ABOUT US

One Voice for Cumbre (OVFC) is an exciting non profit association run by volunteers of and for the people of Cumbre del Sol, committed to promote and represent the interests of our community before local authorities. OVFC is a recognised partner of the Town Hall and VAPF since 2020.

Representative body:

• Margaret Hales, President
• Paul Davies, Vice President
• Marianne Pätzold, Secretary
• Pepe Blas, Treasurer
• Gerald Hales, Board member

OVFC background

For more than 20 years there have been groups on Cumbre trying to obtain investment by the municipality of Benitatxell in the urbanisation of Cumbre del Sol. 

The first association to be formed was the Asociación de Vecinos Internacional de Benitatxell (AVIB) led until recently by Willi and Anita Luz. 

For more than 15 years a newsletter called Colloquia was published by Gerald and Margaret Hales. It served to inform residents and visitors of what was happening in the municipality and highlighted the issues which caused problems on Cumbre del Sol (Cumbre). 

Meanwhile Cumbre Residents Association (CRA) was formed to fight a particular environmental problem caused by the developer. This was finally resolved with the cessation of the dumping of rocks and soil in the Barranco Garsivá, a protected area. Paul Davies was the last president of that association, though he had been collaborating with Colloquia over various matters for some years. 

In the years leading up to the outbreak of COVID, Colloquia, CRA and AVIB joined together in having meetings with the Mayor to gain investment on Cumbre del Sol. Some improvements were made including a small resurfacing of roads and a signage project. During the pandemic, this group consulted with lawyers to try to gain more investment and subsequently  formed a 'collaboration' with the name One Voice for Cumbre. All of the existing organisations as well as most of the presidents and/or administrators of the pueblos and comunidades signed up to this collaboration. 

In 2024, two other residents (Marianne Pätzold and Pepe Blas) joined the 'team' and set up the blog. AVIB left and still there was little investment, except the one way system for the beach and all the associated parking and reconstruction work, designed for the visitors, not the residents. 

Finally, OVFC needed to have a legal entity. The 'team' became officers and in 2026, the association was born as a non-profit organisation.

Aims, objectives and activities:

• Promote and represent the interests of residents and property owners of Cumbre del Sol by addressing common concerns and working in collaboration with local authorities, developers, administrators and chairpersons of homeowners' associations. 
• Local development: Promote the creation of public services and reinvestment of Cumbre del Sol's municipal income in public services within the development.
• Promote the improvement and maintenance of infrastructure such as road surfacing and services such as public transport, street lighting, etc.
• Promote actions to increase water resources, guarantee water supply and quality in Cumbre del Sol.
• Promote efficient management and recycling of municipal solid waste, installation of recycling points, regular street cleaning.
• Environmental protection: Promote the conservation of the natural environment and landscape.
• Promotion of sustainable tourism: Address measures to control illegal activity in tourist accommodation by ensuring compliance with regional regulations.
• Communication and transparency: Keeping residents and owners informed about decisions and news affecting Cumbre del Sol.
• Encourage citizen participation.
• Social Welfare: Improve quality of life, promote social cohesion, solidarity and coexistence within the municipality through an equitable distribution of the cultural activities organised by the Town Council between the village and Cumbre del Sol. 
• Conduct awareness and sensitisation campaigns

In order to fulfil the aims of OVFC, the following activities shall be carried out:

• Meetings with the municipal government team
• Meetings with developers
• Meetings with chairpersons and administrators of homeowners' associations
• Publication of news and information of interest on the association's blog. 
• Conducting surveys among subscribers and readers of the association's blog
• Promote proposals for fiscal balance between the fiscal resources contributed to the municipality through taxes and fees (property tax, rubbish collection tax, parking tax, etc.) and the investments and expenditures made in Cumbre del Sol.
• Promote the annual celebration of participatory budgeting in the municipality.
• Promote registration on the electoral roll and census of residents of Cumbre del Sol.
• Oversee compliance with current legislation on transparency, access to public information and good governance, and monitor the transparency portal, notice board, news and agenda on the Council's website.
• Monitor municipal information published by the Court of Auditors: taxes, budgets, expenditure, accounts, signed contracts, subsidies.
• Monitor tenders on the State Procurement Portal.
• Follow the plenary sessions on the City Council's YouTube channel.
• Encourage participation and internal debate among members through messaging platforms, communication platforms, and/or social media.

OVFC defending the interests of Cumbre del Sol

The various local authorities have historically neglected the needs of our urbanization. Cumbre del Sol accounts for more than 60 per cent of the municipality’s revenue, due to its larger population and the greater number of properties with the highest cadastral value, whilst receiving less than 10 per cent of its annual expenditure.

If you'd like to support OVFC, there are several ways to do so:

1. Subscribe to our blog:

The subscription is a free service provided by OVFC. You do not need to be a member or make a donation. Every time a new post is published you will receive an email with the link to the post. This option is ideal if you simply wish to receive updates about Cumbre del Sol.

2. Just make a donation:

As a donor, you choose to support our activities financially for any amount you wish and you do not take part on any activities. This option is the recommended choice if you do not wish to take an active part in our activities but wishes to show your support for them.

3. Apply for membership:

As a member, you will play an active part in our activities and will be able to attend the Annual General Meeting. We are a multilingual team that promotes values such as honesty, transparency, fairness, respect and social responsibility, which enables us to earn the trust of our community; we welcome proactive and enthusiastic individuals committed to advocating for the interests of Cumbre del Sol.  If you feel called to volunteer, please submit the registration form below.

To apply for membership, you must:

1. Be a resident of Cumbre del Sol or have a connection to the urbanization.
2. Share OVFC’s goals and objectives and participate actively in its activities.
3. Agree to the OVFC Code of Ethics
4. Agree to the rights and duties of OVFC members
5. Submit the membership registration form  below
6. Pay the annual membership receipt fee of 20€

Membership applications are subject to approval by the board of directors. Once your application has been approved, you will receive by email a receipt for the annual membership fee. Payments can be made by Wire transfer, Credit card, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay or Amazon Pay.

Registration Number: CV-01-068405-A