News Letter December 2017

Asociacion de Vecinos – Sierra de Altea C.I.F. : G53784336 BUZON 155, Sierra de Altea Altea La Vella ALICANTE, 03599 ESPANA Web: www.avsa.tigbos.com Contacto: avsavecinos@gmail.com SECRETARY – MATT KING - 678657136 NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2017 Dear Members, Welcome to another Newsletter – and very shortly another year over with a host of changes for us all on the Horizon. In Spain we have the Political in- fighting and separatism movement in Barcelona and in Europe, we have the bigger picture in the “impending Brexit” negotiations (which appear solely to be making the Euro “Fat Cats” wealthier still) and leaving the rest of us poorer. Well I suppose nothing has changed very much there for centuries - so endure it, we must. For us here in our “Utopia” in the Sierras life goes on pretty much as it always does with “Serenity” and “A distance from ‘The World’” that most of us feel living here. Maybe it’s a false sense of security but it certainly is a great feeling for the majority of us – to turn the key of our homes and find an ”inner peace” and for the most part great weather and micro-climate… Since my last letter we have seen a drop in Burglaries in the area and those of you who attended a very successful AGM on the 16th November will have heard that the number of burglaries per annum is down 30%. There is no confirmed reason as to this drop but certainly the increased presence of The Police/Guardia patrols, the NHW (Neighbour Hood Watch initiatives) and the New Whats App group where information is passed immediately when something or someone “suspicious” enters the area has helped. Sadly, over the Christmas period there were a couple of Burglaries to empty houses but I would imagine that there isn’t a town anywhere that doesn’t suffer some level of Criminal Damage over Festive periods. In the last Newsletter I talked of the “Gasmen” offering their services – They are normally a Private Company offering to look at your gas system (where the gas tubes have to be renewed by law every 5 years – there is a date stamp on them) for your installation to be “compliant” with the regulations and for your house to be covered by household Insurance. The Whats App group was very useful in this instance as it warned others when and in which road the Gasmen were operating… Forewarned is fore-armed and PLEASE if you notice anything at all suspicious in the are – note down any vehicle numbers and/or contact the Policia Local – they are more than happy to follow up calls and prevent crime. On a similar note there exists an N332 Facebook Account run by traffic officers from the Guardia Civil – this is nothing to do with the excellent work of our own personal NHW run by Annetta but they have offered to come from Torrevieja where they are based, sometime in March, to offer an open question and Answer session directly with them regarding anything “lawful”– their pre-requisite is that we get 50 members to attend and we will approach other “Local Associations” to get our numbers up. Making and keeping contact with the Guardia is very important in Spain and this is a great opportunity. More information to follow. POST BOXES. This unfortunately is the worst part of our news in the Sierras. If you have a post box in either the Avenida Principal or Aperbosa Boxes (by the Tennis Courts in Calle Cana) you will have received a notification from Correos stating that under the current system of “Addressed Mail” they will no longer be able to deliver anything to our post boxes. Richard Kent our treasurer has also put in a second notification in each of the boxes with a broader outline of what is happening and “The Boards” proposals on how to re-administer the postal service in English Spanish and German. Basically the Whole System has to be changed from Buzon Numbers to Street names so Letters will have to be addressed to The Person, The street Address, then the Buzon Number and not as it is now. This means that ALL the Buzon Numbers will have to be changed internally and externally into logistically placed street order, alphabetically and sequentially and we as an Association have to organise this to continue our postal service – It is a Correos By-Law.. We have ordered some samples of “New Combination Locks” for the front doors as collection of all the “Old Keys” and replacement would only exacerbate the already difficult problem. As I said above Richard has put letters in every box on Avenida principle and I am collating them and so far I have received just 2 replies. THIS CHANGE IS GOING TO HAPPEN SO YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION IS REQUIRED. (Addressing Details Here) The Postal Delivery after the proposed cut-off date (believed to be the 1st of March 2018 at the moment) will be stopped to our post boxes – and apart from the horrendous queues which will certainly ensue in the Main Altea Post Office – ANY post held at the post office will be returned to the sender after 15 days of non-collection. It is Imperative that we get a reply to the letter sent by Richard, which I attach again to this Newsletter. We as a Committee are trying to make this very difficult transition as easy as possible for our members but your cooperation is needed. On behalf of the Committee may I wish you all a FELIZ NAVIDAD – MERRY CHRISTMAS and a fruitful uncomplicated New Year. Please encourage New Neighbours to join our group – by directing them tom our website www.avsavecinos.com or by contacting me on avsavecinos@gmail.com. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL Best regards MATTHEW KING SECRETARY