The Asociación de Vecinos del Casco Antiguo in Salobreña has around 200 members, so they have weight enough to be taken seriously by the Town Council.

Yet, the association feels that the Town Council is ignoring their request for something to be done over street cleaning, breakages or traffic planning. Amongst their requests is one for better street lighting, starting with replacing street lamps that are either smashed or fused. They feel that the gloom through lack of lighting contributes to a feeling of insecurity – there have been burglaries and thefts up there.

For the above reason they would like a greater police presence in the old town, especially at night.

Whilst the above complaints are reasonable, perhaps calling upon the town maintenance department to clean up the Saharan dust is unrealistic because the clearing up work that has been carried out has all been for nothing… and there is no guarantee that this meteorological condition won’t come back yet again in the near future.

The Chairman of the AVCAS, Jorge Martín Garcia, explained on the local radio that they are not only calling on the municipal administration to tackle the problems, but also their fellow neighbours in the Old Town, calling on them to be more civic minded when putting the rubbish out or picking up the excrement left by their pet dogs.

To be more specific, he reminds his fellow residents that rubbish should only be put out at the correct times and never on a Sunday because there is no rubbish-collection service on that day. Above all, place their rubbish inside the bins provided and not on the floor next to them. Furthermore, Thursdays are collection days for household items such as old furniture and white goods.

(News: Salobrena, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)