Improvements

You can forget duty of care guys, this is Spain!!! just look at the vast protection around the water in Al Kazar to stop people and children falling in.

IRM will only invest in those things that will enhance the chance of them selling properties. They would rather lock the playing fields up or just ignore them than have to maintain them and as far as signing over responsibility to Milenium it is a possiblilty but not high on either Mileniums nor IRM's agenda.

In saying that the Gardens are not designed for soccer so it is not ideal for small or big kids as they can cause damage to the fences etc as has already happened and in the spring even more trees and bushes will be planted.

I am sorry i cannot offer a solution to this but this is how the resort is managed at present.

As I said it looks like Milenium have a list of priorities at present and the football pitches are not at the top

Oh and as an afterthought this priority list will be very small and reactive maintenance rather than improvements until those who appear to think they are above paying the community fees are named and shamed in a public place and made to pay up..........

WITH INTEREST!!!!!! AND AN APOLOGY TO THE REST OF US

(ok I guess the apology is over the top lol)

Paul

On the topic of the pool fences and patching up holes to keep kids out I'd like to see some appropriate gates put on the pools.

At the moment they may as well be taken away as no one bothers to shut them.  Many a time I have shut the gate and then seen someone walk in, who would have seen me shut it, open it and leave it wide open.  I can't fault people on one gate during last summer as its hanging half off and requires a bit of effort to square it up and then lock it.

I have seen kids in the pool area in the evenings unsupervised as they could walk straight in without a bother.

I have emailed Milenium before about the possibility of self closing gates.  I think they are spring based or something.  Basically they will close themselves once let go.  And if they require you to lean over the fence a touch to open the gate it should stop young children accessing the pool by themselves.

I have been told (rightly or wrongly) that it is the community as a whole who would be liable if something happened.

Does anyone think there any chance of having signs in each Jardin that says  'No Ball Games' in several languages?

I know this wont totally prevent children kicking a ball but it may reduce this happening. I have seen children shooting at a goal        ( two tree's) in the jardins and also adults and teenagers practising their golf swing with a golf ball in Jardin's. Please don't chorus 'why didn't you go and tell them they shouldn't be doing this' because even on this forum when I've raised a point about things people should or shouldn't do I've received a torrent of abuse so imagine it face to face!! Few people like to be told they are in the wrong. In the past I would have been one of the first to approach someone but not since being subject to such unpleasantness on here.

However, I do think many people dont know ball games may not be allowed so really prominent signage might reduce the occurence.

Many moons ago I raised all the issues on this thread with regard to use and access of the pools and H&S issues and disturbance to properties immediately overlooking pools- in general the response was 'live and let live' and 'this is a resort not a prison camp'  so unfortunately I see everything on the thread as an uphill battle as the reality is that people don't like to be told what to do- and if you have no regular security patrols then nothing can be enforced.

In the pool during the summer an English woman was told politely by a Spanish woman that lilo's and small dingy's aren't allowed in the pools, there was quite a set to about that with the English woman foolishly yelling 'then why are they sold at the supermarket' as her final retort before stomping off. From the terrace I later saw a very small boy get himself stuck under a dingy when his brother tipped it over and then climbed on top, requiring two men to jump in and drag him from underneath. So I rest my case when it comes to H&S.

I have to agree with you Tony and we have seen the pool rules abused/ignored on many occasions because people either can't read the small sign that is currently there, or they choose to ignore it in most cases!  We have had to nip across and close the pool gates many times 'cos people just walk off and leave them open.  What people don't realise is that the rules are there for a reason and that is the health and safety of children so why would anyone want to be the possible cause of an accident by disgregarding the pool rules, or the general garden rules for that matter?  In Spain it is constantly noted that there can often be a lack of h&s measures so when these measures are taken, we should respect them.  I don't see that honouring the rules would spoil anyone's holiday - but as you say there are those who think they are doing no harm by kicking balls in the garden, practising their golf swing, or using lilos or large beach balls  (some huge ones) in the pool which spoils it for any other people wishing to swim.  It is not always British people either.  There will always be those who do their own thing regardless and whether we like it or not some will also get extremely angry if a neighbour draws it to their attention.  What is the answer I wonder?  As you say, it may be the resort as a whole unit that will be held responsible if anything serious happens as a result of someone disregarding the rules.  Maybe something for Milenium to look at (again). 

In respect of improvements it would be great if CdA could buy the football pitches from IRM or even just lease them, or just take over the care of them.  Lots of competitions could then be run. I'm sure I remember when the fields were 1st established local Spanish teams came at the weekends to play on them

Great ideas in this thread about solutions to the football pitches. I saw them when they were in great condition and it is shameful how they look today. In the short term consider the use of the football facilities at Condado Club, although not grass there are no H&S issues. In the long term negotiations will have to be considered at the next AGM for CDA to pay for maintenence of 1,2 or 3 pitches which would not be cheap. There will be many residents that have no interest in this facility although for me any additional facility is a good thing. I recall reading some time ago the consideration of heating a few pools to extend the seasonal activities, this may also reduce any inconsiderate behaviour by the minority and may be far more popular than football pitches and therefore higher on any AGM agenda. I have to say though, I dont think IF the largest Theme Park in the world was sitauted next door to CDA that these minority of people both adults and un-supervised children would change their behaviour, its just people,  there are some that respect others feeling and those that just dont!! Keep up the momentum of considering IMPROVEMENTS in general, great to hear.

 would it not be a good move to lay an all weather pitch , that way there wont be a problem with it overgrowing ,and it needs no maintanence ?

I also think this is a good idea- one ititial outlay and then just regular check ups to make sure it remains in good shape. I know the maintenace also refers to the fencing and resoruces like goal posts but having an all weather pitch would greatly reduce the costs of up keep I'm sure. Unfortunately I expect the initial cost may be too much for our budget.

Noticed pools were mentioned with regard to heating again on this thread. The problem with heating the pools or even heating a few of them is that the initial outlay is quite substantial and you may need a hut for the mechanics of the process and they need covers to maintain a good heat in the cooler months(you can't turn the heater off at night as it takes so long to get to a satisfactory heat) and someone has to be responsible for that on a daily basis. So its not practical I think. (also there was a problem if we didnt heat all the pools then which would we choose as it would give those gardens an advantage in the rental /purchase market)

Heated pools would be totally impractical, far too expensive to run for us community fee subscribers and although it would be a great idea, not everyone would be there over the winter months to take advantage - so a waste of our funds in my opinion.  This improvement thread is a good idea for all suggestions for garden improvements etc from owners.    There will always be things that can be done or need to be done so we should keep this running for all input and ideas.  In the meantime, the place is fabulous and gives us all such a lot of pleasure while we are there, so let's try to keep it that way. 

By the way on the subject of community fees, does anyone know if those who are still not contributing are being chased by the powers that be???

All weather pitches are a good idea but in reality they are very expensive, to do all of the pitches you would be looking at over 100K, and you do have to look after them as well, especially if people are messing about on them. One pitch might be ok but still probably 50K +

Andy is correct

                              Astro truf pitches are expensive at least 50k and require to be replaced after around 7-8 years, Also terrible surface for injuries etc, grass is the way forward they have been in perfect condition before and should be returned to this state.

sorry dont agree re pools,

solar panels (or a way of running pipes around the fences) have initial outlay but the pools are maintained all year round and pumps are already in place underground so no extra space/little additional labour needed for them.

Meant to be an all year round resort so pools needed all year round.

Not talking about jacuzzi temperatures but raising a few degrees may make all the difference.

And yes all pools need to be treated the same.

I know it is not going to happen in the short term but if you asked me £100k on footy pitches or pools I know where I would want my money to go.

And finally I agree pitches were once very good, shouldnt have been allowed to deteriorate but they did, so get them back to where they were and spend money on that, not astro turf.

jeez we have a brilliant climate for grass to grow why do we need a carpet lol

Paul

Hi guys just had an email from Milenium saying that IRM have now agreed to allow Milenium to maintain and keep the pitches under their remit. This is fantastic news. Maybe they got wind of the petition (i doubt it) but either way who cares it good news for all of us!!

Jay

Great news.  The e-mail also confirmed that progress has been made to offer the units in Al Kazar to the public, and we should hear something sooner rather than later.

keeve 

Good news about the pitches- will look so much better along there and no doubt more competitions- which will bring in people from outside the resort and so should benefit the Al Kasar! So all good.

Think heating the pools has to be considered but in my opinion the time for doing it would be when/if Paramount Park becomes a reality we then have more properties rented throughout the year and any outlay is seen as a positive thing. Any solar panels do have to be in a secure fenced compound away from prying fingers and people using them as goal posts! My understanding is that they'd have to be fairly large- so not overly an overly attractive view from someones terrace. I can't find the thread but I do remember that someone posted saying the level of heat generated is so minimal that it wouldnt be cost effective for the size of pools on CdA and that people still wouldn't use the pools because the temperature remains so low. It was also pointed out the pools need to be covered during the night to maintain the heat and that is an issue as someone has to do that and when a cover is on the area has to be secure as it is possible for children and dogs/cats to become trapped under them. However, there are probably many more options than were discussed previously so hopefully down the line one will be found that we can use economically.

A positive about covering the pools is that this does clearly indicate the pool is no longer in use and therefore this might ease the concerns of people who are tired of the pools being used in the late evenings. But heavens knows where we'd source covers suitable for the shape of the CdA pools.

Weren't heated pools something La Isla were considering?

Hi,

If I can add a little bit of info that I found for the La Isla pools (that I am still trying to push for heating on). The heating of them can be done by invertors. Like your aircon but heating. These are 5 -7 times more efficient than just straight electric. Forget solar it will never heat up! The cost for each pool is appx 15,000 euro for instalation of the heaters.

You are right about a cover. However covers are expensive and who will put them on and off. BUT you can buy a liquid cover. This is a liquid that is added to the water with the clorine etc and when the pool is not being used a thin film (which you can not see and does not mark) covers the top of the pool. This then stops the pools loosing its heat so much. This approach would prolong the use of the pools (say start April to end Oct). After this time the outside temp at night is too much for the thin film. The pools only need to be heated upto 26 - 28 C, and during the main two months the heating probably will not be required so the running costs are very low. I worked out the cost for each La Isla pool, would be appx 1500 euros pa. this would have ment an extr 3 euro per apartment per year for heated pools. (no brianer) but some spanish/english.......pues (well?).

Anyone interested in what I have done so far, more than happy to share.

PS no I do not have a pool company or heating co but I stepped into find out as I thought the island presidents  were going down the wrong track.

Hope this helps

Neil

You have covered a lot of points Neil, but I still think €15 thousand euros per pool for installation plus system maintenance and heating costs per month would be too much for community to pay at the moment.   Maybe further down the line when all the other issues have been addressed, it would be worth considering.   Meanwhile, roll on Spring/Summer when we can all get back out and enjoy the facilities we have already.

Great to hear the good news about pitches, lots of people will be pleased about that one.

Neil

I realise we are talking very hypathetically here for the rest of the resort anyway but what are the temperatures we need to get the pools to to make them acceptable surely not the 26/28 you refer to as this seems tropical to me (and yes I went in the pool twice this week but enough said about that) lol.

I also mulled over the following if it was decided to replace the wooden pool fences with stainless steel.

Instead of using solar panels, run piping around/inside the fencing (I know the gates cause a problem but this is in very early naval gazing), and pump the water round this piping thus heating/raising the temperature of the water.

just a thought

Paul

Have to agree 26-28 seems a bit warm...need to bring the bubble bath with me.

Hi All

Just about the pitches again. We think we owe a big thanks to Sara and all the presidents for all the work that they have done in getting Milenium to put pressure on IRM. It just shows you what a good set of presidents we have and when combined with Sara's relentless badgering.......... we get results. WELL DONE ALL OF YOU! 

We're so glad we got you presidents out there batting for us and Milenium are really pulling out the stops to get things done round the resort now.

In a time when things seem so negative it's funny that at our place in the sun things have never seemed so positive.

Cheers

Jay & Lisa