Cotswold planning corruption and Spanish cave dweller evictions

Tony Gosling tony at cultureshop.org.uk
Sat Dec 14 01:19:57 GMT 2013 

Corrupt sale of public land and leases
- billions of pounds worth of luxury homes built in a conservation area
- local plans that 'don't mean anything'
- Six figure bungs and six figure sums stolen
This Gloucestershire scandal has it all

Death & corruption at Cotswold Water Park
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/73165
<http://www.private-eye.co.uk/i>Private Eye‘s 
biggest local government planning fraud story 
since the 1960s 
<http://www.scotsman.com/news/poulson-affair-pelicans-brief-that-stunned-a-country-1-1193245>John 
Poulson affair: Fraud, theft, death and planning 
conspiracy in Gloucestershire’s Cotswold Water 
Park – news review with LibDem Cotswold District 
Councillor Esmund Jenkins.  Esmond Jenkins 
discusses planning corruption around The Cotswold 
Water Park in forensic detail, involving large 
amounts of money. 
<http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Greedy-charity-chief-Dennis-Grant-jailed-fraud/story-12940822-detail/story.html>Dennis 
Grant was jailed in 2011 for fraud but Esmond 
believes there are others involved. Two people have died in the process.
<http://www.bcfmradio.com/wp-content/Podcasts/20131213170001.mp3>download 
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/73165
Second hour: Cotswold Water Park planning 
corruption continues. Gloucestershire Freemasons: 
ten names handed to police who fail to 
investigate. Esmond Jenkins continues with his 
story about The Cotswold Water Park. He discusses 
what he believes is Freemasonry connections in 
the planning scandal. Clips of Martin Short who 
wrote ‘Inside the Brotherhood’ about police, the 
City of London and Freemasonry, also what is Freemasonry?
<http://www.bcfmradio.com/wp-content/Podcasts/20131213180001.mp3>download 
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/73168


Spanish cave dwellers revolt as city council 
about to start ancient caves eviction

Published time: December 13, 2013 16:00
<http://rt.com/news/spain-granada-caves-eviction-204/>Get short URL
http://rt.com/news/spain-granada-caves-eviction-204/
Spanish cave dwellers protest the eviction. Image from radiogranada.es
<http://img.rt.com/files/news/21/7f/40/00/granada_480p.mp4?event=download>Download 
video (25.13 MB)
Protesters in Granada, Spain have gathered to 
protect cave dwellings as authorities move to 
clean and evict dozens from the ancient 
settlement. The City Council cites a lack of 
safety, but the cave dwellers accuse it of violating their human rights.
This week dozens of activists have been 
protesting the eviction from the San Miguel caves 
of at least three dozen people who live there.
On Thursday, the Granada City Council proposed 
providing social housing to those residents currently in the caves.
The Town planning councilor, Isabel Nieto, 
announced that the council had applied to the 
courts to carry out these measures.
This is the third attempt to clear cave dwellings 
in the past six years. Officials have repeatedly 
claimed that the homes built there run the risk of damage.
Juan Antonio Parra, one of the individuals 
representing the cave's community, rejects the 
city's claims, and tells RT that despite a 
declaration by the city three years ago that the 
dwellings ran the risk of collapse subsequent 
rainstorms have not damaged a single of the cave's residences.
San Miguel is the site of one of four main cave 
neighborhoods in Southern Spain. RT's Lucy 
Kafanov visited the caves on Friday, and found no 
immediate evidence of any danger to those individuals living in the caves.
The caves are in a privileged location, which gives the best vi

The caves are in a privileged location, which 
gives the best views of the city .Image from radiogranada.es
For more than a thousand years, hundreds of caves 
carved out of the hilltop have been home to 
gypsies and other settlers. Abandoned in the 
1960s, eight caves are now occupied by squatters, 
who reclaimed them and turned them into their homes.
The cave dwellers have developed their own 
community, which the City Council and the 
councilor Nieto, want to serve evictions on, 
pointing to the lack of safety and unlivable conditions.
Activists gathered to protest the eviction from the San Miguel

Activists gathered to protest the eviction from 
the San Miguel caves and the removal of at least 
30 people who live there. Image by Jesus Ochando / GranadaiMedia.com
However, dwellers in the caves say they feel 
completely safe and comfortable living there.
“I am not afraid of living here. We have been 
here more than 10 years and nothing has ever 
happened. The caves have never fallen. Besides, 
we are happy to be here, we feel comfortable and 
this place is really nice,”Marga, one of the 
inhabitants, told RT’s Lucy Kafanov, who traveled to Granada.
The cave residents are now looking for 
independent architects and experts who could 
evaluate the conditions and prove that their houses are a “safe place to live”.
“We ask the authorities of Andalucía, and private 
organizations and associations to help us. We ask 
independent architects and experts to come here 
and give us a second opinion over our caves,” 
Irma, another dweller, has told RT.

“The only thing we ask local authorities is a 
second opinion on our place, because in the one 
they did in 2010, nobody came here to see how we 
live, nobody entered the caves. Neither I nor 
those who are living in the remaining eight caves 
up there are afraid of living here,” she said.

Cave dwellers and activists gathered following the town planner

Cave dwellers and activists gathered following 
the town planner’s announcement. This is the 
third attempt to clear cave dwellings in the past 
six years.Image from radiogranada.es
Eviction protesters have accused the authorities 
of violating the human rights of those who are 
living in the mountainside. They say none of the 
inhabitants have been informed about the move.
“We have already received the decision of the 
Strasbourg Court, which stated that the eviction 
of the caves should be suspended until their 
inhabitants are offered alternative 
accommodation,” Juan Antonio Parra told RT. “The 
inhabitants of these caves have the same rights 
as any of the citizens of Granada.”
The activists insist that despite the authorities 
citing safety reasons, there is another reason 
for clearing the caves and evicting residents.
In 2007, the council announced that the 
Sacramento caveman heritage would include 
flamenco caves for tourists, “artisan” workshops, 
as well as souvenir shops and a hotel, which the 
council assured would“respect the harmony of the 
area”. In addition, the caves are in a desirable 
location, allowing for the best views of the city 
which counts on a robust tourism economy.
However, initial plans to convert the caves into 
a tourist area were canceled because of the global economic crisis.
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