Political divide on joining regional government’s land inspection Agency

ONLY 11 of the Vega Baja’s 27 municipalities have signed up to the Valencian Territorial Protection Agency (AVPT).

A total of 217 Valencian Community town and city halls have now delegated inspecting, processing, fining and resolving cases of unauthorised constructions on non-building land to the AVPT.

Apart from Albatera, whose local government is controlled by the Partido Popular, the remaining 10 Vega Baja towns using the Agency have PSOE socialist town halls.

An official body, the Elche-based AVPT was created in 2019 to take on the large volume of work involved, for which smaller municipalities usually lack sufficient resources.

In Orihuela,, Urban Development councillor Joe Aix, said that his department was currently studying whether to enter the scheme.

“Not so much from the sanctioning point of view,” Aix said, “but to minimise the impact of legalising properties.”

Rojales is also considering handing over this type of paperwork and inspection to the AVPT “although we have no homes or industries that need legalising.”