Letter to Calpe councillor

August 10

Dear Carole Saunders,

I was appalled to read in this week’s CBNews Jack Troughton's piece re. electric scooters etc. Surely some clarification is required. I applaud cracking down on what we used to call 'scooters' when we were young, but I have seen youngsters on the electric models weaving at 25 or so kmph in and out between families on the promenade wondering when a child is going to get killed.

But I am desperately worried that my electric mobility machine would fall into that category. Perhaps mine could be classified as an electric wheel chair. It has wheels (albeit 4), a comfortable seat and an electric motor. But my 'Shoprider' is an essential part of my life now that most days I can't walk much more than 100 m or so. Top speed, a fraction faster than I can walk.

It has liberated me; it has given me independence to do my own shopping, visit a restaurant on the beach.

I can park it in the plaza without it being in anybody's way, Masymas are even happy for me (and one or two others) to ride in the store.

To enable me to park it in a designated motor cycle space would mean having to drive in the road or on the pavement (both banned under the new bylaws!)

Calpe's cycle lanes are totally inadequate for people needing to use mobility help but could be improved enormously without vast expenditure. Clarification, please, Carole,

Yours sincerely,

Peter Purvey

(Calpe U3A Committee) change their current residency cards. One compelling theory is that, with around 250 thousand UK, Spanish resident holders living in Spain, the authorities could not cope if we all rushed to obtain the new identity card before the end of the year.

However, I have just read the letter in today's CBN “Another experience ...” regarding the processing officer stating that all existing ‘residencias’ will be invalid after the 31 December this year. The officer may know something the British Embassy doesn’t, on the other hand, she may have been given the wrong information. In any event, it is going to cause concern.

The fact that the name and address of the sender is withheld leads me to suspect that it was the true experience of an advisor who does not want to be named and accused of scaremongering. If my suspicions are correct, then I understand the reasoning for remaining anonymous. Legal firms have been criticised for attempting to coerce clients into using their services, in some cases, at extortionate rates, to obtain an identity card that is not required.

I sincerely hope that the information given by the processing officer is not true and the green ‘residencia’ will remain valid and, perhaps, the TIE will be phased in over a reasonable period of time.

The British Embassy should give clear guidance about how long the green residency is going to be valid for then people can make an informed decision. Either way, my advice would be to do it now - not wait until such time as it becomes an obligation and may not be so easy to achieve.

Best regards

Wendy Lawrenson, Torrevieja