The Almería City Council is compelled to disburse a significant sum to rectify an administrative error that residents of the El Toyo urbanization had been denouncing for years. The Local Board has officially approved the allocation of 367,149.64 euros as direct compensation, ending a prolonged dispute with the La Unión de El Toyo neighborhood association.
This substantial reimbursement of public funds is in compliance with the execution of Sentences No. 635/2023 and 824/2024. Both judicial rulings confirm that the maintenance of the Alborán park, considered the main green lung of the urbanization, is an exclusive responsibility of the municipality and its public services, and should not have been borne by property owners through the Conservation Entity.
The legal dispute originated from years of citizen protests, intensified since 2018. Residents argued that the Urbanistic Conservation Entity lacked the legal standing to include infrastructure costs, which by law belong to the municipality, in its budgets. The Alborán park is classified as a general system of open spaces, serving as a public park for general use throughout Almería, making it illegal to force residents to pay private fees for a service that should already be covered.
The courts had previously indicated that the ordinary maintenance of internal roads within an urbanization differs from the upkeep of general systems. Therefore, the receipt of the 367,149.64 euros now approved functions as a mandatory reimbursement and direct compensation for amounts unduly paid by property owners.
In this legal battle, the temporary union of companies of the El Toyo commercial park, Joisan, has also obtained a favorable ruling regarding the responsibility for maintenance costs, although its request to declare the Conservation Entity null and void and claim over 11 million euros was dismissed.
