insisted no questions related to the recycling plant and landfill were allowed. The PSOE motion was also voted against as it was not considered an urgent issue.
Despite the mayor declaring this issue closed, there are many questions that remain outstanding… read more
10-12-2024
The mayor eventually responded to our request for a statement in light of the PSOE allegations. There was no explanation as to why he has consistently claimed to know nothing more about the project. His response was to tell that they had now completed an investigation into the project and have decided the project will not go ahead. Again insisting that he has the last word about whether the project will continue and then declared the ‘issue’ closed.
6-12-2024
In a shocking development, a statement was released last night by opposition party PSOE revealing that Mayor Vincente Campos was instrumental in endorsing the landfill and waste recycling centre back in 2019. PSOE initially received the same refusal for related information from the Ayuntamiento de Canillas de Aceituno as we did, but a second legal challenge revealed the scale of the deception. Our mayor has consistently denied all knowledge of the project to residents and press yet his signature allegedly appears on several documents. Read the full PSOE report in Spanish and English translation.
Our protest has also received full support from VOX who submitted an objection to the Junta de Andalucía.
3-12-2024
Our protest document is now finalised and will be submitted to the Junta de Andalucía today. 1366 signatures have been collected within a matter of weeks since we discovered (by chance) this proposal. An incredible 641 signatures were just from residents of Canillas de Aceituno – 368 online and 273 collected on paper with villagers going door to door – an overwhelming response!
Our lawyer will be requesting all related documentation (including papers about the denunciation of the road) from the Ayuntamiento as all documents have previously been denied to us despite the Law of Transparency.
We thank everyone who has joined this protest and helped raise awareness. This is only the first step in the process. We have formed the Asociación Proteja Canillas de Aceituno which is currently being legally registered. This will enable us to take all necessary steps to protect our beautiful environment as a legal entity. Through the Asociación we can raise funds and members can join to be a part of the ongoing protest – we will give more details of membership, participation and donations in the coming period. Thank you neighbours, 1366 times!!
29-11-2024
We had a very lively discussion with the mayor and team from the Ayuntamiento who listened to our thoughts. They reiterated that the overall project was only with the Junta and there would be many separate requests for permits from the Ayuntamiento and the junta before the overall project goes ahead. They can refuse permits if they believe it is detrimental to the environment or community. We also have the right to object when each request is submitted which we will do.
The first permit requested is for provision of water from the village and there will be an environmental study commissioned by the Ayuntamiento into this along with an impact assessment. The mayor promised to directly inform us whenever a new request is received relating to this proposed project.
The mayor committed to organising a meeting with the company proposing the project, the Ayuntamiento and the community – as soon as we have any details we will publicise. We explicitly asked that there is more direct communication with the community apart from this.
We were unable to get a clear statement that the Ayuntamiento would not support the building of the recycling plant and landfills, though the mayor stressed that he has the final refusal for any requested permits or projects even when approved by the Junta de Andalucía.
