- This topic has 22 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 10 months ago by
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I’m seriously considering purchasing at Desert Springs, Almanzora however I do have a couple of concerns. The first being the hydrogen bombs that were dropped in that area after to a US airforce collision in 1966. I believe plutonium escaped over an area of 460 acres but I haven’t been able to find out how far from Desert Springs the contaminated land is, all I know is it was near Palomares cememtry. My other concern is that rentals seem to be quite cheap there, off season weeks on a 4 bed luxury villas with pool overlooking golf course (costing approx 850,000 euros) would rent for about 750 euros up to 1800 euros in July and Aug.
I would be very grateful for any info. -
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Many thanks to you all. Why on earth did they build there? Shame cos it looks like a good development. We always seem to be unlucky wherever we choose, our first attempt was Nerja but our property was built on rustic land so we got our money back from the builder. Our second attempt was El Soto De Marbella, got our money back again because of the long delays and then atomic bombs!!!! Maybe we’ll have a look around Cornwall.
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Anne,
The reason they have built there is because it is safe to do so, and it’s a lovely spot. If it wasn’t safe, they wouldn’t be there. Radioactive contamination is a great scare story, but it’s also something that can be easily measured by the authorities. There have been many checks over the decades, and Desert Springs have always had a clean bill of health. It’s not an issue to base your decision on. Rental yields are a much more relevant issue.
Mark
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From Greenpeace website:
“17 JANUARY 1966: A collision occurred between a U.S. B-52 nuclear bomber and a KC-135 tanker aircraft while over the village of Palomares in southern Spain. The B-52 was on an airborne alert operation and carried four B-28 thermonuclear bombs. In the collision, the KC-135 exploded and caused the B-52 to break up, scattering wreckage over a 100 square mile area. One of the four nuclear bombs landed relatively intact, while the high explosives in two other bombs detonated upon impact with the ground scattering radioactive materials over the village and surrounding area. The fourth bomb fell into the sea and was recovered intact three months later after an extensive underwater search.”
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Mark, If the contaminated land is not actually in Desert Springs, it is very close and I realise that the area can be monitored by the Spanish Authorities but is it being? If so are these results published? Even if the risk is minimal I’m afraid it’s enough to put me off, not only for my health but also for my investment. There are enough pitfalls involved in buying property in Spain without adding nuclear bombs into the equation. I will be looking at the other developments you recommend though.
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Given its history I would imagine that the developers bought that land very cheap. I would need to have expert independent advice before I bought there, is it worth the bother when there is so much on offer in spain.? We spent a few days golfing there, ok. but nothing special and I must admit if I had known the history I would not have gone, why take the risk!
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I work for the Robert Hitchins Group Ltd Group in the UK, originally involved in housing development in the west of England, where we built 15,000 homes. Background information may be found at http://www.almanzora.com/en/holidays/about/what_we_do.php
Our subsidiary, The Almanzora Group Ltd, carries out marketing for the Almanzora Bay projects, including Desert Springs, in south east Spain. We are therefore concerned about the content of this thread, of which we had been unaware until recently. Although the last post was some time ago, it seems appropriate to provide some factual information.
First the contamination issue.
The 1966 accident is well documented and extensive testing of all areas in and around Palomares has been carried out by the Spanish Government with assistance from the United States of America Department of Energy over the past 44 years. Despite the original clean up, two small areas of affected land have been precisely identified and expropriated by the Government. Both are fenced off and protected; one is adjacent to the cemetery and one is within Palomares village. A third area at the top of some mountains further away is still under investigation. All these areas are at a distance to the south and west of Desert Springs. At the time of the accident, the wind was blowing strongly from the west to the east, so Desert Springs was well up wind of all the affected areas.
Nevertheless, prior to the start of Desert Springs, the company requested the Spanish Government ministry responsible for contamination protection to test samples from land lying between Desert Springs and the contaminated areas to check that no areas on the plateau where Desert Springs is located were affected. The results were negative, i.e. they showed that there was no contamination present and that the accident had had no affect on Desert Springs nor on its surroundings.
Second, in respect of the planning issue referred to by “AAA”, the facts are:
8th May, 1996: Planning Consent for Desert Springs granted by approval of its “Plan Parcial”.
27th April, 1998: Project of Compensation for Desert Springs approved; dealing with the cession of green zones, school sites, sports areas, etc.
27th April, 1999: Project of Urbanization approved; dealing with the provision of roads and services.
10th April, 2000: Construction of Desert Springs commenced, with its infrastructure being carried out in planned phases, infrastructure provision at present about 55% complete.All the above was approved in accordance with the Normas Subsidiarias (the Local Plan) for Cuevas del Almanzora, approved by the Junta de Andalucia in 1993, which was and still remains the relevant current and valid governing plan for this area, until the new PGOU.(General Zoning Plan) is approved definitively. The PGOU remains in draft form only in terms of its application to areas outside existing built up areas. Nevertheless, Desert Springs is included in the draft PGOU on the same basis as in the Normas Subsidiarias and will continue to be developed in accordance with its existing planning and other specific consents.
Being associated with an established and successful long term UK developer of repute, Desert Springs is very aware of client’s concerns regarding the legality of developments in Spain and it encourages the use of reputable independent lawyers for client’s conveyances.
So all the above facts have been verified many times over in the process of due diligence, carried out on behalf of existing home owners, by a very large number of unrelated and independent solicitors from all over Spain and the UK, as well as other organizations, including Mark Stucklin himself; that is why Desert Springs is included in the very few developments he recommends.
Finally, as to the over development, this municipality, Cuevas del Almanzora, has very little development, unlike Vera and Murcia. The vast majority of its land area is specifically protected “sierra”, habitats, other special environmental areas and protected agricultural “vega”. Of its coastline, approximately 60% is also protected.
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I work for the Robert Hitchins Group Ltd Group in the UK, originally involved in housing development in the west of England, where we built 15,000 homes. Background information may be found at http://www.almanzora.com/en/holidays/about/what_we_do.php
Our subsidiary, The Almanzora Group Ltd, carries out marketing for the Almanzora Bay projects, including Desert Springs, in south east Spain. We are therefore concerned about the content of this thread, of which we had been unaware until recently. Although the last post was some time ago, it seems appropriate to provide some factual information.
First the contamination issue.
The 1966 accident is well documented and extensive testing of all areas in and around Palomares has been carried out by the Spanish Government with assistance from the United States of America Department of Energy over the past 44 years. Despite the original clean up, two small areas of affected land have been precisely identified and expropriated by the Government. Both are fenced off and protected; one is adjacent to the cemetery and one is within Palomares village. A third area at the top of some mountains further away is still under investigation. All these areas are at a distance to the south and west of Desert Springs. At the time of the accident, the wind was blowing strongly from the west to the east, so Desert Springs was well up wind of all the affected areas.
Nevertheless, prior to the start of Desert Springs, the company requested the Spanish Government ministry responsible for contamination protection to test samples from land lying between Desert Springs and the contaminated areas to check that no areas on the plateau where Desert Springs is located were affected. The results were negative, i.e. they showed that there was no contamination present and that the accident had had no affect on Desert Springs nor on its surroundings.
Second, in respect of the planning issue referred to by “AAA”, the facts are:
8th May, 1996: Planning Consent for Desert Springs granted by approval of its “Plan Parcial”.
27th April, 1998: Project of Compensation for Desert Springs approved; dealing with the cession of green zones, school sites, sports areas, etc.
27th April, 1999: Project of Urbanization approved; dealing with the provision of roads and services.
10th April, 2000: Construction of Desert Springs commenced, with its infrastructure being carried out in planned phases, infrastructure provision at present about 55% complete.All the above was approved in accordance with the Normas Subsidiarias (the Local Plan) for Cuevas del Almanzora, approved by the Junta de Andalucia in 1993, which was and still remains the relevant current and valid governing plan for this area, until the new PGOU.(General Zoning Plan) is approved definitively. The PGOU remains in draft form only in terms of its application to areas outside existing built up areas. Nevertheless, Desert Springs is included in the draft PGOU on the same basis as in the Normas Subsidiarias and will continue to be developed in accordance with its existing planning and other specific consents.
Being associated with an established and successful long term UK developer of repute, Desert Springs is very aware of client’s concerns regarding the legality of developments in Spain and it encourages the use of reputable independent lawyers for client’s conveyances.
So all the above facts have been verified many times over in the process of due diligence, carried out on behalf of existing home owners, by a very large number of unrelated and independent solicitors from all over Spain and the UK, as well as other organizations, including Mark Stucklin himself; that is why Desert Springs is included in the very few developments he recommends.
Finally, as to the over development, this municipality, Cuevas del Almanzora, has very little development, unlike Vera and Murcia. The vast majority of its land area is specifically protected “sierra”, habitats, other special environmental areas and protected agricultural “vega”. Of its coastline, approximately 60% is also protected.
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Perhaps the poster who has dug up this thread could answer this one too
http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2025
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With all the other problems in the Spanish market :-
over supply
illegal builds
demolition of legal properties
land grab
ley de costas
planning corruption
poor and slow justice system
high purchase cost/fees
etc etc…the last thing you would want is to add nuclear contimation to the list!!
I think a post dismissing any potential problems about nuclear contamination by a vested interest is rather going to fall on deaf ears.
What’s more disturbing is why anyone would consider developing more properties in such an area. I think the oversupply in the Spanish market is underestimated. Personally I think it’s going to be 15 ~ 20 years before demand is going to be sufficient to mean that new properties need to be built.
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There’s an article in today’s El Mundo about the Palomares situation, entitled ‘La recta final del caso nuclear de Palomares’ broadly agreeing with Mr Hitchins, saying that the contaminated areas have been fenced off and that ‘Ecologistas en Acción’ has asked the Government to complete the decontamination – a cost which they put at around 25 million euros.
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/02/16/ciencia/1266327667.html
While we joke locally about things glowing at night, the reality is that there is no ‘panic’ or particular concern locally and no reports that I’ve heard of unusual levels of cancer or radiation sickness.
I can say that Desert Springs is far away the best looking of all of our local golf-centred urbanisations. -
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