Rumours around Ronda suggest the mayor and council may be considering creating a foreigners office along the lines of those already operating in Estepona, Marbella or Mijas, but with an obvious focus on providing specific help for new residents to integrate rather than just offer translation or form filling services.
Several months ago Ronda Today spoke to Rafael Lara, councillor for Economics in Ronda about the number of foreign nationals resident in the Serranía, and he confided that the council is aware of around 8-14,000 foreigners permanently resident here based on statistics of amount of waste generated, sewage that needs to be treated, and power consumption.
Whilst the council does not know the exact whereabouts of the majority of foreign residents, the city finances are under enormous pressure because central government funding only applies to residents declared on the padron (empadronamiento), and with as many as 14,000 people unofficially resident in the district but not declared, that leaves a shortfall of over 2.5 million Euros.
The strategy behind creating a dedicated foreigners office in Ronda would be to offer a valuable service to a significant percentage of the population who are currently marginalised, and at the same time encourage anyone approaching the office to register, a process that is free and not in any way related to taxation.
Ronda Today understands that the mayor and council are keen to provide cultural activities, library services, and Spanish language classes to foreign residents, but are not able to at present because this community is not represented in council or by a foreign residents action committee.
What then do we as foreign residents in Ronda need? Well, aside from guidance on how to complete council paperwork or have documents translated, we also need to feel that we are part of the life of the city, and not just a cash cow to be ignored so long as we contribute to the local economy.
However, we are not likely to get the support of the council as long as so many of us refuse to integrate and register to vote in local elections. A foreign residents office could be just the start of truly bringing the two major communities of Ronda, the local Rondeños and other EU nationals, together into a single community.
To that end Ronda Today is willing to represent the foreigners of Ronda and make our case for more services of interest to a wider audience. Here are some examples of things we’ve heard foreigners ask for, but what would you like the Ronda foreigners office to do?
1. Local government forms such as the empadronamiento, planning consents, local regulations etc to be available in English, and if possible German and Dutch.
2. More affordable, and structured Spanish classes, perhaps offered by the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas with certification at the end of each year.
3. Original language cinema of latest blockbuster films
4. International cultural activities such as popular music and theatre
5. Information on consumer rights, and a way to complain about unfair pricing
6. Introduction service for foreigners wanting to meet Spaniards for intercambios
Please comment, or if you’d prefer, email admin@rondatoday.com, and we’ll make sure your point of view is anonymously presented to the mayor so that your voice is heard. Also, and this is very important, if your friends or neighbours don’t read Ronda Today, please tell them about our request and ask them to send a comment.
I’ve been living in this lovely area of Western Andalucia for the last 20 years or so and dedicate most of my time to the running of English language tourist information websites for the towns of Cádiz, Ronda, Grazalema, the famous or infamous Caminito del Rey, and also Wildside Holidays, which promotes sustainable and eco-friendly businesses running wildlife and walking holidays in Spain. My articles contain affiliate links that will help you reserve a hotel, bus, train or activity in the area. You don’t pay more, but by using them you do support this website. Thankyou!
@Ronda Rookie, Unfortunately your facts are not complete in the instance of the hotels; neither hotel can be constructed until the Junta de Andalucía has approved the PGOU for the Casgo Antiguo, and in both instances these two properties have never been zoned turistica, meaning that neither property has ever had the chance to be developed.
Furthermore, if you read Ronda Today’s article on the Casa del Rey Moro you’ll find the Olive Press story is incorrect in substantial points. Here is our article http://www.rondatoday.com/1217/casa-del-rey-moro-politics-rears-its-ugly-head
“Does anyone trust the mayor of Ronda to do the right thing?”
How could anyone suggest that he might even consider acting in a wrong way? Why only this week in Ronda Actualidad he’s promoting a new five star hotel development & surely it is only coincidence that The Olive Press reported that Jochen Knie was jailed for staging a rooftop protest after still not receiving permission from the ayuntamiento to develop his own five star hotel. Kind mayor Lara, according to the report, has now confirmed that the council may expropriate the building to prevent its eventual collapse. How thoughtful.
I have no idea about numbers, but it would be interesting to know how many foreigners they say live in the Ronda area are actually Europeans. Please remember the amount of foreigners who need help who are non EU members. While many poeple may come here to retire, and then continue to complain about their ignorance to local procedures, there may be many others who need much more assistance in a foreign land and have come here for other reasons, not only to retire. Don’t forget to think about those when asking the town hall for a foreigners office.
Like the idea, but here’s my concern. Does anyone trust the mayor of Ronda to do the right thing? Feels like a trojan horse scheme or bear-trap to me. Short-term, city officials want to collect state subsidy for each additional resident. I get that. Longer term, no one knows how city and state officials would use the expat resident information over time.
If you want to participate, I believe you need to distinguish vacation home owners from full-time expat residents. Part-time home owners don’t have the same needs as full-time expats. I also suspect 2nd home owners pay more into the local and state taxes than they take out.
Among full-time residents, I would dig deeper. Determine the number of expat retirees vs. working expats. Expat retirees require higher levels of social service support. Working expats generally don’t. Maybe the EU should give Spain a subsidy to support growing numbers of expat retirees. That’s a burden Spain shouldn’t take on themselves. In contrast, working expats should pay their fair share for services like working Spaniards.
We need a resource directory with information on where and how to pay taxes (national, provincial, and local), the contact information for gas and electric service by area served, information on rubbish removal service and how it is paid for, how to get and pay for water service, how to recycle electronics, and so on. We also need phone numbers for fire departments, police departments, and paramedics by area served — both emergency numbers and non-emergency numbers. Up-to-date transit information would also be helpful. This would be helpful for all rondenos, not just foreign residents and visitors.
Wonderful idea. Taxation and fines on property is a vital part of the help needed. We got no information about the tax consequences of selling our house even from our (spanish) solicitor and we specifically asked him. Anyone buying or selling should be able to get that advice, before taking the plunge.